Greek Driver Lambros Athanassoulas was presented the Greek Athlete of the Year award in the 14th edition of the Men of the Year awards hosted by STATUS magazine.

Status magazine is a leading authority of style and the good life. It targets cultivated men who have found the road to success. It informs with an authoritative journalistic viewpoint, inspires with its high aesthetic level and introduces you to the most important people and products in Greek society. After 20 successful years of existence, Status continues to be a way of life for the modern man and its recognition as an opinion leader is enhanced by the annual "MAN OF THE YEAR" institution, which purpose is to recognize the best Greeks who stand out the most in the world of arts, letters, science, politics and sports.

Lambros was voted by the readers of the magazine, who had to choose between various teams and athletes, amongst them Panathinakos Basketball Club (Euroleague Champions, Greek Champions and Greek Cup holders for 2009), Greek Basketball National Team (2nd in the European Championship 2009), Vlassis Maras ( a record 4 times in a row European Champion in gymnastic) etc.

The Greek Driver took everybody by surprise when as a wildcard entry he won the PWRC category in the 56th edition of the Acropolis Rally, driving a Skoda Fabia S2000. He dominated the event from start to finish, overcame an engine problem on the second day of the rally and achieved a top eight finish that gave him ten points in the P-WRC standings and one point in the drivers' standings. This achievement also earned him the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award.

He continued his winning streak in Rally Catalunya, where he won the R2 class and the Fiesta Sporting Trophy International in the debut of the new Ford Fiesta R2.

Lambros commented after the ceremony:

It has been a dream year for me and this award is the icing on the cake! I really wasn't expecting this. I want to thank the readers of magazine who voted for me. We are currently trying to find budget for next year. Ideally we would like to do a full program in the S-WRC or the P-WRC but the current economical situation does not give us too much hope.