Kay back to the top of Autosport National Rankings table

Connor Kay has shot back to the top of the Autosport National Rankings this week – and he’s not the only driver moving up in the leading trio.

Kay only conceded his position at the head of the table last week to F1000 king Matt Higginson, but his victory at Cadwell Park in the Midget & Sprite series bumped him back up one spot to the pinnacle – and he’s the first driver of 2026 to move onto double figures in the Rankings, with 10 wins.

At the wheel of his MG Midget, Kay sped to victory in the first of the races at Cadwell, and he took a class win for second overall in the other. But the number of cars in his class was only five – one short of the minimum six required for it to be registered in the Rankings.

Also looming into contention is Craig Ewing, who has long been the man to beat in the Kirkistown-based Modi-5-Cup series for Mk1 Mazda MX-5s. Ewing’s double success at his local circuit has lifted him six places in the table to third.

The Autosport National Rankings is based on the simple format of calculating the total number of wins taken by drivers in car races held in the UK and Ireland, with each counting equally.

The other driving making moves in the top 10 is one who has shot from outside the top 50 straight into ninth place. Teenaged ex-karter William Antrobus has been on great form in the Ginetta GT Championship this season, and for good measure he’s added a couple of wins in the slightly-less-potent machinery of the MX-5 SuperCup. Ginetta held its annual G-Fest weekend up at Croft, with races for only its own machinery, and Antrobus swept three of the four for the G56s to smash his way into the table.

It was a similar story in the restricted G56s of the Academy series. German Luis Beilicke had notched up four class wins at prior events, where the Academy cars ran with the Championship machinery. But at Croft, the Academy brigade enjoyed standalone races, and Beilicke has entered the top 50 at number 12 thanks to three victories.

One place above him is James Hughes. He took his Austin-Healey Sprite to honours in the Midget & Sprite Cadwell race that Kay didn’t win, shoving him up 14 places to 11th.

The next two upwards movers are more drivers entering from outside the top 50. Lewis Barker’s brace of 750MC Hot Hatch wins at Donington Park have lifted the Honda Civic Type R driver to 22nd, and Ferrari Challenge UK dominator Gilbert Yates won two out of two at Oulton Park to progress to 28th.

Autosport National Driver Rankings

All car races in UK and Ireland are included except qualification/repechage, consolation and handicap races. No races in other countries. Class wins are only counted when there are at least six starters in the class, except: when the race is part of a multi-stage event where six or more have taken part in earlier heats that feed into a semi-final or final; when multiple championships are merged in the same race, the ‘overall’ winner from the slower championship can count a class win as long as that championship has at least 10 starters across all classes. Only classes divided by car characteristics are included, not those divided by driver characteristics such as ability, professional status, age, experience (for example rookie or pro-am classes). Each race counts only once, so an overall winner’s class win is not added. Where there is a tie, overall wins take precedence. Where there is still a tie, average grid size for a driver’s wins determines the order.

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– The Autosport.com Team