Smyth looking crisp for season run-in for Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings

Irish Formula Ford 1600 ace Jason Smyth could be on for a move to the top of the Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings by the end of the season.

Smyth, who was in the frame in the Rankings throughout 2024, took two more race wins at Kirkistown last weekend in his Van Diemen – one of them by nearly half a minute – to move up three places to fifth in the table.

The Rankings are based on the simple premise of total race wins throughout the car racing season in the UK and Ireland. While Smyth is still five victories adrift of table-topper Ali Bray as the various championships begin to draw towards their close, he has the spectre of the end-of-season Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone, both of which can significantly add to an FF1600 driver’s tally due to their multi-phase format.

Another driver inching towards Bray and current runner-up George Line is Simon Allaway. He took his Chevrolet V8-powered Lotus Esprit to Anglesey for the latest round of the CNC Heads Sports/Saloons Championship and took wins in two races. Although he remains third in the Rankings, Allaway has cut the gap, even if a non-finish in the opening race restricted his progress.

Two drivers who have swept all before them in the MG Midget & Sprite series were also on the march last weekend. Paul Sibley took his usual brace of overall wins at Brands Hatch and moves up three positions to fourth, while Hugh Simpson continued his domination of his class and is up 12 places to sixth. In another class in this series, Connor Kay is up 29 spots to 20th, although his varied racing season also includes victories in Lotus Elan and TVR Tuscan machinery.

Apart from Smyth, Kirkistown featured two more contenders who have had seasons of joy in Northern Ireland, with Fiesta Zetec top gun Aidan Mulready taking one class win (the Fiestas were combined with the quicker Mini Coopers) to rise five places to 12th, and Craig Ewing leaping 28 positions to 18th thanks to his double in the MX-5 races.

Meanwhile, the Midget boys weren’t the only risers in the top half of the table at the Classic Sports Car Club’s Brands meeting, Jack Robinson’s single success in his XK8 in the Jaguar series lifting him 18 positions to 23rd.

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Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National 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.