Ryan Norberg continues to set the mark in the EKN TaG Driver Rankings (Photo: EKN)

A major bulk of the 2023 season has been completed with the month of May closed, and now the focus is on June to wrap up the first half of the calendar. This sets the stage for the newest release of the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School. Races from coast to coast were added, including the United States Pro Kart Series Texas Grand Prix which reshaped the top-10 order.

The first six positions went unchanged as five-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion and two-time USPKS title winner Ryan Norberg (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) remains the driver to beat. The advantage over former teammate Hayden Jones (Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic) is now 190 points after Norberg lost two wins from 2022 but replaced with two others dating in July 2022. Diego Ramos (PSL Karting / Birel ART) was unable to improve his score at the Texas GP, placing sixth, to remain on the provisional Driver Rankings podium.

2022 top rookie Jeremy Fletcher (PSL Karting / Birel ART) stays put in the top-five, banking on the results from the second half of 2022 to this point. He came back from car racing to compete at the SKUSA WinterNationals, placing 17th in his debut with PSL. Fellow Florida drivers Alessandro de Tullio (PSL Karting / Birel ART) and Austin Garrison (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed) complete the top-six. Alessandro did not change his score, finishing outside the top-10 after starting pole position at Speedsportz. Garrison lost points as his seventh place in the ‘Lone Star State’ did not replace the race that was removed from the 12-month span dating back to June 2022. Despite the loss in points, he remains in the sixth spot.

The top-six may all change with a new player entering the top-10. British driver Joe Turney (Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic) gained his seventh race of the season, following the SKUSA Winter Series campaign and racing at the SKUSA WinterNationals – where he won three of the six races in Florida including the opening round of the SKUSA Pro Tour. His fourth victory of the season at the USPKS Speedsportz weekend advanced him up 26 spots into seventh. He enters the upcoming SpringNationals second in the championship standings with room to improve his Driver Rankings score.

Turney’s advancement dropped Marijn Kremers down one spot to eighth along with PSL Karting / Birel ART teammate Matheus Morgatto to ninth. The 2019 FIA KZ World Champion lost points and has stepped away from single speed action for 2023, so we will continue to see him fall down the standings. Last year’s FIA World Karting Champion from Brazil did not improve his score following the USPKS event, where he finished 10th. Completing the top-10 is top 2023 rookie thus far Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed). The Canadian suffered an illness that kept him home for the USPKS weekend in Texas, thus not able to compete. The good news, he’s already back at the kart track in Canada and has lost no points to remain 10th.

The ‘On the Move’ for the month of May is John Burke (CRG Nordam). The Texan added a seventh result over the last 12 months to move himself up 29 spots to 35th. It’s his performance in KA100 that is catching attention, as Burke has won the opening two rounds of the California ProKart Challenge program.

Upcoming Events

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: EKN – Nate Dean)

During the span of the 12-month shift in the EKN Driver Rankings, drivers will lose results or gain. Since the last standings release, Ryan Norberg was unable to better his score after losing results from 2022. Two USPKS wins from GoPro (now Trackhouse Motorplex) were removed and replaced by victories at Road America for the Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic driver. It has been two challenging weekends for Norberg in USPKS competition, recording a DNF at the recent stop in Texas. He will try to bounce back from a DNF in Round Two at the WinterNationals when the SKUSA Pro Tour returns to Utah for the SpringNats – a place he won twice at in 2022.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Hayden Jones
Matthews, North Carolina

(Photo: Studio52.us)

The USPKS Texas Grand Prix was a ‘what could have been’ weekend for Hayden Jones. The Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic driver was among the quick drivers prior to the heat races. A blown engine by Austin Garrison collected Jones in the opening heat, and trouble followed the rest of the day. He put in a solid effort in the Final, climbing 13 spots to 17th in the Final, posting times similar to that of the leaders. Jones will need to hurdle the bad luck and put in results if he wishes to stay in the top-three, coming off one top-five finish in the last four races for SKUSA and USPKS.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Diego Ramos
Davenport, Florida

(Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)

It has been nearly a year for Diego Ramos racing under the PSL Karting / Birel ART banner. Making his debut in July 2022, Ramos has raced in 19 main events toward the EKN Driver Rankings. A best finish of runner-up leaves the Brazilian seeking the elusive victory with the ‘Red Army’ squad. Ramos did not compete in Utah last year, as he sits third in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings and USPKS championship chase after the first two rounds of both programs.

Point Breakdown

EKN Driver Rankings Calculation Process
The EKN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best finishes in major North American races. Assembled using events from the previous 12 months from the current date, we use a driver’s best seven finishes in the TaG and Shifterkart categories to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver our ranking list, we tabulate the results of all the national programs and selected regional programs. We have also included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix, and other special races.

Each race is initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of ten (10) being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2023, the SKUSA SuperNationals will receive a score of 10 in its initial weighting in the TaG and Shifterkart categories. A base ranking of 9.5 is set for the SKUSA Pro Tour, while a base ranking of 9 goes to the SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, ROK Vegas, Rotax Grand Nationals, Rock Island Grand Prix, and California ProKart Challenge. Other national and regional program races were given a base ranking of either 8.5 or 8.0.

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. A minimum entry total for any event to be considered for the Driver Rankings program is five (5). If an event does not have at least five (5) drivers starting the race, those results will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.

Added to these initial rankings are two variables that help confirm the true importance of an event to the ranking process – field size and field strength. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, while the number of existing top-50 drivers entered offers another full point or fraction of a point. The sum of these numbers becomes the overall ranking for any race.

Following a race, drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with 100 points earned for a win. Each subsequent position drops by one point with 99 points given to the second-place driver and so on throughout the field. These points are then multiplied by the overall ranking to produce a driver’s final point total from each event. Using a driver’s best seven races, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.

EKN TaG Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School – as of May 31, 2023

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