With the most wins on the season, Joe Turney takes over the EKN TaG Driver Rankings top spot (Photo: EKN)

It is a month of movement in the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School following two big events on the 2023 calendar. The IAME USA Grand National Championship along with the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SummerNationals have shuffled up the order up and down the standings – including the number one position with British driver Joe Turney moving into the top spot.

The Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic driver has won at nearly every event he’s attended in 2023 here in the USA, advancing his way to the top of the EKN TaG Driver Rankings to overtake five-time SKUSA and two-time USPKS champion Ryan Norberg. For Norberg (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic), it is the first time since the end of 2020 that he is not holding the #1 position in the standings – despite his best overall weekend of 2023. Jumping up to the top-three is Alessandro de Tullio (International Motorsport / Kart Republic) who has been among the most consistent drivers of 2023.

Following close behind is former teammate and 2022 FIA Karting World Champion Matheus Morgatto (PSL Karting / Birel ART). His podium result on Saturday and fourth-place result Sunday at the SKUSA SummerNationals helped Morgatto to move into fourth in the standings, just outside the top-three. His promotion dropped fellow Brazilian and teammate Diego Ramos (PSL Karting / Birel ART) fall down to fifth and out of the top-three. He had a best finish of eighth over the weekend at New Castle.

Up four spots to sixth is the top rookie of 2023 thus far Brandon Carr (Ryan Perry Motorsport / Tony Kart). The Brit had a great first quarter but lacked results in the second. He was able to end the SKUSA Pro Tour on a high note, placing fifth on Sunday at the SummerNationals to improve his score on the EKN Driver Rankings. Close behind, only seven points back is fellow Senior rookie Ayden Ingratta (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed). The Canadian was part of the fight all weekend in New Castle, ending with his second top-10 result in SKUSA competition with a P6 Sunday.

Their promotion and drop of results saw Hayden Jones (Trinity Karting Group / Kart Republic) fall four spots to eighth. Running a limited schedule in 2023, Jones did not follow the full SKUSA Pro Tour, but did place 11th at the IAME Grand National Championship event at his home track of Trackhouse Motorplex. The big mover into the top-10 is Harley Keeble. The Piquet Sports / Sodi Racing USA driver advanced 45 spots, gaining his sixth and seventh race counted toward the EKN Driver Rankings. A best finish of eight on the weekend helped to make him the third British driver into the top-10 of the standings. Rounding out the top-10 is Austin Garrison (Speed Concepts Racing / Redspeed). Not racing at the SKUSA SummerNationals, Garrison slipped four spots to 10th. The Florida driver finished ninth at the IAME ‘All-Star’ event in July.

The top-10 features eight different teams, six different chassis brands, and represents four different countries (USA, UK, Brazil, Canada).

The ‘On the Move’ through the top-50 drivers is Senior rookie Caleb Gafrarar (Brandon Jarsocrak Racing / LN Racing Kart). Notching his seventh and eighth race toward the EKN Driver Rankings, Gafrarar is now into the top-20 – sitting 19th. His SKUSA SummerNationals featured sixth place finish on Saturday, a best on the 2023 season.

Upcoming Events

TaG #1 – Joe Turney
Milton Keynes, England

(Photo: EKN)

Only two drivers from outside the USA have finished in the #1 spot at the end of the EKN Driver Rankings since 2007 – Canadians Devon Sandeen (2007) and Marco DiLeo (2009). The 2023 season could be the third with the performance of British driver Joe Turney. His move to Kart Republic brought him to Florida at the beginning of the season, teamed with Chad Dokken Racing. Wins at every event except for the USPKS New Castle weekend have highlighted his American tour, promoting him to the top of the standings. A SKUSA Winter Series and SKUSA Pro Tour title have been added to his stellar CV. Should he compete at the USPKS final two events, there could be another championship to add.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: EKN – Nate Dean)

A run of victory at the SKUSA Pro Tour has come to an end for Ryan Norberg. The Rolison Performance Group driver began winning in his first year at the series in 2016 and won at least one main event since not counting the 2020 Summer Festival. Now the 2023 season goes without a win in SKUSA competition. A string of five podium finishes have kept the five-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion in the hunt all season, however, finished runner-up in the championship. His EKN Driver Rankings standings took a hit with the loss of four wins, two from USPKS at Road America and two from SKUSA SummerNationals last year. Only two wins remains on his 12-month results card, the USPKS 2022 finale and the ROK Vegas victory.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Alessandro de Tullio
Miami, Florida

(Photo: Trevor Blue – KC)

Consistency is a key element to championship chasing, it also helps you in the EKN Driver Rankings. Florida driver de Tullio has done this with three different teams on three different chassis. Starting off with Parolin USA, he moved to Prime Powerteam and Birel ART, and now has joined International Motorsport aboard the Kart Republic brand. Over the last 12 months, de Tullio has finished every main event lap in all the 17 races counted toward the EKN Driver Rankings. Of those 17, he’s finished in the top-10 in 15 including five podium results. His latest was at the SummerNationals for a best SKUSA finish on the season.

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 August 4, 2023

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