The Walter Hayes Trophy delivered the two drivers to make progress in the top 10 of the Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings this week.
While Jason Smyth took overall honours in the end-of-season Silverstone Formula Ford 1600 showcase, following his victory at Brands Hatch the previous weekend in the Festival, Callum Grant also continued his successful late-season FF1600 sojourn.
Smyth was out of luck in both his heat and his semi-final at Silverstone, but a blistering drive in the final allowed him to steer his Van Diemen RF00/JL12 to honours from a penalised 13th on the grid.
The Irish talent therefore solidifies his second place in the Rankings by moving onto 18 wins for the season, although he is five adrift of table-topper Ali Bray.
Grant, meanwhile, drove his Van Diemen RF91 to class honours in the Janet Cesar division in his heat and semi-final, and therefore rises eight positions to 10th in the table after a season in which the bedrock has been his exploits in historic Merlyn machinery - primarily in Formula Junior. Had he not been pipped to the flag in the Janet Cesar final, to the tune of just 0.071 seconds, he would now be seventh in the table.
Smyth and Grant are the two prime movers in the Rankings, which is compiled by tallying up each driver’s race and class wins in any car race that takes place in the UK and Ireland across the season.
But it’s not all about FF1600 this week, with the next highest mover being Wilf Butler. The youngster has been racing in the Citroen Saxo-based Junior Saloons series this season and, although he fell short in his title quest, he has won the most races – Butler’s two victories at Brands Hatch mean he enters the Rankings top 50 in 24th place.
One place behind him is Adam Shepherd, who was also on form at Brands. A victory in the first race of the TCR UK finale in his Cupra Leon VZ hoisted him 15 places to 25th in the table, and also assured the Essex man of the TCR title.
Back at Silverstone and on the Walter Hayes Trophy support card, Toby Broome took his customary two class wins in the Alfa Romeo and Italian Intermarque Championship at the wheel of his 147 GTA to enter the Rankings top 50 at 35th.
With just a smattering of race events to come this year, there is unlikely to be much change in the Rankings, which we will sum up in a final top 50 once all is done and dusted.
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| Position | Driver (car) | Overall | Class | Tota |
| 1 | Ali Bray (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| 2 | Jason Smyth (Van Diemen RF00/JL12) | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| 3 | George Line (Dallara F308) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | Aidan Hills (Mazda MX-5 Mk3) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 5 | Mark Smith (McLaren 720S GT3) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 6 | Simon Allaway (Lotus Esprit V8) | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| 7 | Jonathan Moore (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport) | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| 8 | Matthew Highcock (BMW 120i/BMW 116i) | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | Marcus Littlewood (Radical SR3 XXR) | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 | Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk5/7/Van Diemen RF91/Merlyn Mk20A) | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| 11 | Tyler Read (Legends Ford Coupe) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | Paul Sibley (MG Midget) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 13 | Dan Thackeray (Honda Civic EP3) | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | Shane Stoney (Radical PR6/Radical SR3 XXR) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 15 | Steve Dickens (Mallock U2 Mk29) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 16 | Ross Wilkinson (Mini Cooper S) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 17 | Jack Robinson (Jaguar XK8) | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 18 | Michael Cullen (Raw Stryker/Lotus Cortina/Austin Mini) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 19 | John Spiers (Shelby Cobra 260/McLaren M1B/March 761/TVR Griffith/Lotus Cortina/Ford Capri/Lister Knobbly/Ford Mustang) | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 20 | Hugh Simpson (MG Midget) | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| 21 | Ben Mason (Legends Sedan) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 22 | Ryan McLeish (Legends Coupe) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 23 | Matt Luff (Audi TT 2.0 TFSI) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 24 | Wilf Butler (Citroen Saxo VTS) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 25 | Adam Shepherd (Cupra Leon VZ TCR/Honda Integra DC5/Cupra Leon Competicion TCR) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 26 | Craig Ewing (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 27 | Jonathan Corker (Datsun 510) | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 28 | Oli Willmott (Mini Cooper S) | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 29 | Niall Bradley (BMW M3 E46) | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| 30 | Connor Kay (Lotus Elan 26R/MG Midget/TVR Tuscan) | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 31 | Ian Bower (BMW M3) | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 32 | Aidan Mulready (Ford Fiesta Zetec) | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 33 | Fraser Fenwick (Lamborghini Super Trofeo) | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 34 | James Ibbotson (Hillman Imp Super) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 35 | Toby Broome (Alfa Romeo 147 GTA) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 36 | Ben Short (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 37 | Matty Cobb (Volkswagen Beetle) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 38 | Rocco Coronel (Ginetta G40 Junior Evo) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 39 | Fred Green (Ginetta G40 Junior Evo) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 40 | Matt Harbot (AHS Dominator) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 41 | Matthew Armstrong (Caterham 7 420R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 42 | James Nicholas (Ginetta G56 GTA) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 43 | Simon Hill (Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk5) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 44 | Taylor O’Flanagan (Caterham 7 310R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 45 | Gerry Hendry (Ford Fiesta ST) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 46 | Matthew Haughton (Jedi Mk7) | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 47 | Adrian Russell (Condor S2) | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 48 | Tyler England (Ford Fiesta Mk4) | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 49 | Jack Ashton (Rover Metro 100) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 50 | Mark White (Honda Civic Type R) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
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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