|
 |
|
 |
| February 05, 2010 News |
| eKartingNews.com Releases 2010 Driver Rankings Program Outline and Schedule |
| |
eKartingNews.com - the leading website for karting information, news and race reports - is happy to announce the format and event schedule for the 2010 EKN Driver Rankings. The mathematical program - initially developed and fine-tuned for the Super Kart Illustrated publication - ranks the top drivers in North America using their performances in selected events.
The focus of the rankings evolved over the years from a straight shifterkart program that targeted all the assorted gearbox classes to an approach where Intercontinental C (ICC) and Intercontinental A (ICA) divisions became the only offerings. The program was moved to eKartingNews.com full-time in 2007 with the addition of the TaG (Touch and Go) category, following the magazine’s final issue in December of 2006. At the 2007 season, the ICA division was shelved when it was dropped from the national circuit. When those drivers and a number of others made the move to TaG, it was clear that the class was primed to replace ICA in the ranking program. In 2009, ICC began the year however it was also removed as the class is becoming nearly extinct across the continent. Also last year, the Stock Moto category was added as the class was growing rapidly throughout the country.
“The 2009 edition of the EKN Driver Rankings was pretty solid,” stated EKN News Desk Manager David Cole. “Despite the lost of ICC from the rankings, the TaG and Stock Moto categories created great drama on the year. Canadian Marco DiLeo emerged as the top driver in TaG with a solid 2009 campaign from January to December. A virtual unknown at the start of the year, Tyler Bennett came to the forefront in the Stock Moto standings following a strong regional program and an outstanding performance at the SKUSA SuperNationals. We are happy to recognize those two drivers as the top drivers in their respective categories.”
For 2010, the EKN Driver Rankings will again focus on the TaG and Stock Moto categories. The TaG standings are no doubt highly contested with nearly 400 drivers recording a result on the ’09 Driver Rankings schedule. Looking at 2010, roughly 146 races will be tapped as potential EKN Driver Rankings events with a number of events having multiple opportunities to earn the maximum points possible. Three events will carry a 10-point base ranking - SKUSA SuperNationals XIV, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals and the Rock Island Grand Prix TaG Senior category.
The Stock Moto Driver Rankings will see a new format for its second year with the addition of the SKUSA Pro Tour among the top events on the 2010 calendar, making the SKUSA SuperNationals XIV the lone 10-point base ranking event. Two new regional programs – the SKUSA Mountain Region and I-5 Corridor Series – as well as the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix have also been added to the calendar for the new season. In addition to the new programs, the EKN Driver Rankings will also recognize the new class structure established by SKUSA. Using different base rankings, both the S1 and S2 categories on the SKUSA Pro Tour and SKUSA sanctioned regional programs will be included in the Stock Moto Driver Rankings for 2010.
With the increase in the number of events eligible for inclusion in the EKN Driver Rankings, the program is now instituting a minimum entry number. Those events with less than five drivers starting the race will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.
“With the expansion of the EKN Driver Rankings schedule, we needed to add in the minimum entry. Our goal is to provide a chance for a driver in any area of the country to record results toward the Driver Rankings, however, small fields are tough to gauge within the rankings format. Our goal is to help build each program included in the EKN Driver Rankings so that no field has to worry about making the minimum number of drivers.”
The first edition of the 2010 EKN Driver Rankings will be released on April 2, including the results from the first three months of the year.
TaG Driver Rankings Schedule
Stock Moto Driver Rankings Schedule
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 TaG and six in Stock Moto 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 WSK North American Series, Superkarts! USA Pro Tour, and other national programs and events, as well as other 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 the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals.
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 2010, the SKUSA SuperNationals, US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals and the Rock Island Grand Prix receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting in the TaG category while the SuperNats is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The WSK North American Series, SKUSA Pro Tour, and Rotax Pan American Challenge national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals and other regional program races were given a base ranking of either eight (8) or nine (9).
The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. New for 2010 is a minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program. 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 in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
