2026 SKUSA Pro Tour champion Matheus Morgatto takes over the top spot in the EKN Driver Rankings (Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The second half of the 2026 season is underway and championships are wrapping up as we head toward the big ones at the end of the year. The new release of the 2026 eKartingNews.com Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA now counts eight months of racing this year, with only a few events still remaining on the shifting 12 month period for drivers to keep on their scores. A total of 12 main events were added to the totals, including the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals that have shuffled the order at the time. The number one position now features a three-time SKUSA Pro Tour winner and now two-time champion in Matheus Morgatto with Velocity Racing.

Morgatto become only the second driver in SKUSA Pro Tour history to sweep the main events in the headline shifterkart category, matching the feat of Jordon Lennox in 2014. The Brazilian locked in his second series championship with victory aboard his Sodikart at the SummerNationals and moves into the top spot of the EKN Driver Rankings. The advantage is 143 points over Kiwi Jay Urwin (PSL Karting / Birelart). The SKUSA Winter Series champion elevated up to second in the standings, now into the top three to jump ahead of Gavin Bayliff (Trinity Karting Group / Birelart). The driver from Ohio improved his score from July to remain in third.

Former number one driver Adrien Renaudin (Carblos Racing Engines / Sodikart) drops to fourth in the order. A loss of 82 points, much of that from last year’s fifth place finish at SummerNationals to this year’s ninth place result along with a loss of a victory from Stars Championship Series, has put him off the Driver Rankings podium. His previous score would have kept him at second place, and will have to bank of improved results at the big events at the end of the year to contest for the second straight year as EKN Driver of the Year.

The next four positions remained unchanged with Billy Musgrave, Justin White, Massimo Valiante and Jacob Gulick holding fifth through eighth. Musgrave (Factory Karts) only lost three points finishing 11th at the SummerNationals in his first race as a new father. It was not the defending champion season he had hoped, ending up seventh in the final standings after his DQ at the SpringNationals. White (Carblos Racing Engines / Maranello) kept his score unchanged after a tough ending to the SKUSA SummerNationals at New Castle. White did go on to finish fourth at the USPKS Ohio Grand Prix at MCC. Valiante (Italian Motors USA / Italkart) improved his score by one point, adding results from the Burly Products Super Cup Series program in the Northwest. He finished the program with six wins over 10 rounds and the series championship. Gulick (GFC Karting) lost points on his score but remained in eighth. Contact took him out of contention at the SKUSA SummerNationals, finishing the season eighth in the championship with a best result of 10th at the SpringNats.

Moving up to ninth is AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) as he swaps spots with Hunter Pickett (GFC Karting). Myers was able to put together a complete race weekend despite some issues, driving up to the runner-up spot at the SKUSA SummerNationals. That improved his score to take over ninth, while Pickett suffered another bad result to finish the season outside of the top 10 in the SKUSA point standings. The California driver lost over 100 points in the EKN Driver Rankings standings as well, on the verge of dropping out of the top 10.

Upcoming Events

Shifterkart #1 – Matheus Morgatto
São Paulo, Brazil

(Photo: EKN)

There was question if anyone would be able to better the performance by Morgatto in 2024 in the now ‘Pro Show’ era of the SKUSA Pro Tour. Morgatto said yes by sweeping the three main events in 2026 to clinch a second career SKUSA Pro Tour title. The three wins have put Morgatto at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings, holding just eight results. He will lose one result as we close out 2026 and will have a maximum score of 7108 going into the final months of the season. His total is currently WITHOUT a SuperNationals result, having recorded a DNF in his first two starts in Pro Shifter. But first comes his attack on the international scene as the 2022 FIA Karting World Champion is seeking more hardware at the upcoming FIA Karting World Karting Cup for KZ2 after finishing on the podium in both round of the European Championship, ending up second in the title standings.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #2 – Jay Urwin
Matamata, New Zealand

(Photo: EKN)

Back into the top three after a month away is the PSL Karting / Birelart driver. Urwin finished all three main events on the SKUSA Pro Tour, which is a positive from last year having a chance at the title go away with a DNF at the SummerNationals. The SKUSA Winter Series champion was top eight in the three rounds, finishing just off the championship podium in fourth – a two spot improvement from 2025. Much like Morgatto, Urwin does not have a SuperNationals result to his EKN Driver Rankings total, ending up in the barriers early on during the SuperSunday main event. This leaves the ‘Driver of the Year’ honor still up for grabs for the Kiwi.

Point Breakdown

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Shifterkart #3 – Gavin Bayliff
Batavia, Ohio

(Photo: EKN)

2026 has been the full, put-together season for the Ohio driver with Trinity Karting Group. Bayliff was able to pilot his Birelart machine to victory at the SKUSA Winter Series while keeping out of the DNF column for the SKUSA Pro Tour. He improved as the season progressed, finishing 12th in Tucson and was one of the quickest drivers at New Castle to fourth, one spot off the podium. He improved one spot in the championship chase and will carry the #6 plate in 2027. An improvement of his SuperNationals result from 2025 will no doubt keep him in the top three of the EKN Driver Rankings.

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 2026, 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 awarded to special events of ROK Vegas, RMC Trophy Final, and IAME Grand National Championship. The SKUSA Pro Tour carries a 9.5 for Shifterkart while a 9 base ranking for TaG. Other programs such as SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, and RMC America’s Trophy, RMC Winter Trophy, Stars Karting Championship begin with a base ranking of 9. Other programs are 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 Shifterkart Driver Rankings presented by Stilo USA – as of August 24, 2026

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