Ryan Norberg maintains the top spot in the standings after multiple wins to begin 2024 (Photo: EKN)

The fourth month of the 2024 season is nearly completed and the second edition of the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings presented by Skip Barber Racing School has been tabulated. This season is one of transition with the updated event ranking system implemented, putting more emphasis on the size of the field and strength of field for the major events on the year. The loss of the 2023 SKUSA WinterNationals and the addition of USPKS season opener and the third stop on the Race Rotax US Trophy West Series has shuffled the order, except for the top spot.

Three-time defending USPKS champion Ryan Norberg (Rolison Performance Group) continues to lead the way, losing just over 50 points despite his victory at the series opener at the Texas Grand Prix. The other two spots in the top-three have exchanged hands as Alessandro de Tullio (Inter MS) is now second over 2023 SKUSA Pro Tour champion Joe Turney (Chad Dokken Racing). De Tullio’s performances continue to improve as British driver Turney will continue to lose results and eventually fall out of the standings until he returns back for USA competition.

Holding strong in fourth is Harley Keeble (Sodi Racing USA). The British driver who claimed the 2024 Florida Winter Tour championship lost points, however, recorded a top-five result at the USPKS Texas Grand Prix. Moving into the top-five is Austin Garrison (Speed Concepts Racing). The driver from Florida improved his score based on the runner-up result at Speedsportz earlier this month – and continues to be among the top challengers to Norberg each weekend.

Remaining in sixth position is Rotax Winter Trophy champion Diego Ramos (PSL Karting). The Brazilian lost over 100 points and did not compete at the USPKS event but remains one of four drivers to compete in over 20 races toward the EKN Driver Rankings. Into the seventh spot is third British driver into the top-10 – Brandon Carr (Trinity Karting Group). The SKUSA Winter Series race winner also lost points but recorded a fourth-place result at the USPKS opener to help his 2024 cause.

Down three spots and more in the coming months is Brazilian Matheus Morgatto (PSL Karting). He has transferred over to shifterkart for the 2024 season, where he currently sits in the same position for the EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings. Moving into the top-10 are Dalton Hanes (Sodi Racing USA) and Donovan Bonilla (Rolison Performance Group). The IAME USA Grand National Championship winner was unable to improve his score, yet was able to jump over the 2023 SKUSA SuperNationals winner who lost points from the drop of the 2023 SKUSA WinterNationals. The both moved up with the drop of Ayden Ingratta (Premier Karting) and Hayden Jones (Rolison Performance Group) out of the top-10.

The ‘On the Move’ drivers for April include two Senior rookies with Giovanni Santora (J3 Competition) and Spencer Smith (Forward Direction Motorsports). Both are competing in the US Trophy West Series program and now are into the top-50 of the EKN TaG Driver Rankings.

Upcoming Events

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

(Photo: Studio52.us)

A runner-up result for a runner-up result. Norberg lost the SKUSA WinterNationals second place finish and it was replaced with the second-place result from the third event of the 2023 USPKS program at New Castle. One thing different from 2023 to 2024, Norberg will be replacing his results with wins. After a winless 2023, Norberg now has victories at the SKUSA Winter Series, SKUSA Pro Tour and the United States Pro Kart Series. This has set the bar high for the rest of the TaG drivers in 2024, needing to not only win, but beat Norberg in order to dethrone him from the top spot of the standings.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #2 – Alessandro de Tullio
Miami, Florida

(Photo: Trevor Blue – KC)

Among those to lose less points than the rest is de Tullio. It carries with the consistent finishes the Inter MS / Kart Republic driver was able to produce in 2023 and thus far has carried over into the new season. The 2024 SKUSA Winter Series double champion – winning both X30 Senior and KA100 Senior – replaced two results from 2023 with similar point totals. Alessandro has four podium results thus far, including the third-place finish at the USPKS Texas Grand Prix. The one blemish is the DNF at the WinterNationals, something he will have to fight back from for the remainder of the year.

Point Breakdown

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TaG #3 – Joe Turney
Milton Keynes, England

(Photo: EKN)

The 2023 season was a strong introduction of Joe Turney to the USA karting scene, and his first under the Kart Republic banner. Earning the SKUSA Pro Tour championship, the Brit had high hopes going to the FIA Karting World Championships. An incident resulted in a serious leg injury. Thankfully, Turney has rebounded and was back racing just seven weeks ago, placing fourth at the opening round of the FIA Karting European Championship. He backed it up with runner-up result at Champions of the Future event in France. It is expected for a USA return for Turney, however, he will continue to fall down the standings until then.

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 April 22, 2024

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