Grange closes on Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings summit
Ford Mustang Thruxton win sends Grange level with table-topper Black
Photo by: Steve Jones
The battle to top the Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings has got even closer after Piers Grange has now matched leader Stewart Black's tally of 15 wins.
Grange's latest success came in the Pre-'66 Touring Car category at Thruxton in his Ford Mustang. He did also top his class in the Blue Oval Saloon Series in his more frequently raced Escort but there were not the required number of starters for this to count.
He therefore just moves from third to second on the leaderboard and only trails Black due to eight of his wins being class triumphs.
Another driver to close on the summit is Ben Short, who wrapped up his latest 750 Motor Club MX-5 Cup title with two more wins at Oulton Park. He has now taken 14 victories in 2024 and climbs one spot to fourth.
Rounding out the improvers inside the top 10 is British Touring Car title contender Jake Hill.
He may have seen his points lead eradicated at Silverstone, but victory in the middle race means he has risen six places to 10th in Autosport's winners' table.
Further back, there is a wealth of other changes after a busy weekend of national racing. Reigning Mazda MX-5 Supercup champion Aidan Hills' (below) defence of his title was boosted by another win at Donington Park but he was denied the chance of further success after the meeting was abandoned without a single race on Sunday due to the heavy rain that battered parts of the UK. Hills therefore has to make do with climbing from 22nd to 15th.
Hills won again before the rain hit
Photo by: Mick Walker
Also on a charge up the table is Deagen Fairclough, the British Formula 4 dominator sealing the title in style at Silverstone with another pair of victories. However, he was also denied a full complement of races by the weather, with heavy rain causing the reversed-grid contest to be abandoned, but Fairclough still leaps 16 places up the table to 18th.
Another double winner that claimed a single-seater championship at the weekend was Andrew Hibberd, albeit his glory came in far older machinery. He topped both of the Historic F3 bouts at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic in his Brabham BT18 to move from 33rd to 19th on the leaderboard.
Continuing the theme of double wins, Classic Touring Car Racing Club Pre-'93 champion Stuart Waite was another on race-winning form at Thruxton meaning the BMW M3 pilot takes off from 29th to 23rd. But he was also a victim of insufficient starters for his second win to count and therefore misses out on moving up to 11th.
Completing the improvers in the top half of the table is Armed Forces Race Challenge competitor Douglas Inglis. His Mazda MX-5 has received a huge haul of medals this year, including further triumphs at Croft to leap 18 positions up to 24th.
For more information about the range of insurance policies that Ryan offers, please head to ryanmi.com.
Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings
Pos | Driver (Car) | Overall wins | Class wins | Total |
1 | Stewart Black (Legends Coupe) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
2 | Piers Grange (Ford Escort Mk2/Ford Mustang) | 7 | 8 | 15 |
3 | Dan Brown (Honda Civic Bali) | 14 | 0 | 14 |
4 | Ben Short (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 14 | 0 | 14 |
5 | Chris Lulham (Radical SR3) | 13 | 0 | 13 |
6 | Jason Smyth (Van Diemen RF00/JL12) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
7 | Mckenzie Douglass (Ginetta G56 GTP) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
8 | Michael Cullen (Raw Stryker/Ford Fiesta ST) | 11 | 1 | 12 |
9 | George Line (Dallara F308) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
10 | Jake Hill (BMW 330e M Sport/Nissan Primera/TVR Griffith/HWM) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
11 | Steve McDermid (MG ZR 170) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
12 | Ryan Cunningham (Honda Civic EP3) | 0 | 11 | 11 |
13 | Stuart Bliss (Toyota Aygo) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
14 | Jack Parker (Legends Ford Coupe) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
15 | Aidan Hills (Mazda MX-5 Mk3) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
16 | Matty Cobb (Volkswagen Beetle) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
17 | Benn Simms (Jomo JMR 7) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
18 | Deagen Fairclough (Tatuus T-421) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
19 | Andrew Hibberd (Brabham BT18/Lotus 20) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
20 | Richard Neary (Mercedes-AMG GT3) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
21 | Peter Bennett (Mini Cooper) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
22 | Tony Greenan (Dallara F317) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
23 | Stuart Waite (BMW M3 E36) | 2 | 8 | 10 |
24 | Douglas Inglis (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
25 | Ben Timmons (Caterham 7 270R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
26 | Daniel Clark (Legends Coupe) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
27 | Samuel Harrison (Reynard SF79) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
28 | Andy Hiley (Chronos HR1S/Lotus Elise S2) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
29 | Lewis Thompson (Caterham 7 420R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
30 | Matt Simpson (SHP Pickup) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
31 | Craig Ewing (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
32 | Keith Hogg (Sheane FS01) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
33 | Andrew Jordan (Mini Miglia/Mini Se7en/Ford Mustang/Austin GT40) | 8 | 1 | 9 |
34 | Max Edmundson (Honda Civic EP3/Honda Civic Type R) | 8 | 1 | 9 |
35 | Stephen Primett (Ford Escort Mk1) | 5 | 4 | 9 |
36 | David Russell (BMW E36) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
37 | Paul Goldstein (Caterham 7 Sigma 135/Caterham 7 Roadsport) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
38 | Michael Gibbins (MCR S2n) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
39 | Michael Blackburn (Ford Fiesta ST150) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
40 | Stephen Berry (Mini Cooper S) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
41 | Ross Alexander (Mini Cooper S) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
42 | Lewis Clark (Ford Focus Zetec S) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
43 | Ian Loggie (Mercedes-AMG GT3) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
44 | Mark White (Honda Civic Type R) | 7 | 1 | 8 |
45 | Shaun Traynor (Toyota MR2 Roadster) | 7 | 1 | 8 |
46 | Josh Lawton (Honda Civic) | 7 | 1 | 8 |
47 | Matthew Haughton (Jedi Mk7) | 7 | 1 | 8 |
48 | Christian Walker (Porsche Cayman S/Porsche Boxster S) | 5 | 3 | 8 |
49 | Oly Mortimer (Mini Cooper) | 4 | 4 | 8 |
50 | Sam Shaw (Radical SR1) | 1 | 7 | 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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