The other finely-poised 2021 battle that could face a decisive swing

The arrival of the knockout Formula Ford 1600 contests is a sure sign that the national racing season is approaching its conclusion. The drama of these traditional end-of-year staples offers a final bout of excitement before much of UK motorsport goes into hibernation.

They coincide with depressing features of this early November period, such as the clocks having just gone back and darkness descending ever earlier – and never-ending Christmas TV adverts! But, despite the battle to top Autosport’s National Driver Rankings entering its final throes and there being just eight race events scheduled in the remainder of 2021, it’s sure to provide some late-season entertainment.

It’s far from certain who will end the year in top spot and this coming weekend is set to play a pivotal role in determining who gets that honour.

The current top two drivers are both due to be in action – and both are set to have a plethora of chances to add to their win tallies. Historic Formula Ford ace Cam Jackson has entered the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone in a Van Diemen RF90 and is targeting Janet Cesar Trophy glory. Depending on his path through the competition, he could have up to five chances to earn further victories and secure top spot on the leaderboard.

But his closest rival Miles Rudman, with one win fewer than Jackson’s table-topping 17, could also boost his total this weekend with the Legends finale at Brands Hatch offering him six potential opportunities to enjoy a victorious end to the season. Given he took five wins in one weekend at Donington Park back in August, anything is possible.

Jackson is particularly keen to end the year on top having missed out by the narrowest of margins last season. Two wins for Gary Prebble (who is 23rd currently this year, if you’re interested) in a December 750 Motor Club meeting took them both to 15 wins, but Prebble emerged triumphant because there were 0.6 more cars on average for his victories, compared to Jackson’s. And the abacus is likely to be out again after this weekend.

Jackson takes flight on route to another Classic Formula Ford victory at Cadwell Park

Photo by: Mick Walker

For those whose attention may have been elsewhere in the past 18 months, Autosport decided to relaunch this contest last year as part of our continued commitment to promote the world of national motorsport and the rankings are essentially the same as the Golden Helmet feature that has appeared in these pages on and off over the past few decades.

The premise is simple. Every overall race win on a UK or Irish circuit is counted equally, whether that is Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix triumph or the victor of a Citroen C1 endurance race at Oulton Park. And the winner is the person with the most victories at the end of the year.

Class wins also enter the mix, but only for categories where the divisions feature different car characteristics rather than being for rookies, for example. We also stipulate that there must be a minimum of six starters in a class for the win to count. And, as was witnessed last year, the average grid size for a driver’s win determines the order when two or more have achieved the same.

Jackson has not contested a full campaign this year. His mid-season lull has therefore allowed others to close in, most notably Rudman, to leave the current delicately poised situation

Apart from that, there are no other rules and a top 50 table is produced each week on autosport.com, charting the latest key position changes. This week's issue of Autosport magazine includes the top 100 drivers as things stand.

Jackson has led the way ever since the first table of 2021 was produced, almost two months into the season at the end of May. However, despite picking up victories in Historic and Classic FF1600 and Formula Junior, he has not contested a full campaign this year. His mid-season lull has therefore allowed others to close in, most notably Rudman, to leave the current delicately poised situation.

Jackson’s closest challenger was initially Scott Parkin (currently sixth), who has achieved victories across a variety of series and cars – including in the Focus Cup, Trackday Championship and EnduroKa. Next up was BMW E36 M3 pilot Dave Griffin, who roared towards the top of the table thanks to Classic Sports Car Club and Classic Touring Car Racing Club triumphs but has since dropped to 24th.

Griffin and Civic Cup champion Alistair Camp (currently eighth) then had a spell of continually trading second place, before Rudman took the spot for the first time in August. Current third-place driver Michael Cullen, the Irish Stryker champion and Lotus Cortina racer, also briefly held the runner-up spot in September.

Early run of form for Griffin put CSCC and CTCRC BMW ace second before dropping back to 24th

Photo by: Mick Walker

Other drivers to enjoy stints in the top three include Mazda MX-5 star Ben Short (now seventh), CityCar Cup champion Nic Grindrod (ninth at present), MG BCV8 dominator Ollie Neaves (11th), Alfa ace Barry McMahon (now down in 16th) and F3 Cup victor Stefano Leaney (fourth). There were actually no changes in the top 43 after last weekend’s racing – however there’s still plenty of time for the order to alter.

But we have still got a while to wait to see the final leaderboard. With the traditional Plum Pudding meeting back on the Boxing Day schedule, the definitive 2021 table won’t be produced until January (accompanied by a feature about the winning driver). And that’s certainly something to look forward to during the post-Christmas blues.

Autosport's most successful national racers so far in 2021

Civic Cup champion Camp has been a consistent presence near the top and currently sits eighth with 12 outright wins

Photo by: Gary Hawkins