The Mazda ace had already clinched the 750 Motor Club’s MX-5 Cup title for Mk1 models of the sportscar prior to last weekend’s Snetterton finale but that did not stop him adding a 12th victory to his 2021 tally after a hard-fought scrap with Ali Bray in the third Norfolk race.
That triumph moved Short from 12th to fifth in the rankings, five wins behind long-time leader Cam Jackson.
The Historic Formula Ford ace returned to competition at Silverstone last weekend but missed out on the chance to extend his advantage.
Jackson never intended to contest a full season this year and, while he did enough to claim the Historic Sports Car Club series’ title on his comeback, he was stripped of race-three spoils for overtaking under yellow flags and was therefore unable to extend his rankings lead further.
Outside of the top 10, there was no shortage of movement and Classic F3 star Andy Smith was one of those to shine, taking a double victory at Silverstone in his March 783.
Those wins allowed him to rise 15 places and into 12th spot.
Also on the march was David Drinkwater, the BMW Compact pilot’s hat-trick of Hot Hatch class victories at Snetterton matching his achievement of sealing a hat-trick of titles.
The three triumphs therefore allowed him to rocket up the order, surging from 42nd to 15th.
Another multiple champion ending their season in style was BMW Compact Cup dominator Steven Dailly.
The Scot had already clinched a fifth crown prior to the series’ appearance on the British GT support bill at Donington Park, but he still finished with a flourish by taking a double victory that improved his ranking by 15 spots as he moved to 18th.
Last year’s table-topper Gary Prebble was another one to gain a bunch of places as he jumped from 28th to 22nd with a Pre-03 Touring Car win at Mallory Park.
He had been on course for a double victory, but he skated straight on at Shaw’s hairpin, denying him a win that would’ve promoted him to 15th place.
Completing those on the move inside the top half of the table was Historic Road Sports title winner John Davison, the Lotus Elan driver concluding the season with another success at Silverstone – which boosted him by six places as he climbed to 24th.
Autosport’s most successful national racers so far in 2021
| Pos | Driver (Car) | Overall wins | Class wins | Total |
| 1 | Cam Jackson (Winkelmann WDF2/Brabham BT2) | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Miles Rudman (Legends 34 Ford Coupe) | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | Michael Cullen (Stryker/Ford Fiesta ST/Lotus Cortina) | 12 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | Stefano Leaney (Dallara F317) | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| 5 | Ben Short (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 6 | Alistair Camp (Honda Civic EP3) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 7 | Ollie Neaves (MGB GTV8) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | James Little (Ferrari F355 Challenge/Ferrari 458 Challenge) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 9 | Dan Gore (Jedi Mk6) | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| 10 | Rod Birley (Ford Escort Cosworth WRC) | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| 11 | Scott Parkin (Volkswagen Golf TDI/Ford Focus 2.0 TDCI Zetec S/Ford Ka) | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| 12 | Andy Smith (March 783/March 742) | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| 13 | Barry McMahon (Alfa Romeo 156/Alfa Romeo Giulietta) | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| 14 | Harry Senior (Caterham 7 SigMax) | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| 15 | David Drinkwater (BMW Compact) | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 16 | Sam Neary (Mercedes-AMG GT3) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 17 | Nic Grindrod (Citroen C1) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 18 | Steven Dailly (BMW E36 Compact 318Ti/Ginetta G40 GT5) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 19 | Charlie Hand (Citroen Saxo VTR) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 20 | John Mickel (Legends 34 Ford Coupe) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 21 | Jon Woolfitt (Spire GTR) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 22 | Gary Prebble (Honda Civic EG/SEAT Leon Cupra 20v T) | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 23 | Dave Griffin (BMW M3 E36) | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 24 | John Davison (Lotus Elan S1/Lotus Elan 26R/Lotus Elite) | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| 25 | Richard Neary (Mercedes-AMG GT3) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 26 | Sam Smith (Mazda MX-5 Mk3/Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 27 | Adam Shepherd (Honda Civic Type R) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 28 | Brad Sheehan (BMW E46 M3) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 29 | Oliver White (Medina Sport JL17K) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 30 | Lewis Thompson (Caterham 310R) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 31 | Shane Murphy (SEAT Leon) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 32 | Jim Larkham (Radical PR06) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 33 | James Harridge (Maverick Vee) | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 34 | Michael Winkworth (Mini Se7en S) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 35 | Joshua Jackson (McLaren 570S GT4) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 36 | Marc Warren (Ginetta G40 Cup) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 37 | Niall Bradley (BMW E46 M3) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 38 | Sam Kirkpatrick (MG ZR 190/MGB) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 39 | Steve McDermid (MG ZR 170) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 40 | Dave Cockell (Ford Escort Cosworth) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 41 | Paul Brydon (BMW M3 Solution F) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 42 | Alex Walker (Spectrum 011) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 43 | Jamie Blake (Mini Cooper R53) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 44 | Aaron Cooke (Toyota MR2 Roadster) | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 45 | Ben Pearson (BMW E46 330Ci) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 46 | Nic Carlton-Smith (Kieft FJ) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 47 | Leon Morrell (Radical SR3) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 48 | Simon Orange (Ginetta G55) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 49 | Josh Steed (Ginetta G40 GT5) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 50 | Simon Clark (Porsche Cayman S) | 8 | 0 | 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. Only classes divided by car characteristics are included. Classes divided by driver characteristics such as ability, professional status, age, experience (for example rookie or Pro-Am classes) are not included.
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.