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Provisional championship standings
After round 20 (of 25)
1, Wayne Boyd, GB/Templepatrick, Jamun/Mygale, 536
2, Tim Blanchard, AUS/Victoria, Jamun/Mygale, 482
3, Chris Maliepaard, NL/Nagele, Getem/Mygale, 370
4, Victor Correa, BRA/Sao Paulo, Jamun/Mygale, 338
5, Linton Stuteley, GB/Hitchin, Getem/Mygale, 321
6, Matt Hamilton, GB/Hemel Hempstead, JTR/Mygale, 301 etc

Scholarship class
1, Chrissy Palmer, GB/West Marden, Sterling/Ray, 408
2, Garry Findlay, GB/Eye, Findlay/Mygale, 358
3, Felix Scott, GB/Woodthorpe, Wrensport/Spirit, 320 etc

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BOYD BIDS FOR THE CROWN AT SILVERSTONE

Only one driver, Tim Blanchard,(pictured right chasing Boyd) and five races stand between Wayne Boyd and the 2008 British Formula Ford Championship title, and the 17-year-old Ulsterman has a chance to clinch the crown next weekend (16/17 Aug) at Silverstone.

Boyd's 13 wins at the wheel of his Jamun Racing Mygale have earned him a 54-point championship lead over his team-mate and only remaining title rival, the reigning Australian champ Tim Blanchard. To be assured of the crown ahead of October's Donington triple-header finale Wayne would need to finish the Silverstone weekend with 96 points in hand - a tall order given Blanchard's pace and consistency.

One thing is certain, and that is that Boyd will be keen to get back on to the top step of the podium, a feat he uncharacteristically failed to achieve last time out, at Brands Hatch. He will also be keen to rack up a 14th win to equal the record set by Callum MacLeod on his way to the 2007 title.

Last month's Brands Hatch races were notable for another reason: the first non-Mygale race win of the season, and now that Spectrum driver Adrian Campfield and the Kevin Mills Racing team have broken their collective ducks they will have every hope of even better results to come.

Silverstone could also provide the conditions required for the first Van Diemen victory of 2008: Fluid Motorsport drivers David Brown and Marco Sorensen have made major strides back towards the front in recent races. They are to be joined in the team at Silverstone by Autocar journalist Matt Prior, who will be making his racing debut after several seasons of karting.

There are plenty of Mygale drivers other than Boyd and Blanchard who are in with a shout at Silverstone. There are the other Jamun drivers, Victor Correa and James Cole, for example, and the Getem Racing duo of Chris Maliepaard and Linton Stuteley. Correa scored his maiden win at Brands last month and Maliepaard has won three times already. Stuteley, meanwhile, will be gunning for a result with fresh Army livery on his car.

Matt Hamilton leads a three-Mygale attack for the JTR team and the 18-year-old from Hertfordshire will be keen to do well to help eradicate the memory of his leg-breaking Silverstone accident of 2007; his team-mates are Dutch driver Rogier de Wit and fast Frenchman Philippe Layac.

There is a typically entertaining battle for honours raging in the Scholarship Class for year-old chassis and less experienced drivers. Nine-time class victor Garry Findlay and his Mygale were sidelined at Brands and unable to prevent class wins for Alex Jones's KMR Spectrum and the Sterling-run Ray of Chrissy Palmer; now Garry trails Chrissy by 50 points, with Alex coming up fast on the rails.

Another new face at Silverstone is that of 21-year-old kart star Robert Souster, who will drive a Van Diemen for the Speedsports team under the guidance of Mike O'Brien, the manager who steered Callum MacLeod to championship success in 2007. "We are not out to threaten the quick boys," said O'Brien, "but Robert is a useful driver and we are testing the waters for next year."