Karting ace Jack Hawksworth had to withstand some tense moments before clinching second place in the Super Four British ICC Karting Championship.

The 16-year-old from Cullingworth headed into the final round at Fulbeck, Lincolnshire, 25 points ahead of nearest rival Stephen Lane.

But if Jack thought that was a fairly comfortable margin, he was soon forced to think again. "We were really quick throughout practice in the dry," he said. "But Sunday didn't really go to plan.

"In the first heat I started near the back and got off the line well, but then there was a big mêlée in the middle of the field - everybody just crashed into each other and there must have been ten karts blocking the track - and I simply drove into it.

"That bent the trackrod and steering column, so I just circulated really slowly after that to get the points for finishing."

Having conceded 20 points to Lane in one fell swoop, the pressure was suddenly on, and Heat Two would go little better.

The former British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow front-runner said: "In the second heat, I started mid-pack but again I went off at the first corner which put me back down to last. After that I started making my way through again until I had a collision with Will Hibbert. I accidentally clipped the back of his kart. That cost us both a lot of time and I ended up tenth."

With Lane once more finishing second, there was little to choose between the two pretenders entering the last heat.

Starting from pole position, Jack knew this was his best chance and he stormed away to victory to hoist himself up to tenth position on the grid for the all-important final.

"The first start went really well for me - Stephen crashed and I was up to fifth place, but then the red flags came out so I had to do it all over again. I didn't get away as well second time - I was up to seventh initially, and ended up fourth."