AN Askam karter celebrated the perfect start to his 2016 season with victory in west Cumbria.

Kristian Brierley, 16, stood on the top step of the podium at Rowrah after the first round of the Super One British Junior TKM Championships.

Following last season’s successes – which included winning the biggest event on the calendar for the TKM classes – the TKM Festival – Brierley was looking to start quickly.

The number nine did just that in the second final – following two scoring heats and a first final – taking the chequered flag in the last race of the day, just 0.09 seconds ahead of rookie Joe Fowler.

Brierley recorded the second fastest lap of the race, completing the circuit in 48.48 seconds, just 0.01 seconds slower than Fowler’s best time in the 19-strong field.

Running this year with the Litchfield Motorsport team, the south Cumbrian speed ace is hoping for a top-three finish come the end of the season.

His points tally from the four scoring races has him standing second overall after the first round, with 187 points. That is just three behind leader Bradley White, who was sixth in last year’s championship and first in both of the heats and the first final at Rowrah.

He said: “It’s taken a couple of years to reach the level I am now racing at.

“I’m especially thankful for previous sponsors for their support in getting me to this stage: PPS, CJS Car Sales, Marsh Plant Hire, Cumbria Tyres, Moorland Service Station and Furness Cars and Commercials.”

The second round of the Super One KTM Championship will take place at Glan y Gors Park, Conwy, Wales, on May 14 and 15.