CHRIS Pease is celebrating his first podium finish of the year.

The Barrow karter took second place in round three of the Glan y Gors Rental Kart series.

Peace felt both joy and relief with his display on the Welsh circuit,

after having suffered an accident in testing at Shenington, which knocked him out of his stride for a spell.

Pease started the day's action at Glan y Gors by qualifying in fourth for race one, from a total of 18 drivers.

In the opening lap of the first race, the second and third-placed vehicles came together at the final corner. Keen to capitalise on this mix-up, Pease tried to take third spot but was pushed wide and fell back to eighth, before eventually finishing fifth.

The reverse grid in race two saw Pease start back in 13th but he produced what he described as his “best drive to date.”

Said Pease: “Very early on I managed to take two positions while the field were busy, and lap by lap, I managed to slip through the field before finishing in third.

“My finishing positions put me second on the grid for the final. An intense ten-lap final saw me become an almost moving bollard as I had to drive incredibly defensively to hold off the field, which was split from second to eighth by just half a second.

“In the end I secured my first podium in the series and first sprint series podium in over a year.

“Having had a huge testing accident at Shenington, resulting in me being taken to hospital, the second place was a huge weight off my shoulders and puts me firmly back where I want to be.”

He added: “I would like to thank my parents, my girlfriend Hannah and my sponsors POWA Energy, Karting My Lifestyle and my newest sponsor Racing Line Designs for their support to get me back on track.”