Harborough teenager Dixon-Coen celebrates as he secures first podium finish

The Robert Smyth School pupil finished 11th in the final for round one in January and then 30th in round two after he was taken out early in the final, but he was to really make his mark in round three.

Testing went well on the Saturday, with Dixon-Coen consistently running in the top three in his group in a strong grid of 50 of the top karters in the UK.

In Sunday's heats at the Kimbolton track, which see grid positions allocated at random, Dixon-Coen was allocated two mid-pack starts as the rain came down.

In heat one he progressed from P14 to finish third, while in heat two he went from P13 to seventh, and those performances saw him qualify for the final in eighth.

The final was raced in wet conditions but Dixon-Coen made a great start to move to the inside of the track and come out of the first corner in third place.

The on the last corner of the first lap, Dixon-Coen made a fantastic overtake that saw him up second. With Harrison Crowther and Joshua Smith battling behind him, Dixon-Coen was able to pull out a comfortable 1 second advantage over his rivals, and he went on to take the chequered flag for second place and a first podium in a Motorsport UK Championship event.

The race was held on Mother's Day, and Joel, who is just 14, paid tribute to his mum Tracy: “My Mum has always supported my racing, having been a racing driver herself.

“As I was racing on Mother’s Day I wanted to thank her by bringing home a trophy."

The big haul of championship points also sees 14-year-old Dixon-Coen move from eighth to third in the championship standings!