YOUNG Wiltshire racer Louis Harvey endured a disappointing weekend at the 2019 Shenington Superprix.

A total of 45 Junior TKM drivers joined other classes to race at Shenington Kart Club for the E Plate, and with only two heats and a final contested, any mistake can be very costly.

Malmesbury’s Harvey fell foul of this as a mistake in an earlier heat hampered him for the final, although he put in an excellent recovery drive to make up 16 places and finish 10th at the chequered flag.

Harvey qualified well in the timed session, setting the fourth quickest time amongst the large grid.

Starting from that position for the first heat, Harvey was involved in a collision as he attempted a pass for third place early in the race, bringing both karts to a halt. This allowed the entire pack to pass and recovery from there was never an option.

Harvey had much better fortunes in heat two and even led the race for a while before eventually settling in third place.

With only 34 of the 45 drivers qualifying for the final, Harvey’s first-heat failure meant he started down in 26th on the grid.

After an initial false start, the leading pack quickly began to pull a gap. By lap six, a series of excellent moves had seen Harvey climb up to 16th before an incident brought the race to a halt under a red flag.

When the race was restarted, Harvey battled hard for the remaining laps and eventually crossed the line in 11th place before being promoted to 10th after penalties were applied.