MALMESBURY racer Louis Harvey battled to another podium finish in the latest round of the British Karting Championship at Rissington last weekend.

Starting his quest in qualifying, the 14-year-old had to settle for ninth place after the two sessions were added together.

That meant he would compete in heats two and three on the Sunday – although things did not look good ahead of racing as Harvey was only 11th fastest in his warm-up session.

Harvey’s first heat excursion went well, though, as he climbed from sixth to finish fourth.

However, he was not so lucky in his next heat as a loose chain forced him to pull into the repair area and he eventually completed the race in last place.

That meant starting from 17th on the grid out of the 37 drivers in final one, but Harvey produced a fine drive, making up nine places to finish eighth in a competitive field.

He would start from that position in final two and after seven laps, Harvey was up to fourth.

The gap to the front three karts was considerable, but with the vehicle now performing better, the gap started to close.

As the leading drivers battled in the last two laps, Harvey still had the potential of a podium position.

On the very last corner, he saw his opportunity and made a superb pass to snatch third place.

Harvey and his Klaassen Motorsport Team will hope for another strong performance at the next round at Fullbeck on June 22-23.

Before that, Harvey will be back in action at Rissington to defend his lead in their club championship on June 1-2.