Karting prospect in great form

The Pett teenager added victory in Scotland on Sunday to a successful drive in Cumbria just seven days previously.

Barlow made the nine-hour journey to the Summerlee circuit at Larkhall in Lanarkshire to prepare for a forthcoming round of the prestigious British Super 1 Championship – in which he is currently second overall and just two points off the lead – and wasted little time stamping his authority on the event.

After two successful days of pre-race testing he was, by his own admission, “the man to beat.” However, he added that his randomly drawn starting positions for the day’s preliminary heats also helped.

In the first two heats, Barlow started from fifth and ninth position on the starting grid - but would comfortably cross the finishing line ahead of his opponents, even setting a new lap record in the second heat.

In his third race, a problem with his motor’s clutch denied him a straight hat-trick and he took the chequered flag in fifth place after passing 21 karts during the eight-lap encounter.

This was still good enough to give the Rye College GCSE student pole position for the 12-lap final. Any chance that his rivals had of beating him was dismissed just moments into the race as Barlow held on to his advantage

going into the first corner and completed the opening lap comfortably ahead. From there, he concentrated on building his lead and putting victory beyond doubt.

The full article will appear in Friday’s Observers.