Essex racer Lochlan Bearman has won the Stars at Whilton Mill Championship after a dramatic final weekend of racing.

The 12-year-old from Theydon Bois went into Sunday’s Championship decider at Whilton Mill with a lead of 71 points over nearest rival Kieran Wragg. However the maximum a driver can score is 60 points per meeting and the rules state drivers must drop their two lowest scores from the 11 meetings.

As Bearman had scored consistently well all year he had expected to drop in the region of 100 points whereas Wragg would only lose 26 points after two particularly poor earlier rounds. That left Bearman needing to better his rival’s position by four points – the equivalent of four places.

Bearman started heat one in 17th place on the grid and made a good start, progressing through the field and into 12th position. However disaster struck on lap two when a snapped chain forced Bearman to retire.

Facing the prospect of lining up in the ‘B’ final, where only the top finishers would advance to the ‘A’ final, Bearman’s chances suffered a further blow with the news Wragg had finished tenth.

Starting heat two in 22nd place, Bearman advanced through the pack and into 14th place before misfortune again threatened to undo his good work.

Punted into a spin which saw him drop back to 20th place, Bearman displayed great resilience to fight back through the field and claim a 16th-place finish, despite being on the receiving end of another punt from the same driver.

Wragg had suffered a broken chain in the second heat, leaving both drivers facing up to the possibility of a ‘B’ final.

Fourth on the grid in heat three, once again Bearman was forced to stage a recovery drive after being knocked off at the start of lap two. Lady Luck smiled on Bearman though, and Wragg was subsequently caught up in another melee, allowing Bearman through en-route to a seventh-place finish.

As a result of his strong showing in the final heat, Bearman began 23rd on the grid in the ‘A’ final and Wragg in 17th.

At the end of the first lap the Theydon Bois youngster was up to 17th with Wragg just two places ahead.

Both Championship contenders were now battling to pass other karts and race each other. By lap three Wragg was 13th with Bearman on his bumper in 14th.

Bearman continued to apply the pressure to his championship rival and eventually it told as Wragg span off, allowing Bearman to pass and finish in 12th – a place ahead of his challenger.

A below-par finish worked in Bearman’s favour though, and the Essex racer dropped 95 points overall, enough to finish three points ahead of Wragg in the overall championship.

Reflecting on the win, Bearman said: “It’s just the best feeling. At the start of the season I would have just been happy to be competitive as it is my first year in this category but to get my third championship in three years feels so good.”

Bearman’s father, John, added: “I’m really proud of him. We didn’t expect to be so competitive so soon and we’ve never raced at Whilton before this year. I think he’s been awesome all year.

“We’ve had to learn an awful lot about this type of kart and engine and Lochlan has improved with every race. “ He added: “Depending on costs we may continue in Mini Max and do a few races in Europe in the next category up, Junior Max. We’d love to do a televised series but that would only happen if a sponsor came on board.

“All we can do without that financial support is keep getting the results we have been and hope that someone recognises his ability and helps him to move forward in pursuit of a career as a professional racing driver.”

The final round at Kimbolton is on Sunday, December 14.