Kart racer Ashley Smith turned adversity into triumph when he contested round eight of the Kent Championship.

The Thundersley schoolboy found himself in 19th place on the final grid of 22 in the Minimax kart class after a gamble with tyres in two of the three heats failed to pay off.

Under starters orders : Ashley Smith gets ready on the grid Picture: PAUL ALTON

But the 12-year-old finished ninth in the final race to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings.

Ashley had a 140-point advantage over nearest rival Daniel Tuffs going into the eighth meeting of the 10-round series at Kent's Buckmore Park.

And with Daniel failing to finish the 10-lap final race he did not score any points, leaving Ashley to wait until later this week to find out how much he has stretched his lead by.

Ahsley said: "I thought the race was fine and I'm happy with ninth place. It was better than I thought it was going to be. Tuffs did not finish, so that was a bonus because he is my nearest rival. Now I'll just have to wait until the points are announced this week."

And dad Peter added: "It was not a good day for us, but we are probably even further ahead. I'm not happy we came ninth because it was our worst finish of the year, but after we started 19th he drove well and made up 10 places."

Ashley, who goes to Deanes School, is back in action at Buckmore next month before the final double-header round in December.

Joining Ashley in the Minimax races on Sunday was 12-year-old Daniel Page from Stanford-le-Hope.

It was Daniel's first race after completing half a season as cadet last year and he finished 13th in the final from 15th on the grid after two offs and one engine stall.

Daniel was competing with three other novices at Buckmore Park under the watchful eye of Ashley Smith's dad Peter.

Published Friday October 25, 2002