WILTSHIRE’S Louis Harvey bagged his first podium spot in the Senior Rotax Class during round four of the Ultimate Karting Championship at Glan Y Gors in North Wales.

Looking set to agonisingly miss out on a third-place finish, Harvey ended the weekend with a drop of good fortune after another driver’s penalty saw the Wiltshire teen promoted onto the podium.

Following blazing sunshine during Friday’s practice, Saturday’s qualifying races were held in the wet meaning a change in set-up for Harvey and his team.

Starting from 16th, the Malmesbury-born racer pushed hard and crossed the line in sixth during heat one.

Inclement weather made way for a return to sunshine and wind, therefore heat two saw Harvey’s team revert to their original set-up for dry conditions.

There was a dry line on track, but off the racing line conditions remained damp which made overtaking challenging.

Harvey started fifth but moved forward into second by the end of lap two. On lap four, the Malmesbury teen took the lead and never looked back as he crossed the line in front.

Unfortunately, due to dislodging his kart’s nose-cone on the rolling start, Harvey was given a five-second penalty which resulted in him dropping to third.

Sunday’s third heat saw Harvey start low down the grid before working his way up to sixth - the position he would ultimately end in.

With all the points from the weekend added up, Harvey started the pre-final in fourth. After a clean start, the front drivers all maintained their positions for the duration of the race which meant Harvey would start fourth for the main final.

Another clean start and the front four were all trying to push away before looking to battle in the latter stages.

As the main final came to a head, the front three drivers battled for position and Harvey was looking for a clean opportunity to overtake.

This proved a challenge on the very twisty track and he had to settle for fourth place at the finish line.

However, during the jostling for the lead, one of the drivers had hit the back of another and dislodged his nose-cone. This resulted in a five-second penalty which promoted Harvey onto the podium for the first time.