Lochlan Bearman’s hopes of success in the Mini Max Championship at Kimbolton lie in tatters after being caught in a collision between two other drivers, causing significant damage to his kart in the process.

The 12-year-old racer from Theydon Bois was caught in the middle of a collision between the third and fourth-placed drivers on Sunday, before another kart drove over the top of him, contributing to a fractured chassis.

Bearman's father, John, slammed the standard of driving: "It's unacceptable. Two meetings running at Kimbolton [and] Lochlan has been the victim of unacceptable driving.

"His Championship hopes are now finished and the kart has been wrecked. After the race the chassis was found to be fractured. This should not be happening and these incidents are far from racing accidents."

Bearman Jnr added: "It's bitterly disappointing, this is my first year in Minimax and to be in with a chance of winning both Championships was really a dream at the start of the season but I driven well and got to grips with this category and to have results taken away like this is really hard to take."

The youngster started in fifth place on the grid for the final after qualifying strongly. In the first heat he slipped from 12th to 17th briefly, before finishing in 12th place.

In heat two, he started in 21st place and drove well to progress through the field and make his way into fifth place.

Starting the final heat on pole, Bearman was victim of some unscrupulous driving and was forced off the track before putting in another excellent drive to recover and finish in sixth.

Following the early collision in the final, Bearman battled on for two laps but was eventually forced to retire with the kart too damaged to continue.