Essex racer Lochlan Bearman heads into the final round of the Stars at Whilton Mill Championship knowing he must finish above rival Kieran Wragg if he is to win the championship.

The 12-year-old is currently top of the standings ahead of the final round at Whilton Mill, scheduled for November 23, and Bearman can secure the championship if he wins the final round and his nearest rival Wragg finishes third or lower.

“I will be giving it everything I’ve got,” said Bearman.

Bearman may be 71 points ahead of Wragg after round ten but his consistent success this season has backfired somewhat.

Drivers drop their two lowest scores for the season after the 11th round to give them a total score. The 49 points won in round two will be discounted from Bearman’s final score, with his second dropped score to be decided after the final round.

Wragg scored zero points in the same round and has also recorded a score of 26, meaning he will lose less points than Bearman after the final round in a fortnight.

Finishing first next week is worth 60 points, second place earns 57 points and third 55 points, with the remaining places worth a point less in ascending order. If Bearman does not triumph at Whilton Mill, he must finish four places ahead of Wragg in order to maintain his advantage.

In his last race, the Hunts Kart Racing Championship at Kimbolton, Bearman bounced back in style after successive disappointments. Round nine saw Bearman crash out and round eight ended in controversy after he was taken out by a collision between two other drivers, with his kart sustaining too much damage in the incident to continue.

He was then excluded from the rest of the meeting, fined £100 and given six points on his licence for foul and abusive language. The Theydon Bois youngster scored zero points for the race.

But Bearman quickly made up for lost time on Sunday though, finishing second.

“The CooperMotorsport team had got the set-up right all weekend,” said Bearman. “But we went too conservative in the final and I had too much grip which compromised my exit speed from the tight corners. It’s been a great weekend and we’ve learnt a lot about the new chassis.”

Father John added: “He’s driven brilliantly all weekend, it’s such a shame about the September events as with those points he’d be leading the championship by a healthy margin now and would pretty much be certain to win.”

Bearman won both of the qualifying heats and, starting the final in pole, he quickly established a healthy lead and looked set for a certain victory.

His opponents caught him with two laps to go and he had to defend. Going into the last lap, second-placed Thomas Byrne implemented a move which saw the two karts make contact, and it slowed them both enough to allow Byrne through.

All three crossed the line within a second of each other but it was Byrne’s win with Bearman second.