Jake claims his first win

The 17-year-old from Rotherham qualified third for round five of the Super 1 Senior Rotax Max Championship, but soon after the start found out that he had a defective set of tyres which lost their grip within a few laps. It resulted in his kart sliding around at the rear, causing a drop to sixth place.

But by adapting his driving style, he was able to overcome the problem and actually gain places, as he pushed his way to the front of the field.

Ball fought his way through to take the lead with four laps to go and held on to score his first Senior Rotax Max Super 1 Championship victory—making him a race winner in every category in which he has competed.

The result set him up for pole position in round six, but still on the same far from perfect set of tyres.

Nevertheless, he managed to take the race lead and hold on to it, keeping all of the field behind him for 19 long laps.

By then, the frustration of following Ball got too much for the second-placed driver, who nudged him wide onto the grass, leaving the Oakwood youngster in third-place.

Undaunted and refusing to give in, Ball had his work cut out defending and holding on to third-place, taking his second podium place of the day.

The results shot him up to fourth overall in the Super 1 Championship table and, when the worst results are dropped, he will move up to second in the series.