DARTFORD’S Harry Crawley entered his maiden European karting outing aiming to get his name out there on the international stage.

And after out-pacing the reigning world champion in qualifying and almost reaching the podium on race day, he did this and a whole lot more besides.

The 2010 Euro max Winter Cup at Malaga in Spain united the indisputable crème de la crème of global junior max talent from 18 countries.

In qualifying, Crawley was devastatingly fast to place second out of the 41 competitors, ahead of the defending world champion.

The joy, however, would sadly prove to be short-lived, as his Evolution Racing kart weighed in at just 500g underweight and he was relegated to the rear of the grid.

To his immense credit, the 13-year-old speed demon simply dug even deeper still and kept on fighting through distinctly mixed weather conditions to make a charging fifth position in the grand final a fine accomplishment indeed.

“The Circuito Campillos is the best track I’ve ever driven,” explained the Wilmington Grammar School for Boys pupil.

“It’s really quick and challenging and hard to get right. It was a definite high point of the weekend to beat the world champion in qualifying.

“I was chuffed to bits with that. I think the whole meeting would have been different without the penalty, though. I reckon we would have been up there fighting for the win.

“It was hard work to come through the field, as I had to get on with it really quickly and make every move count. I was hit twice in the grand final, but I was pleased to improve from 41st to fifth.

“I learned a lot about how aggressive the racing is and how high the standard of driving is in Europe.

“Now I want to repeat my top five finish in the overall championship.”

To keep up to date with Crawley’s latest career news and results, visit harrycrawley.co.uk