SIDCUP karting ace Thomas Grainger secured a place in the top 10 of the world rankings after his appearance in the world finals in Italy this month.

The Hurstmere Foundation School pupil qualified for the event, which is held at Castelletto di Branduzzo near Milan, after finishing third in the British national easykart championship.

Grainger endured some early teething problems in Italy having been pushed off and also crashing into a wall during qualifying.

He started 18th in the B final and made his way up through the pack to come first, although he cut a kerb and picked up a 10 second penalty, which resulted in him finishing second.

Grainger was now eligible to compete in the A final, where he stared 30th on the grid and once again raced through the field, finishing in eighth place, which is his new world ranking.

He said: “It was a very tiring five days but very enjoyable.

“I would like to thank Hurstmere Foundation School in Sidcup for granting me the time off in order to compete in this event.”