Donovan Dyer-Trott is quickly making a name for himself in his new sport of karting in Bristol, England.

The 12-year-old, who left Bermuda two years ago, took up the sport only since settling in Britain, and has steadily climbed up the junior rankings in the area.

“His rank is just for the TeamSport Bristol track, so purely within the Bristol area and at our centre,” said Martin Savage for TeamSport Indoor Karting.

“His rank changes month to month, but he has risen from his initial entry to become the highest-ranked Cadet kart driver. All other higher-ranked drivers compete in the 200cc Biz karts rather than the smaller-engine Cadet karts.

“I organise and run karting championships at TeamSport Indoor Karting in Bristol for drivers under the age of 16. Donovan has been racing at my championships for a couple of years now.

“In early 2017, he competed in the Junior Bristol Indoor Karting Trophy and finished third overall, taking one victory. He went on to compete at the TeamSport South West Junior Series across the southwest UK and in this series he took four out of five victories, and won the cadet kart championship.”

Dyer-Trott played several sports while growing up in Bermuda: football for Devonshire Colts and running, cricket, hockey and rugby for St George’s Prep. He was also part of the America’s Cup Endeavour sailing programme for three seasons.

“Donovan has always been very sporty,” Joanna, his mother, told The Royal Gazette.

“While keeping busy with other sports, he has always had his eye on racing cars. His bedtime stories were car magazines Top Gear and Performance Car, and he used them to learn to read so he could learn more about the pros and cons of carburettors and V8s, and how to customise engines.

“Donovan declared at the end of Primary 1 that now he could write his name he could leave school and start racing Formula One. I gently explained that wasn’t quite how it worked, much to his disappointment!”

Donovan got his first taste of kart racing after moving to England in June 2016, starting casually with TeamSport Bristol and then racing in their 125cc karts shortly after that.

“His first championship competition was last year where he did quite well considering his lack of racing experience,” his mother explained.

“This indoor season, there were two championships. The first competition was held at his home track of Bristol, where he finished in third place overall. The second championship was split between Cardiff, Wales, and Bristol — two races at each venue, with the final championship race at a neutral track in Birmingham. He won the second championship and was able to record a personal best at almost every race.

“Given his recent indoor successes, he has begun racing on an outdoor circuit called Castle Combe. He initially signed up for the five-session training package, which is required prior to getting your outdoor racing licence.

“However, during the first session, he was moved from the Novice to Expert group. By the end of the first session, he was signed off to race and joined in the championship races that afternoon. The outdoor karts are faster and the track is more technical.

“He has now raced twice and already improved his initial times by a half-second. He is going at just under 52mph about eight inches from the ground in a 200cc kart. Mother’s nightmare, but he loves it!

“His aim is to continue both indoor and outdoor karting, and eventually move up to two-stroke karts.”

• Nile Bean picked up two wins and a second-place finish in the three races in the Cadet Class of the Bermuda Karting Club racing at the Southside racetrack. Bean placed second behind Nathan DeCosta in the first race before winning the next two races as DeCosta placed third and second and Jacob second and third.

In the Tag Senior Class, Scott Barnes had three first-place finishes while Blake Horseman claimed three seconds and Richard Talbot three thirds.

Barnes was also in good form in the shifters class, taking three chequered flags while Ryan Rebello had two seconds and a third and Owen DeCosta a second and two thirds.

In the Tag Juniors, Ashley Horseman won all three races while Jorja Thomas had two seconds and a third. Jauza James recorded a second and two third-place finishes.

Travis Lewis, David Barboza and Delton White shared the top three places in the three races in the L206 Masters Class. Lewis won heat one before Barboza won the next two heats after finishing second in the opening race. Lewis was second and third, and Delton White third, third and second, in that order.