SUPERKART driver Ben Willshire has had a tough time so far in the national championships as he tries to improve on his fifth-place finish in the 125cc class last season.

He is currently 13th in the standings after the first two rounds and is hoping to move into the top 10 after the next meeting at the Anglesey Coastal circuit later this month.

In the second round at Snetterton, despite a lack of pre-race day testing, the Basing-stoke driver managed to qualify his Bayliss Ware Superkart in a respectable 14th position on a dry track.

However, by the afternoon, the Norfolk circuit required a full wet set up.

Willshire was able to make a remarkable drive through the pack and with three laps left had moved into fifth spot.

The following day brought even more treacherous weather conditions.

Willshire started from eighth on the grid, which had been decided by the fastest lap times drivers managed in race one.

He was confident of making good progress until water in the engine’s air box began to cause a misfire.

The Basingstoke driver was able to hold off pressure from other competitors and had a great wheel-to-wheel scrap with Neil Robinson.

The two drivers were separated by only 0.03 seconds as they crossed the finish line as Willshire limped home in 10th.

In his first outing on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, the Basing-stoke driver was running in the top 10 in both races, but failed to finish either due to an exhaust cracking in race one and wheel stud failure in race two.

Once again this season, Willshire’s RG Racing team have Bayliss Ware as title sponsors, with long-term partners System Store Solutions Ltd, NGK Spark Plugs, Alpha Sport Psychology and Demon Tweeks all back on board.