KARTING king Daniel Pepper is revved up for his shot at the national Super One series.

The 22-year-old Kirkby driver will battle against some of the country’s top racers in the televised Senior TKM class.

Pepper, the son of sand and grass track motorbike racer John, has made an impact on the karting scene since his debut in 2013.

He claimed the Senior TKM class of the Cumbria Karting Racing Championship in his first year, despite having surgery midway which caused him to miss a crucial round.

In 2014, he was runner-up in this same championship, before being top again in 2015, only for the championship to be nullified for technical reasons.

He went on to compete in the Northern TKM and, having proven himself in the CKRC, Pepper is now gunning for success on the bigger stage in the Super One Series, where he will race in six rounds from Rowrah in West Cumbria to GYG in Wales.

“I’ll be racing against some of the best drivers there are in karting,” said Pepper, whose first race will be on the familiar Rowrah track in March. “Jenson Button and Jason Plato have both raced in the Super One TKM – there have been some extremely good drivers in the past.

“This is my first year, so I don’t expect to win anything, but if I can get into the mid-pack, that would be brilliant.”

Pepper will regularly clock speeds of close to 80mph in his 115cc machine, with his seat just centimetres from the floor as he races round the circuits.

It is a challenge he is looking forward to, and the BAE Systems worker added: “I’ll be racing for Klaassen Motorsport, which should be interesting.

“I was going to go as a privateer originally, but I thought I would give myself the best possible chance with them.

“I have to be realistic, I am a rookie in my first year, so my chances of winning are remote. But I have a two-year plan – this is the year to learn and then hopefully next year I can build on that and do better.”