WIMBORNE'S Craig Copeland is the BTELawline/Renault MSA British Junior Kart champion after sealing the prestigious crown during the final round of the season at Larkhall on Sunday.

The 15-year old, who has enjoyed an excellent year in the UK's premier junior karting championship, finished second in the first of the weekend's points-scoring finals and then opted to sit-out the second final to protect his position in the driver standings.

Under the rules of Formula JICA, the points-scoring system sees drivers 'drop' their two worst results of the year, but competitors aren't permitted to count exclusions as 'drop scores'.

So Copeland decided not to take the risk of being excluded from the results by an incident out on the track.

Having started the season with three finals victories to his credit, Copeland also took one other win and four other podiums to clinch the championship by nine points from nearest rival Adam Christodoulou from Lichfield.

The rain-affected final meeting at Larkhall saw Adam Batch (North Ferriby) and Matthew Bell (Morpeth) share the victor's spoils with a win apiece.

In the first of the finals, Batch took an early lead from second on the grid but was passed by Copeland at mid-distance. As the conditions worsened, however, Batch managed to pass Copeland on the last lap to seal his first win of the season.