Jack McGrath (9), of East Taieri School, finished second in the Cadet ROK class at the national schools championship at Tokoroa Raceway.
He finished behind the top-ranked racer in the class, Henry Fisher, of Christchurch. Jackson Culver, of Rangiora, finished third to complete a South Island clean sweep of the podium.
Wet track conditions caused a final championship race to be called off, meaning the final standings were decided by aggregated results over four qualifying heats.
Jack was racing in the Cadet ROK class of kart which is designed for drivers aged 6-9.
Coach Les Campbell said next year Jack would move up to the more powerful Vortex Mini ROK class, and the young racer was looking forward to the higher speeds.
‘‘Once he moves up, it won’t take him long to get on the front foot and be at the pointy end of the stick.’’
Jack’s podium was especially satisfying after he was cleaned out at the first corner when running second at the national sprint championship at Easter, Campbell said.
Father Paul McGrath said Jack was ‘‘pretty stoked’’ with his podium, especially after the DNF at Easter.
KartSport New Zealand president Graeme Moore said drivers, officials and volunteers deserved a pat on the back for holding the meeting in the high winds and heavy rain of the weekend.
More than 100 school-aged racers attended the event spread across the six classes being contested.
