Oxford's Nathan Harrison came agonisingly close to securing a podium finish in his first car race at the opening round of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Brands Hatch.

Driving for Hillspeed Racing, the 15-year-old, from Botley, finished fourth behind Niall Murray after qualifying in ninth place on the grid, and making a sluggish start.

“I can’t deny that I was nervous,” he admitted. “It was the first start I had done in the Ginetta, and everything was a lot different from what I knew from karting.

“The first lap isn’t one I’ll remember with too much fondness, but the rest of the race was amazing.

“I was already reclaiming places before the safety car came out, but that allowed me to catch the pack, and my restart was good enough to move me up some more.

“To come from last to fourth on my debut, I’m over the moon.”

He had to settle for eighth place in race two with Charlie Robertson this time taking the honours.

“We had better pace at the end of the race, but it was difficult to find a way through,” he commented.

Standings (top ten): 1 N Murray 65pts, 2 G Gamble 48, 3 C Robertson 46, 4 S Fielding 39, 5 O Basey-Fisher 38, 6 N Harrison 36, 7 A Watson 34, 8 H Woodhead 30, 9 O Chadwick 30, 10 E Patterson 22.