Rhys Owen learns tough but important lessons at Ultimate Karting Championship

Rhys Owen had a tough weekend in the first round of the Ultimate Karting Championship.

With 68 of the top drivers from the UK lining up, Rhys was the youngest driver on the grid.

His aim was to make the top 34 after the heats to make the Super final.

Friday practice was difficult to get a good set up due to the weather been so mixed so the track was never fully dry.

This mixed weather would continue throughout the weekend.

Saturday's first heat saw Rhys start from 18th and he battled hard to come away with 22nd but learnt a lot about how hard the racing after moving up to this level.

Heat two was staged on a wet track where Rhys started 10th and was inside the top 15 when another driver made contact with him half way down the straight, forcing him to have a hard impact with the barrier.

The race stopped so the medics could attend to Rhys.

After a checking over he was given the all clear to take the re-start with some quick work from the mechanics to get the kart ready.

Rhys finished 18th.

Pre-final, Rhys needed to finish 16th to stand any chance of making Sunday's Super Final.

Starting in 28th position, he drove the wheels of the kart to get up to 17th place but with two laps to go made a little mistake which dropped him back to 23rd.

After a very intense weekend Rhys walked away with lots learnt and will be pushing for the Super Final at the next round at Warden Law on April 15-17.