By Ben Philip

A schoolboy has put himself in pole position to be one of the rising stars of motorsport.

Aston Sharp, eight, from Aberdeen has exploded onto the Scottish karting scene.

His parents gave him his first go-kart when he was just four years old - since then he's been hooked.

Last month he became the youngest ever cadet to win at the Scottish Kart Championships.

He said: "I was in pole for the final and I got a two and a half second lead and then I ended up winning by four hundredth of a second.

"Coming round the last corner, I felt really happy and when I got into the pits and realised I had won, I was crying with happiness - it was such a good feeling."

It has been quite the introduction for Aston who recently moved up to the cadet category from the bambino class.

Putting in countless hours of practice at Grampian Kart Club near Banff, he was chosen to be Lewis Hamilton's "grid kid" at the British Grand Prix earlier this year.

Aston added: "Racing gives me such a good feeling and overtaking and coming near the front.

"It feels like a good sensation in your tummy - it feels nice.

"It feels nice to be going fast rather than running and getting tired."

Motor racing runs in the family. Aston's Father, Ryan, had a successful career with wins in the Formula Renault World Series and World GT.

Admitting he's now much happier supporting from the sidelines, clocking up some 25,000 miles this year travelling as family to competitions around the UK.

He said: "Aston's achievements this year have surprised everyone - my wife, everyone else involved in karting.

"We were expecting to have some good fun and good races, but not the success we've had this year.

"We were able to give him this opportunity and he enjoys it and is successful, but the minute if he decided to stop, we would stop as it's not a sport you can do half heartedly."

Aston will continue to race on the junior circuit, vying for a place in the British Kart Championships next year.