Beauly teenager Oliver Stewart has been selected as one of 12 kart racers from around the world to take part in a talent shootout event in Spain next month.
Stewart has been headhunted for the Richard Mille young talent academy shootout at the Navarra Race Track from October 11-13, following a string of excellent performances this year.
The three-day event, in which Stewart is the only British driver selected, will see him undergo physical and mental assessments, a driver interview and four sessions in an F4 race car.
The final shootout is narrowed down to the top three where a final shootout on track takes place, with a place in the 2022 Spanish F4 Championship at stake for the winner.
The invitation comes after the 14-year-old earned a place at the World Kart Finals in Italy later in October.
That came after Stewart won the Little Green Man series last month, after securing his second victory of the season in the final round at Little Rissington.
He is also second in the standings for the British Championship with only two rounds to go.
Stewart competes at national level in the Junior X30, which is the top junior class in the country covering drivers between the age of 14 and 17.
Stewart is relishing the event, which takes place from October 18-23, at the Adria track near Venice.
Stewart said: “I’ve just won the British green man championships which is one of the biggest awards in karting.
“That gives me a ticket to go to the world championships in Italy, where it’s a one weekend event.
“In the world championships I will be racing in the senior category as 14 and above can go to seniors.
“In the class I’m in 15 is the maximum age, so it depends on what the team want me to do.”
While a number of his competitors have continued to travel abroad since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Stewart has remained within the UK on a limited schedule.
Stewart’s family are keen to secure further financial support in order to allow him to compete in races further afield.
Stewart, who has racked up more than 50,000 miles in travelling to races over the last two years, is hopeful his upcoming calendar will resemble more normality.
He added: “The rules have been really strict. Nobody has been allowed to race in a different country, I have only been able to race in England.
“We were OK, but every time we came north of the border we would get tested just for the safety of everyone else.
“A lot of the rounds were cut off, so it was a much shorter championship for both the LGM and the British Championship.
“Everything is starting to normalise and get back to the way it was. It’s not looking like a problem in the future.”
Stewart has the opportunity to end the year with further success in the British Championship, where he is only behind Daniel Guinchard with only two rounds to go in Lincolnshire on October 9-10.
Stewart is keen to make the most of his chance, adding: “I’m sitting second in the British Championship with one round to go. It’s a double header round, with four point-scoring opportunities of 65 points.
“The heats and the final are on the Saturday, and then on the Sunday there will be another set of heats and another final.”
