LONG Marston speedster Nigel Moore has qualified for the CIK European Kart Championship finals at the Mariembourg circuit in Belgium on September 3.

The 14-year-old booked his place by finishing 15th overall in his qualifying round at Braga in Portugal despite being shunted out in the second final.

Out of 77 hopefuls from the Western European countries, he took 11th place in the time trials at Braga on his factory BRM race kart which sets his grid positions for the heats.

With a best of third place in the heats he was never out of the top eight, which gave him a starting position of ninth in the first final.

He converted that to a good seventh place, his starting position for the second final.

Moore said: "Nearly everyone had to take to the grass at the start of the second final to avoid an accident and I dropped to 13th but the new kart was going really well so I picked them off and reached third."

But those behind him slipstreamed past, demoting him back to sixth then another driver crashed into him, ending his race.

Moore, who is the points leader in the UK's BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Championship, added: "It was a gamble trying the different BRM kart but as the tyre rubber went down on the track it worked better and better."

With three simultaneous qualifying rounds for the different European regions, only the best of the drivers can get to the final 24 from each event so Moore was pleased with his work.