YOUNG Dan Baldwin is making a splash in the world of drag racing -- at the age of only 12!

Dan, from Welland near Malvern, has entered the junior drag bike series at the Shakespeare County Raceway near Stratford-upon-Avon -- the first series of its kind in this country.

In the first event of the series he reached the final as fastest qualifier, only to be beaten when his bike failed to start in the final.

Father Dave, who also competes, said: "It was the first race he had lost -- he would probably have won had he got it going."

Dan uses a custom-built drag bike powered by a Yamaha RD125 DX engine, capable of speeds up to 72mph over a shortened course of one-eighth of a mile.

He hopes to progress to race full-size drag bikes one day. The next round of the series is on June 14-15.

Dave Baldwin finished runner-up in the Pro ET section at the same meeting, defeated in the final by Worcester's Lee Huxley.

For Huxley and the Top Banana team it was his first win of the season in the 1932 Ford Roadster with a 7.6-litre Ford V8 engine, competing against 15 other drivers.

He now leads the championship going into the next round at Santa Pod from May 24-26.

Lee's father Brian, although qualifying fifth of 15 drivers, was beaten in the quarter-finals of the Super Street class.