DRIVING ace Richard Merrick has steered a steady path to his most successful season yet in national autograss racing.

The 31-year-old Bransford MOT tester has proved unstoppable in a Rover Metro enhanced by two Honda Blackbird motorbike engines.

He has racked up a series of fine results at venues ranging from Tenby to Yorkshire and Telford to Cardiff, racing in class seven that allows an unlimited engine capacity.

Merrick was third at the National Autograss finals and second in the British Championship.

He also picked up the Midland Autograss Promotions League title and was crowned Radford Autograss Class Seven club champion.

He believes his experience over a decade in the class has eventually reaped rewards with his finishes improving year by year, culminating in qualifying for the national finals a second time.

Merrick said: "I had bad luck at the start of the national finals and ended up going from last place to finish third.

"And I've been plugging away in the British Championship but couldn't challenge for first place in the end.

"I used to race a car with a Rover V8 engine in it but I've built the twin engine car and it's a much more competitive machine. The performance is something else to be fair.

"My experience over the years has paid off. I'd like to get the British Championship next year.

"My main rival is having a year off so hopefully I can go one better."

Autograss racing is a popular form of amateur motorsport that involves zooming around quarter-mile oval tracks in a field.

The class seven section is one of the biggest crowd-pleasers with drivers challenged to cram the most powerful engines into the lightest body shells.

Radford Autograss Club, based at Westol Hall Farm near Inkberrow, was founded in 1968 by a group of local lads who raced around fields.