Sixteen-year-old Charlie Forkner, of Cowley, Oxford, is making it big in Mini-moto racing.

Charlie gets up to speed on his powerful Super class Blata

In 2002 he won the ACU Championship and last year (2003) he shone in the competitive Lucky Devils series, finishing second overall in the production championship.

Racing has taken him to tracks as far afield as Cumbria and Suffolk.

He rounded off a busy season in Blackburn in December where he had two wins in the Industrial (3.4bhp) class, two wins in the Production class (7.5bhp) and a second place in the Super class (unrestricted), racing on an indoor kart track.

The bikes he rides are scaled-down superbikes, with 40cc engines that have a distant heritage of powering hedge trimmers. Distant, that is, as nowadays these tiny powerplants are specially made. They are as highly tuned as any race engine, often being water cooled and breathing through expansion chamber exhausts.

The top-of-the-range Super class has an engine that can pump out an amazing 12.5bhp. That's the forward motion.

The handling of these mini-machines is also amazing. When Charlie competes his Mini-motos on the longer, outdoor kart tracks, his hi-tech machines can use slicks, cut slicks, intermediates and full wets -- as the conditions demand.

Charlie is already making plans for this year with his supportive father, Clive.

Sponsors have already been signed up pre-season.

SLD UK.com, which is the sole importer of Blata Mini-motos, will be supplying bikes and spares to run alongside the Polini and ATM bikes that have already taken Charlie to such success. Gardias Engine Services, of Witney, are already busy preparing and tuning his engines.

It is not surprising that with racing in his blood, Charlie is studying motorsport engineering at Rycotewood College, Thame. He also works part-time for Oxford Karting, based at Oxford Stadium.