SPLITTING his time between school work and karting, Arnside teenager Josh Smith leads a busy life.

But all of the 15-year-old's hard work has paid off after he scooped his first Junior X30 World Title in nail-biting fashion at the renowned Le Mans kart circuit in France.

The Dallam School pupil crossed the line just five hundredth of a second ahead of his rivals to complete an extraordinary season that has seen the talented youngster mix it with the very best.

“It was so nerve-wracking,” said Smith. “The gap was half a kart length, if the race had been one more lap I wouldn’t have won but it was such a great relief to see the chequered flag and it’s a massive weight off my shoulders after a tough year."

Entering his GSCE year at the Milnthorpe-based school, Smith has spent 2014 adding to his impressive résumé with victory in the MSA British Kartmasters Grand Prix.

Selected to join the prestigious Racing Steps Foundation talent programme at the start of the 2013, he has been running with the factory ART Grand Prix team in the KF Junior class.

Smith established himself as the undisputed ART pacesetter and when time allowed also competed domestically in the Junior X30 class, enjoying unrivalled success.

Driving with the RSF’s long-term karting partner, the ZIP Young Guns; Smith claimed three wins from four starts in the Junior X30 tour and Kartmasters glory gave him one of only 60 entries in the X30 World Finals.

Against rivals representing 15 different nations, Smith’s prior experience of the Le Mans circuit only amounted to half a days testing but that didn’t prevent him from setting the third fastest time in a rain-affected qualifying session before sweeping to a pair of hard fought victories and a close runner-up finish in three heat races.

Those results translated into a second place grid slot for the all-important finals - which he converted into a pole position for the grand final.

It was not all plain sailing as Smith lost his initial advantage to Belgium's Kenny Roosens on lap two before an accident further down the order brought out a full course yellow flag and bunched the entire pack together.

When the field restarted, the Cumbrian speedster picked his moment and grabbed the lead on the start/finish straight. He managed to pull away but fate had one more card to play and no sooner had Smith got a decent lead, a problem developed with his right front stub axle.

“The bearings in the right front stub axle collapsed and the whole stub started to work loose," said Smith. "Every time the kart turned left there was a massive vibration and I was worried the front wheel would fall off. I could see the guys behind catching me and I was worried they would slipstream past me on the start/finish straight."

With anxiety levels reaching fever pitch, Smith’s hobbled kart came out of the final corner with Gilles Magnus (Belgium) and Oscar Piastri (Australia) bearing down on him but the Englishman held on for a remarkable win.

“It’s a totally different feeling to winning any other race of even another championship," said a jubilant Smith. "I know that this year I am the best in the world in Junior X30 and it’s a good way to repay my family, the Zip Young Guns team and the RSF for their faith and support. I’d like to thank Grant Munro and Jamie Allen from ZIP but most of all the RSF, as without their funding and support none of this would have been possible. Who knows what future holds but I will always be able to say that I was a World Champion.”