JENSEN Button may have finally won his first Formula One Grand Prix and Sevenoaks' Mike Conway is a step away from sealing the Formula Three title but there is a new man right on their bumpers.

Teenager Richard Bradley is turning heads in the world of go-karting and has started the new season in a fashion sure to keep the attention on him.

The Blackheath youngster kicked off his inaugural year in the junior Intercontinental A (ICA) formula with a second place at the Irish Kart Grand Prix.

Held at Nutts Corner, County Antrim, the season opener consists of five races and it is not the first time Richard has raced at the circuit.

County Antrim is in fact a happy hunting ground for the 15-year-old.

He said: "In 2003 I won in Cadets class here and then Mini-Max in 2004 so it's a lucky circuit for me and was great to be back."

In race one the reigning Kartmasters GP champion started at the back of the grid but worked his way through the field to take third at the chequered flag.

He repeated this feat in the second heat, leading for the majority of the race, until a stuck accelerator forced him wide into one of the corners and despite keeping his kart on the track, he lost two places.

In the third heat Richard put the mechanical failure and disappointment behind him and powered home to victory with a winning margin of almost five seconds.

His performances saw him line up second on the grid for the pre-final but the pupil at Colfe's School, Horn Park Lane, Lee, was about to learn a lesson.

As the pack accelerated toward the line preparing to start, Richard found himself about 10m further up the road than pole-man Isaac Lyons.

He said: "It was my inexperience. You don't realise the power of an ICA kart.

"When I put my foot down the kart was like a rocket and I was put to the back for massively jumping the start."

There was also a disaster at the first corner when Richard was punted out of the race.

Able to re-start, he made a mature and very important decision.

He said: "I could see that the track was drying but suspected more rain would fall, so I pulled out of the race to save my tyres."

It was a call worthy of a meteorologist as the heavens opened causing havoc on the track.

Starting from the back for the grand final, Richard found himself driving through spray, straight into a crash.

However, he recovered putting in a blistering drive from last place to take second at the flag.

He said: "I just ran out of laps to catch the leader Raymie Eastwood.

"Still, it's all very promising and I'm very pleased, you can't win them all but this was a good start."

He added: "Most of these guys know this place like the back of their hands and I haven't been here for two years."

Richard, who first sat in the driving seat aged eight and made his professional debut in 2000, is now preparing for the WSK series finale on September 17 at Jesolo, near Venice.

It's his first ICA race in Europe and his maiden visit to the Italian track and he said: "I've never been there before, so it'll be another good experience, I hope."

He also hopes to move onto the full ICA formula next season on the next step to his ultimate ambition - to be professional sportscar racer, of course.