KART champion Ross Worswick has moved his motorsport career up a gear with a switch to single-seater racing in 2006.

And the 16-year-old QEGS pupil stunned his rivals with a brilliant second place on his debut at Mallory Park.

Ross son of former BOSS Formula driver Tony took part in the annual Plum Pudding races in a Formula Renault bought by his dad.

Despite lining up 26th on the grid after positions were decided by receipt of entry, Ross charged from the back of the field up to second place in the first Open Single Seater race.

Although a spin down an access road dropped him down the order, he still finished just five seconds behind the winner.

But the Blackburn teenager made no mistakes in race two, harrying experienced driver Ray Rowan all the way to the chequered flag to take second and a place on the podium.

"To win on your debut is everyone's dream but second place takes some beating!" said dad Tony.

Ross's debut followed his best-ever season in karting, when he clinched two of the sports most prestigious titles, Kartmasters and the TKM Festival.

"It's a big step from karting to single-seaters but Ross wasn't fazed at all," he explained.

"In the second race he pushed Ray very hard, making him drive very defensively.

"The idea of entering the meeting was to take it steady and get acclimatised to the new car. But once the green light went on, I think that went straight out of Ross's head!"

Tony has acquired the two Formula Renault cars used last season by the highly-respected Comtec team, and plans to race both in the 2006 Formula Renault Championship, which supports the British Touring Car Championship.

Run to strict regulations using a Tatuus chassis and a 2-litre, 195bhp Renault engine, the series is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost junior single-seater categories, launching the careers of current McLaren F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen, Williams F1 driver Antonio Pizzonia and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Guy Smith.

"Ideally, I'd like to have Ross in one car and a young up-and-coming driver in the other," added Tony.

"The series is well-supported and the championship is shown live on both terrrestial and satellite television and is the perfect launchpad for any aspiring competitor."