Ashford's Mackenzie Taylor has firmly marked himself out as a young racing talent to watch in 2008, after finishing fifth in the European kart season's annual curtain-raiser, the Winter Cup at Lonato, near Lake Garda in Italy, last weekend on February 16-17.

The 14-year-old was up against a quality field of 100 of the world's best up-and-coming drivers and did not disappoint.

Mackenzie, a Sunbury Manor School pupil, said: "It was the first time I had raced at the event and the standard was very, very high.

"A Winter Cup win is something that every kart racer wants on their CV and, because it is the first major race of the season, everyone raises their game for it."

And it wasn't just the other drivers Mackenzie had to compete with, but also the extreme cold.

He said: "Despite it being sunny, it was freezing -nearly minus 2C! That made just hanging onto the steering wheel pretty tough at times - especially during the two finals, which were very long races."

In timed qualifying, Mackenzie recorded the fourth-fastest time in his group, which he then converted into fourth and first places in his heats.

These results put the youngster third on the grid for his semi-final, in which he finished ffith overall, having driven a canny race to keep out of trouble and keep his powder dry for the final.

Speaking about the build-up to the biggest race of his career to date, Mackenzie said: "I knew that the guys around me were very fast - especially Aaro Vainio, Kevin Ceccon and Brandon Maisano - they're very experienced too.

"But we knew we had more to come from the kart and the motor, and we made some set-up changes that would give us that extra pace in the final."

His optimism was not misguided. At the start, Mackenzie got off a flyer and emerged out of the first corner in fifth.

By the next, he was up into fourth and in a group of five karts pulling away rapidly from their pursuers.

As Matteo Beretta assumed the lead, Mackenzie pounced to take second position. With fewer than 10 of the 28 laps remaining, Mackenzie's pressure on the leader paid off and he took the lead.

However, the Flying Finn, Vainio, had glued himself to Mackenzie's rear bumper, and he soon forced a mistake.

Mackenzie ran wide going into a corner, and the Finnish star was through.

As the race ran towards its conclusion, Mackenzie found himself in a massive scrap for the remaining podium places, with drivers swapping places, corner after corner.

As his group exited the last corner of the last lap, Mackenzie was in fifth as the chequered flag waved.

Although clearly disappointed, he remained upbeat and philosophical: "It was one of those races where any one of us could've ended up on the podium.

"Perhaps I got into a fight for the lead too soon and should have hung back and waited, but that's my inexperience (it was only Mackenzie's fifth full race in Europe).

"Still, I have shown that I can run at the front and mix it with the big boys. I'm going to learn from this and hopefully, when I go back to Parma (for the Margutti Trophy in March), I will be back on the podium."

Visit Mackenzie's new-look website - mackenzietaylor.co.uk - to follow his fortunes throughout the 2008 season.