RISING motorsport star Lennon Docherty enjoyed a fine debut in a prestigious bike racing series by coming close to claiming a maiden podium place.

The St Columba's High School pupil, 15, took part in his first HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Championship races recently, and came away with a 30-point haul after posting seventh and fourth spot finishes.

Lennon, who is from Lochore, moved into the competition, which is a support class of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, for this year after accelerating to victory in the 2022 Bemsee (British Motorcycle Racing Club) Kawasaki Team Green Cup.

After a record of 15 race wins, and 11 more podium finishes, the talented youngster, who began racing in mini motos at the age of seven, was awarded the Sir Ben Hall Trophy, which is presented to a young rider that is deemed to be a potential professional champion of the future.

During the course of the season, Lennon was also given two wild card opportunities to ride for the Symcirrus Motorsport team, riding a HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Championship bike, finishing seventh in his first attempt, which helped him seal a place with the team for this year's Junior Supersport series.

After a successful period of testing in Spain, Lennon, who was named as the Young Sports Personality of the Year for 2022 at the Dunfermline and West Fife Sports Council Sports Awards, held in February, and who was recently feted as Benarty's Young Citizen of the Year for 2022, travelled to Silverstone for the opening races of the season.

Having qualified in fifth place, the teenager was at the sharp end of a 13-rider battle for the lead, finding himself in front at points during the race, but was pushed back to 11th on the penultimate lap after being pushed wide by another rider, before recovering to place seventh.

In race two, he managed to make up ground on the leading pack to find himself in front but, having what he described as losing "a lot of edge grip" on one of his tyres, he went on to finish fourth, which he said he was "well chuffed with", as he missed out on the podium by 0.103 of a second.

Lennon, who is sixth in the standings after the opening two rounds, will be back in action at Donnington Park, Leicestershire, over May 19-21.