Timo Jungling wins 2023 Junior Rotax World Championship title in Bahrain and plans to follow Max Verstappen’s route into FIA KZ2 karting next season

Rochester racer Timo Jungling is on track to fulfil his Formula 1 dream after becoming a karting world champion.

Fourteen-year-old Timo - named after F1 driver Timo Glock - is chasing a lifelong dream to race at the top level and his success in Bahrain is another step in the right direction.

Jungling - who has a brother named after Ralf Schumacher - returned home last week following his victory in the 2023 Junior Rotax World Championships, beating hundreds of competitors from across the world to take the prestigious title.

“Dreams really do come true!” exclaimed the teenager after his success.

“What a brilliant way to end the year. I’ve put so much effort into this and couldn’t ask for a better outcome. I can’t put into words how happy I am.”

With the win comes a test drive in Formula 4 but the youngster looks set to step up next year into FIA KZ2 karting - following in the footsteps of three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen.

Racing with gears will be a new challenge but that‘s unlikely to faze the young driver, with mum Nicole saying: “The harder you work the luckier you get. He is quite fearless and no matter what he does he excels at.”

The two brothers have previously been accepted into the British ski set-up but decided it wasn’t for them and Timo was a runner at county level. Brother Ralf is also a keen kart racer and a sporting all-rounder.

Timo - with a motorsport obsessed German father - hence the choice of names - started his racing career in bambinos at Bayford Meadows and Buckmore Park and has gone onto claim British and European karting championships before his world title.

He’s previously been taught by Lewis Hamilton’s coach in the same year that he won the British title and the young racer said: “My dream