TEENAGE petrol head Daniel Rowbottom will be hoping to make an impact at Brands Hatch when he debuts in the SEAT Cupra Championship this weekend.

The 19-year-old, who comes from the village of Mamble near Kidderminster, will be making the step up from single seater racing to saloon cars when he puts pedal to the metal for local team DRM-MSport.

The SEAT Championship is the support race for the popular TOCA Touring Car Championship and Rowbottom is aiming to impress.

"I have been racing in a single-seater car for the last couple of years, which weighs half a ton and now I will be handling one that is twice that, so it's a new challenge," said Rowbottom.

"I think racing saloon cars gives me a broader chance of success in motorsport, because unless you have a lot of money it's hard to get into Formula One.

"But I am delighted to be racing with the team, there's a lot of good people here and I can't wait to get started."

Rowbottom goes into the championships with an impressive record in karting, winning his first national title at the age of eight and also securing the British Open and Super One Championships as a junior.

He moved onto the Radical single-seater cars, where he won four races and came second once in six starts.

He also won both rounds of the Burdito Croft and Silverstone Grand Prix events, setting a new lap record in the process.