A series of collisions denied Braintree kart driver Tom Joyner the chance of defending his CIK-FIA World Championship title in France.

The 22-year-old was bidding to retain the World KF class crown that he won in Bahrain last year when he went head-to-head with the top karting talents on the planet at Essay in France last weekend.

It is one of the most prestigious titles in world karting and it looked as if Joyner was on course to achieve his goal at the start of the final race as he secured pole position with a dominant victory in the pre-final.

However, Joyner, who drives for the Zanardi Strakka Racing team, found himself bumped off the racing line and on to wet sections of the track on more than one occasion in the final and was only able to take ninth place.

Joyner, who works as a postman at the Sorting Office in Braintree, said: “Up until the final it went really well.”

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