A LAD named after race legend Ayrton Senna is living up to his famous namesake with success of his own.

Young Ayrton Simmons is the new champion of the Madrid Torrejon Comer cadet championship.

The nine-year-old, with the help of dad Steve, romped to victory in seven from 16 races in Spain, where he lives.

It capped a great year for the Epping-born youngster, which has put him in sight of a chance to race next year for Great Britain in Dubai.

That is not a bad achievement against rivals older than himself.

Race engineer Steve divides his time between Jerez in Spain and Woodland Grove in Epping, where he lives during the week as an engineer for London Underground.

Proud Steve told Guardian Series Sport: “We beat a lot of teams paying big money.

“It’s great and makes us more determined for next year.

“But you have to love it because it’s not easy.”

Ayrton’s skill behind the wheel has drawn the attention of a team that competes at the top of motorsport.

He has been invited to attend a testing session by the Williams Formula One team early next year.

It made all the hard work worthwhile.

Steve and his son do eight hours per week of testing to get Ayrton’s 80cc, two-stroke kart, just right.

“It’s really good because we worked hard every weekend to make the changes we needed to win the races,” said the youngster.

“Dad and me and the others are a little team and we have won races well.”

The up-and-coming talent is well placed at present to chase his dream.

Williams only consider handing contracts to drivers who were racing competitively between the ages of six and nine years old.

That is because it is a key time of development for nerves which link the base of the spine and the brain The theory is that a driver will be more sensitive to the car on the tarmac if they raced during these formative years.

Next up for Ayrton is the Benelux Championship.

It is a competition that straddles the European countries of Holland, France and Belgium.