Six-year old schoolboy Rashid Al Dhaheri has returned home to Abu Dhabi with a big trophy for his efforts in the Trofeo Academy Championkart at Ala Karting Circuit near Verona.

The youngster – known as Little Alonso – who is on the final stages of an intensive summer karting campaign in Italy, continued his busy schedule with 12 practice sessions driving more than 180km on the challenging circuit on the foot of the Alps.

In the first heat, starting 16th out of 25 drivers, Al Dhaheri gave a gutsy performance as he powered through the field to take fourth place.

From second place on the grid Al Dhaheri challenged for the lead in heat two, and managed to hold on to take second place – a good reward for a tough weekend in the 6-10 year-old category.