A TEENAGER bagged two national titles after holding his nerve in a nail-bitingly tense finale to the season.

Joe Francis, 13, from Backford, won the ultra-competitive Aprilia Superteens Championship by just one point and also took home the accompanying Nitro Newcomers title.

Previous winners of the Superteens series, open to riders aged 12 to 18, include MotoGP stars Casey Stoner and Cal Crutchlow.

Joe, who is in his first season of road racing, entered the final round at the Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire with a 30-point advantage over closest rival Tom Oliver. But the teenager faced a catalogue of setbacks throughout the course of the weekend, including two crashes as well as suspension, clutch and radiator problems with his bike.

It all came down to the fourth and final race of the weekend on Sunday, which saw Joe reel in Oliver and beat him to second place on a photo finish, meaning he clinched the title by a solitary point.

Neston High School pupil Joe, who is funded by bike insurance specialist Bennetts, said: “Everything that could go wrong this weekend did, but I’ve worked really hard all season. I’m really excited that I won the championships and I can’t wait to get back on track in a new series next season.”

Joe is now pondering his options for a step up in class next year.