Thomas Merritt makes the transition from karts to cars this weekend, but he’s already been busy off track.

Kings Hill racer Merritt, 14, begins his 2024 campaign in the British Racing and Sports Car Club Fiesta Junior Championship with Race Car Consultants at Brands Hatch fresh from teaming up with air ambulance charity KSS (Kent Surrey Sussex) to promote speed awareness and road safety.

It’s a cause close to his heart with the Merritt family experiencing the lifesaving work KSS does first hand after his grandmother was airlifted to hospital following a serious road collision in 1998.

Merritt said: “Whilst I love driving fast and racing around a circuit, I am aware of the danger this can cause on our roads.

“I am thrilled to be able to use my platform to raise awareness of this fantastic charity and the lifesaving work they do. I’d like to thank the KSS team for the opportunity to work with them and I’m excited to see what we can do together in the year ahead.”

KSS has launched an urgent £1million fundraising appeal, ‘Buy it for Life’, to raise the final funds needed to secure the future of its helicopter and enable it to reach more patients and save even more lives across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

To donate, and have your name on its air ambulance helicopter, go to aakss.org.uk/helicopter