A TEENAGER and professional racing driver from County Durham earned a spot on the podium at a national championship final.

Charlie Fagg, 19, finished third in the British GT Championship at Donnington Park, in Derby, with his McLaren teammate Michael O'Brien.

The pair shared a two hour race in the series' seventh round - with 24-year-old Michael up first, and Charlie second.

Racing a Tolman Motorsport McLaren 570S GT4, they came into the final race in fourth place in the championship and within 15 minutes to the end were leading due to penalties to the championship leaders.

However, the leaders from Century Motorsport managed to gain fifth and eighth place respectively - securing their first and second championship titles and leaving the McLaren pair just 15 seconds off the lead.

Charlie, who is originally from Durham, said: "The race was really good. A lot of things happened to other cars whereas we just ran like clockwork with no problems.

"To finish that close was really good and really gutting."

Part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, Charlie, who is now living in Daventry, in Northamptonshire, has two races next month to complete for the China GT Championship.

Meanwhile on the track at the weekend Sedgefield father and son team, Swanflight, got behind the wheels of their Audi TTs for the final race Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup 2018.

Owen Walton, 27, finished up fifth in the championship while dad Simon Walton, 53, ended in 16th place having crashed out of the previous round.