Seven-year-old Maria Ruberto is showing the boys how it’s done in the world of karting.

Little Maria - unmistakable in her bright pink helmet - has gone from the back of the grid to the front in less than two years.

She’s won the Kent Championship - believed to be the first girl to do so - and now leads the Total Karting Zero Championship, a new electric series, after taking the first two rounds.

The Gravesend schoolgirl, a pupil at St John’s Primary, has made rapid progress since her first race in December 2019.

Her maiden victory came at Buckmore Park in July last year, winning the bambino class and setting the lap record. She’s been flying ever since.

“That gave her a real confidence boost,” said mum Jo.

“From that point on, she’s really developed.

“They held the Kent Championships over three rounds and she won at Lydd and Bayford Meadows and was second at Buckmore, so she won that and we think she’s the first girl to do it.

“This year we’re concentrating on the electric championship, which is the only one in the country, and she’s won both rounds so far.

“Karts will end up going electric so we thought we’d get ahead of the curve.”

Maria reaches speed of 42mph in bambino karting and that will rise to 56mph when she steps up to cadet class.

She clearly has a flair for the sport and is particularly strong in the wet.

“She absolutely loves it,” said Jo. “I don’t know how she keeps the kart in a straight line.

“You watch her whizzing round in her big helmet, which makes her head look twice the size, and she chucks it round corners.

“It took time to get her confidence - the boys are naturally more aggressive and fearless - where the girls think ahead a bit more and perhaps hesitate a bit but she’s got over that.

“You need to trust yourself when you’re throwing a kart into corners.

“She loves the wet. A lot of the other kids spin out but she keeps it in a straight line.

“She actually hopes it’s going to rain, which is the opposite to most people.

“She won the last electric race in the wet by 40 seconds where she was so much quicker than everyone else.

“I probably get more nervous than she does. I just want her to have fun and do her best.

“She’s learned so much from karting - coordination, reactions, concentration - and it’s taught her how to lose, too, which is important because you can’t win every race.”

Maria’s dad, Danny, an ex-Formula Ford driver, got the youngster into racing.

“He is 100 per cent her No.1 fan,” added Jo. “He’s the one fixing the kart and pushing it to the grid.”

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