Two teenage drivers are being sponsored by Wigton Motor Club in their 2018 motorsport programme.

The new initiative is another exmaple of the dynamic thinking from the Cumbrian club that has 850 members who take part across a wide variety of events.

Each year, the club has donated thousands of pounds to charity but, this year, they have decided to use some of the money to support Sam Kirkpatrick, 17, and 19-year-old Jack Palmer.

Sam, of Brigham, Cockermouth, will compete in the MG Trophy Race Series.

He is a Keswick School student and hopes to go to university to study accountancy.

Having raced in karts since he was eight, he moved into cars in 2016, where he raced in the Junior Saloon Car Championship in a Saxo under the watchful eye of former British Touring Car champion Chris Hodgetts.

Last year, he raced in the Junior Saloon Car Championship with MMR racing, where he finished third overall.

This season, he's contesting the MG Car Club Trophy Championship in the competitive ZR170 class, a well-organised and hard-fought series with huge grids over 12 races at six different tracks, which starts at Silverstone on Saturday.

Jack, meanwhile, is currently doing a four-year advanced mechanical engineering apprenticeship at Iggesund Paperboard in Siddick, near Workington.

He's now in the final year of his apprenticeship and recently passed his Higher National Certificate in engineering.

From around the age of 10, he helped his dad in the pits, preparing his car for circuit racing. After navigating for his dad, he moved into the driving seat at 14.

At 17, he passed his driving test first time and was then in a position to take part in Targa rallies and has been successful in these events, winning his first class in March 2016.

This year, Jack has entered the BTRDA British Autotest Championship for the first time.