He may only be 18, but Tauranga's Jordan Grant is making his mark in the world of motorsport.

He recently won the Junior Champion's title at the MotorSport NZ ClubSport Championship for the second year in a row.

Last year, Jordan was a student at Otumoetai College when he placed first in a 1991 Peugeot 205 1.6 GTi lent to him by family friend Neil Rogers.

Now, the trainee mechanic has moved on from both high school and the Peugeot to drive his own 2007 Suzuki Swift.

'I bought it damaged before fixing it up and building it into my race car,” he says, rattling off a list of improvements, including a new rear floor, bonnet and bumper as well as a roll cage.

The compact car is ideal for the motorsport disciplines Jordan races in, such as motorkhana, in which a competitor navigates their car around a coned course roughly 100 metres long at low speeds, usually in first gear, and at times in reverse.

'A smaller vehicle is better, as the courses are quite tight and technical.”

He says the accessibility of the sport is one of its attractions, with most cars eligible to take part.

'With the Bay of Plenty club you can turn up to a motorkhana event in your standard everyday car, and do well in it,” he explains.

As Junior Champion for 2018, Jordan also has the opportunity to compete overseas in Indonesia this August, in the 2018 Asia Zone Auto Gymkhana Championship.

The prize covers their entry, airfares, accommodation and a vehicle to use during the competition.

'It should be a good experience,” he says. 'It'll be my first time out of the country, so I need to get my passport!”

In the future he says he hopes to head down the rally route, following the likes of Hayden Paddon and David Holder.

To find out more about motorsport in the Bay of Plenty, visit the local club's website at: www.mbop.org.nz