The way his bid for CIK-FIA European Championship glory ended has sharpened karting ace Tom Joyner’s focus as he heads to France to try to retain his KF class world title this weekend.

The 22-year-old postman from Braintree became the 2013 KF World Champion – the pinnacle of world kart racing – when he triumphed in Bahrain last November and earned a place at the prestigious FIA end-of-year gala ball in Paris alongside the world’s greatest motorsport talents.

So he is keen to hold on to his crown at Essay in France this weekend at the 2014 CIK-FIA World Championships.

Unlike last year’s two-part event, it is a one-off race to become the pre-eminent kart racer on the planet this year and Joyner, who works at the Royal Mail Sorting Office in Braintree, will come into it on the back of a disappointing ending to his European Championship campaign.

A lack of power in the final round at the PF International circuit in Newark saw the Zanardi Strakka Racing team driver slip out of a podium place and he had to settle for fourth overall, however, he is now focused on bouncing back on the biggest stage of all.

He said: “The way the Europeans ended has really fired me up.

“I’ve never had a great result in the Europeans and I’ll try again next year, but my focus now is on the Worlds.

“It’s a one-off race at Essay and anything can happen but I’ll be looking to defend my title.

“There was no pressure on my shoulders last year, but now I’m looking to retain the title so it is a bit different.

“Had the Europeans gone better, I may have been a bit more complacent about it, but now I’m really fired up to do well.”

Joyner claimed his 2013 CIK-FIA World KF crown when he beat Max Verstappen – who will be racing in Formula One for the Toro Rosso team next year – to the title in a thrilling final race at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain.

It meant he went one better than his second-placed finish in 2012 and is now looking to retain his title this year.