Chris Wallington's motorcycle racing career has moved up a gear in the wake of a sensational performance in his latest race in Florida.

The 23-year-old from Southampton, who now competes at semi-pro level in the US, made his mark in a regional race in West Palm Beach last weekend by beating two of the top 250cc riders in the country.

In a field including five AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) full-time riders who compete in national races, the top tier of motorcycle racing in the States, Wallington raised a few eyebrows by beating two of the pros to finish third.

Now Wallington is planning to ride in all 13 US national races between March and October next year and, if his budget will allow, he aims to pit his abilities against the world's best in three international races in Britain, France and Spain.

Just months after returning to the sport which is his passion - having quit temporarily because of insufficient sponsorship - Wallington is heading for the big time.

"It's time for me to go to the next level," said Wallington. "Now I know I can do more than compete with national riders, I can beat them.

"And I will go into the national races expecting to get good results. I really believe I can finish in the top 10 for the season."

Wallington's confidence was drawn from getting the better of national racers Chris Hamilton and Jeff Johnson at West Palm Beach. And he has surprised himself with his progress since returning to the racetrack this year.

"When I got sponsored again, I thought it would take me years to get where I was before," he said. "In six months, it's not bad to get up there with national riders."

Wallington attributes much of his recent improvement to top mechanic Paul Riccio, who works for factory team GP Tech.

He amazed the Bermudian by offering him his help as a tuner at a race earlier this season and his work on Wallington's race-battered Yamaha TZ-250 has given the rider a huge boost.

Now Wallington is saving up to buy a new bike, built by Riccio, which he feels will take him a step further up the ladder.

"Paul has given me the step up I needed," said Wallington. "I'm hoping to have his bike for August and to use it in the nationals next year.

"I mean, Paul is the guy who builds the factory bikes, so effectively I will be riding on something like the factory riders."

Wallington has been travelling to the US to race in regional races roughly every three weeks this season.

He aims to take part in two national races before the year is out, in Virginia in September and the Race of Champions at Daytona in October.

Although Wallington is confident of getting results, he believed the level of competition would be "10 times greater" in the nationals as opposed to the regionals. International level would be a further step up of similar proportions, he added.

"Rich Oliver is the fastest AMA rider ever and the best he managed in international races was about third," said Wallington. "When he came back to the US, he was dominating again, winning races by half a lap.

"When I go to the international races next year, I don't expect to qualify. I just want to get a feel for it and see if I like it."