THE Racing Steps Foundation-backed Zip Young Guns kart racing team is joining forces with ART Grand Prix for the 2012 season.

The tie-up with the renowned French single-seater squad, which is making its international kart racing debut in the KF, KZ and mini-kart categories, signals a switch to ART Grand Prix’s own-design kart for the British team.

The new karting venture will benefit 15-year-old RSF drivers Ben Barnicoat, Ricky Collard and Weymouth’s very own Sam Webster, who will all be campaigning the ART Grand Prix chassis in UK, European and CIK-FIA events.

The 2012 race programme includes the South Garda Winter Cup, the MSA Super 1 KF2 Championship, the WSK Euro Series, and the CIK-FIA U18s World Karting and European Championships, plus the CIK-FIA World Cup.

All three RSF drivers will also race with the Armando Filini-managed ART Grand Prix factory team in the CIK-FIA U18s World Championship and the RSF Zip Young Guns in the MSA KF2 Championship in the UK.

The first UK race for the drivers will be the Winter Series meeting at Shennington, which is due to take place from March 9-11.

RSF founder Graham Sharp said: “ART Grand Prix is one of the most successful teams in single-seater racing outside Formula One and the Zip Young Guns have an equally impressive record in international karting.

“Following this arrangement our drivers will now benefit from the technical and competitive strengths that each brings to the partnership.”

Nicolas Todt, co-owner of ART Grand Prix, added: “The ethos of our company is to prepare young drivers for the pinnacle of motor racing.

“So it is only natural that we should want to get involved at grassroots level where their journeys begin. In this way we can find and develop the drivers with the potential and determination to make it to the top of our sport.”

Since its inception ART Grand Prix has helped nurture the talents of Formula One drivers Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil and Nico Hulkenberg.