Cumbrian racer Simon Lawson has been selected by British Athletics for the IPC Marathon World Cup squad.

The event, which will be held at the London Marathon in April, will see Lawson line up alongside six-time Paralympic gold medalist David Weir in the British Athletics team.

Lawson - who took up wheelchair racing after a motocross accident in 2001 left him paralysed - says it's a "big honour" to have been named in the squad, and has his sights set on beating the 10th-place finish he earned in the event last year, with the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games just around the corner.

“It’s a big honour to be selected for the team – going back to my motocross days it would be like me getting picked for the 'des Nations'," he said.

“I’m hoping for top-five to be honest. I made a bit of a step forward last year to move into the top 10 in all the major marathons I did so the next goal is top-five and to finish with the leaders every time and be in the hunt at the end," he said. 

“At the end of last year I did the Chicago Marathon and got a personal best there – one hour, 30 minutes – and finished ninth. That’s what got me onto the squad really because I finished with the leaders, the top 10 all came across the line together. That was a good result."

Paralympic Head Coach Paula Dunn, meanwhile, indicated that the Marathon World Cup could be the start of a big year for those selected. 

“This will be great preparation for our athletes ahead of the IPC Athletics European Championships in June and the Paralympic Games in Rio just a few months later," she said.

“2016 is a huge year for the sport and we will be looking to get off to a strong start at the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup in London.”

Before then, though, Lawson - from Maryport - is set to compete in a marathon in Lisbon, Portugal, next month.

And with a few months still to go until the end of the qualification period, Lawson says his chances of booking his place in Brazil this summer currently look "pretty hopeful".

“They don’t name the squad until June and the qualification period runs until May but it’s looking pretty hopeful – I’ve got two qualifying times under my belt from last year in the marathon and I’ve had to fill out my measurements for my kit for Rio," he said.