A CHORLEY motorsport enthusiast has hit the road to a career in Formula 1 racing after spotting an article in a car magazine asking for wannabe drivers.

Lee Watkins, 22, spotted the article in Autosport magazine, asking 'So you want to be an F1 driver?', and eagerly sent off his details.

Now not only could he find himself burning rubber round the chicanes of Silverstone, he could also be in gear for a TV career, as two terrestrial channels have already showed interest in filming the application procedure, in a similar series to ITV's Popstars.

Lee said: "I have always been interested in motorsport and my life revolves around cars in one way or another.

"While at school I worked at a garage and have always enjoyed karting, but I knew it would be difficult to get into professional racing without funding."

Lee said he has investigated motorsport courses, but said the cheapest he could find cost £3,000, and without that sort of money his dream seemed destined to remain just that. But the article by Worcester-based Classic Motorsport could change all that. The company runs the Tyrell Grand Prix racing team, and partner Tim Matthews said they came up with the idea to give a chance to someone who doesn't have the finances to get into racing.

Mr Matthews said: "We're trying to open up motorsport for people who are genuine non-licence holders."

So far more than 200 application have been received, and every one is guaranteed an interview. 1,000 people will go through a vigorous fitness programme, from which 300 will be selected to go karting and eventually two people will get to test drive their F1 car. One will then be selected as a driver while the other will become the reserve.