WHEN car enthusiast Daniel Campion saw the opportunity to become a top-of-the-range rally driver for the price of a set of tyres, it was something he could not turn down.

Campion, who is 27, saw an advert in a motorsport newspaper offering readers the chance to become a national Peugeot 206 Winter Cup rally driver in the ProSpeed Motorsport Rally Scholarship 2003.

More than 200 drivers entered, and after the first round of trials, Campion has made it to the next stage where 80 drivers will battle it out next Wednesday at Blyton Park, in north Lincolnshire, for one of the coveted six final places.

And Daniel, a heating engineer, from Welling, is confident he can win the scholarship. He said: “I do feel confident I can go all the way. I’ve done a rally school and came top of my class and my instructor said I’m good enough to take it to a higher level.

“I plan on winning it and am focused and determined to do so. I never thought I’d get a chance to do it and I’ll have to show what I can do on the day.” Having impressed instructors on both tarmac and gravel during his first trials for the scholarship, he has been invited back to the second round to prove himself again. Daniel said: “You have to be fairly fit and they test your skills in front of the camera, but the main thing is driving ability. “Round one went fairly well. I first went around in a Peugeot 206 on tarmac at an old airfield in Blyton Park, before driving a VW Golf GTi on gravel.

“Judges said that speed was not the only issue and were marking for braking and turning in the right areas as well.

“I have more experience on tarmac due to the amount of track days I’ve done but I did feel comfortable on gravel and was awarded high marks.

“I was nervous but confident at the same time. There was a varied range of ability but you could tell one or two had rallying experience as they had their own equipment with them. Round two will be a lot tougher though.” Daniel added: “The scholarship winner will be pampered by ProSpeed Motorsport’s 2002 British Championship class-winning team during the three events of the Peugeot 206 Winter Cup of 2003/04, while the successful driver will pilot a fully-prepared Group M 206 rally car, and will not have to pay a penny. “The team provides everything from car hire, co-driver hire and service crew, down to petrol, tyres, entry fees and insurance – worth more than £20,000!

“The scholarship is divided into three separate rounds. The first round, costing £199, was open to everyone. “It consisted of an introduction to driving techniques in the classroom, followed by a long period of instruction and assessment on both gravel and tarmac, when driving VW Golf GMs and Peugeot 206s.

“Six drivers will be invited back after next Wednesday’s round to take part in the final, where they will be under even more intense scrutiny.

“A panel of judges, including the 2002 British Rally Champion, Jonny Milner, will be present to choose a winner, based not only on driving ability, but attitude, interview skills and potential.

Daniel added: “I think it’s a really good initiative and it isn’t that expensive to do – it’s costing me £400.

“There should be more scholarships like this because people would not have the money or opportunities otherwise.” Daniel’s ambition is to reach the highest levels in rallying. He’s always had an interest in motorsport and cars in general. Since driving his first car at the age of 17 – a Ford Fiesta – it was not long before he bought a faster model, a 1990 Escort RS Turbo which he began to modify.

He said: “With my huge interest in rallying, I then decided to adapt a Mark 2 Escort, which was a hugely-successful rally car in the 1970s. This encouraged me to participate in test days at various race circuits around the country, such as Brands Hatch and Donington Park.

“The car I have now is a purpose-built race car – a Ford Sierra Cosworth, which has been heavily modified. But now I have been given the ultimate chance of a lifetime by ProSpeed Motor Sports to prove myself to the world that I can become the best.” Daniel concluded: “You either have the ability or you don’t. Even wet weather does not bother me as I like it when the car slides about.

“In this type of rallying, the best drivers stand out and all the best talent will shine through. Hopefully, it will be me.”