FOR most people, a year out of further education prior to university means a trip around the world and some exotic experiences of other cultures.

But for one teenager from Heighington, near Darlington, it has become his chance to be a world-famous rally driver.

A year ago this weekend, 19-year-old Guy Wilks was about to set out on his first competitive event at Croft Circuit in a newly-acquired Ford Ka, backed by his parents' garage, Philip Wilks. Now, the former trials rider has a string of impressive results behind him, culminating in a pair of national titles.

But perhaps the best recognition of his talents was that Wilks was chosen as one of the seven finalists for The Roger Clark Award - a scheme in memory of the British rallying legend and aimed at finding Britain's next world champion.

After a steady start to the year gaining valuable experience in local events, Wilks started to impress, with a series of fine drives in the ANCRO Rally Championship leading to him winning the Genesis Design Formula 1400 class on the penultimate round held in Northumberland.

He also took the ANCRO A5 class award and finished third in the ANCRO Formula 2 championship to convince the judges that he was worthy of a place in the Roger Clark Award finals. As a result, the teenager was the first driver to secure a place.

Once all the finalists were selected, they had to attend a finals day at the MIRA Research Centre in the Midlands, where all aspects of their performance were assessed by a team of rally experts including British champions Martin Rowe and Mark Higgins.

Wilks and his six fellow finalists were put through a series of driving disciplines, including making and reviewing pacenotes, as well as a 25-mile road awareness driving course and a 3.25-mile timed special rally stage.

In addition to their driving skills, they had to demonstrate the ability to make a presentation to potential sponsors and endure an in-depth interview by senior officials in order to assess their personality and attitude.

After the exhausting day, it was left to the judges to decide who won the £50,000 award and after hours locked in debate they still couldn't separate Wilks and Irishman Niall McShea. After even more deliberation, the panel came out in favour of McShea by the smallest of margins.

Undeterred, Wilks is planning an ambitious start to the 2001 season. He is heading off to Norway this weekend to the John Haugland Rally School, which will see him improving his snow and ice driving skills as part of his runners-up prize.

After returning to the UK, he will only be in the country for a few days before jetting off to Sweden to contest the second round of the World Rally Championship.

Thereafter, Wilks will be concentrating his efforts on the opening round of the British Masters Rally Championship, which gets underway in March, in his Ford Puma which, surprisingly, has yet to attract a major sponsor for 2001.

He said: "When it sunk in, I realised it was a monumental achievement to even be considered for the Roger Clark Award. If I had won, the accolade in itself would have been fantastic and the prize money would have come in handy to run the car this season.

"But it wasn't to be, so it's down to us to find the budget. My ambition now is to keep climbing the tree and whereas last year I was happy to settle for safe finishes, this year I really want to prove myself and see what I can do if I really try"