FOR someone with a need for speed, driving a tractor doesn't really do the business for Robert Lawson.

So in order to get his fix, the North Yorkshire farmer takes to the track.

Thanks, in part, to coming runnerup in a national competition to find the best amateur driver in the country, Lawson, 28 and from Barton, landed a drive in this season's Elf Renault Clio Cup, one of the support races on the British Touring Car calendar.

Lawson, racing for Mardi Gras Motorsport, made his debut just a few short weeks after familiarising himself with the car and sent clear notice of intent to his rivals by notching sixth and eighth place finishes in the opening rounds at Brands Hatch. As a result, he is now fifth in the championship ahead of next month's third and fourth rounds at Oulton Park.

Lawson, who is sponsored by Bardon Aggregates and Bardon Concrete, doesn't hail from a motorsports family, but attributes his interest to driving motorbikes from a young age.

"It's something I have always wanted to do for years, but it's a very difficult thing to do if you are not from a motorsport background, " he said. "A lot of people, their parents have been rallying or racing, but I have no connections at all so I am having to open the doors myself.

"Growing up with motorbikes on the farm, that's where I think the interest stems from. My sister was into ponies and I was into motorbikes."

Lawson's fascination gathered pace and despite continuing the family tradition in farming, he was determined to make it one day as a racing driver.

"You do it for the thrill of driving at 100mph around a track, door to door, " he said. "As opposed to 20mph on the farm or sat on the A1 at 56mph in a truck with a speed limiter."

Lawson only tested in the car in February and so the learning curve has been very steep. Add to that the fact he is unfamiliar with most, if not all, of the circuits to be visited and it makes his opening achievements all the more noteworthy.

"A lot of people have got the advantage over me in that they have driven these race cars before and they have been round all the tracks, " he said. "Whereas I am in at the deep end because I am learning the car and learning the circuits."

Lawson said that if things go well it may come to the stage where he has to make a career decision - does he stick with farming or does he throw his lot in with motorracing.

"I need to see what this year brings, " he said. "The first round has been very encouraging. There's a long way to go yet and I know there's a lot more left in me. At the end of the day the key objective of the first meeting was to finish both races with a reasonable result.

"Now, we are approaching Oulton Park more determined to try and get on the podium."