JONATHAN Buck is not only blazing a trail for motor sport newcomers but is also doing likewise for the north of England.

The 35-year-old kitchen fitter from Bradford only took up racing 18 months ago but has already won the UK FBS Championship constructors' crown with Ukrainian-born Dmitrij Srienyj with one round to go and is hoping for an overall podium spot himself.

To add to this, Clayton-based Buck has won an all-expenses-paid trip to Greece for the Gymkhana Grid finals at Marathon over the last weekend this month, where he will be facing such luminaries as World Rallycross stars Petter Solberg, Andreas Bakkerud, Ken Block and Liam Doran.

Buck explained how he started in motor sport: "I had watched some videos on social media of a Subaru Impreza that was similar but older than mine and I fancied a go.

"I turned up at the Fueltopia Barrel Sprint event and gradually improved my car over the next few months, quickly becoming one of the top Gymkhana Grid drivers in the United Kingdom.

"This got me noticed not only by Dmitrij, who told his team to get me signed up for 2016, but also top UK Subaru tuner SCR Scoobyclinic Racing from Chesterfield.

"They not only agreed to sponsor me for this season but to also rebuild the engine and get my car ready for the Fueltopia Barrel Sprint, Formula G and Gymkhana Grid.

"The brake horse power has increased from 220 to 520, the car has been completely stripped down and now has only one seat."

Srienyj has already won the individual UK FBS Championship with one round to go – at Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire on Saturday, October 15 – but Buck is fourth and wants to finish on the overall podium.

As for the Greek trip, he said: "I entered a qualifying event at Wembley Stadium in mid-July and needed a podium place to go on the trip.

"I managed second place at the qualifier, just being beaten by a couple of tenths in the final, but the podium spot got me the qualification that I needed.

"Monster Energy are paying for my car transportation and the dream is to push for the top spot in Greece and make this more than just a hobby.

"I'm the only driver from around the north as the others are from the midlands and down south.

"The Marathon event will be all over TV and the internet with thousands of viewers, so it will hopefully showcase what I can do and get me noticed so that I can take my racing to the next level."