A Kirkcaldy teenager is the first recipient of a new motorsport scholarship aiming to help the cream of the country’s young talent.

Knockhill Racing Circuit has announced details of the AJF Motorsport Scholarship, the brainchild of Kirkliston man Alex Forrest.

The Forrest family name has a long history of involvement in Scottish motor racing stretching back to the 1960s and the heyday of the now defunct Ingliston circuit.

At that time, the Forrest family garage business in Kirkliston was famous for the racing achievements of Alex’s brother Ian at the wheel of his Drambuie-backed Hillman Imp.

Ian, operations manager at the Fife circuit, still races successfully.

“After my father died, the family instigated the Sandy Forrest Trophy in memory of dad but I have wanted to put something more back into Scottish motor racing, hence the birth of this scholarship,” said Alex.

So Alex, brother Ian and long-time friend and former British Formula 3 competitor Bryce Wilson have put together a unique reward to help identify and help with the careers of promising young racing drivers.

“I am absolutely delighted and somewhat proud to be able to offer this support and over the forthcoming years I am certain we will be instrumental in helping to discover and give professional guidance to Scotland’s next Formula 1 star,” added Alex.

And fittingly, the first recipient is a member of another family entrenched in the sport.

Rory Butcher (18)—whose dad Derek owns Knockhill—impressed the judges in his first year of saloon car racing.

The talented youngster was awarded both the Knockhill young driver of the year trophy for saloons and the Sandy Forrest Trophy for winning the Ford XR2 newcomers championship by the Scottish Motor Racing Club which organises the Scottish motor racing championship.

His prize is the use of a new Mini Cooper to compete in the Scottish Autotrader Mini Cooper Cup 2006, with the car being prepared to racing specification by IF Motorsport.

IF Motorsport’s managing director is Bryce Wilson, whose racing career has included providing race craft tuition to the likes of David Coulthard, Dario Franchitti and Peter Dumbreck in their early racing careers.

He added, “I think Rory is a worthy winner of this, our first scholarship, and together we will be working on not just his driving skills with one-to-one tuition from me but also on developing Rory in all aspects of becoming a top level racing driver.”

This includes elements ranging from personal fitness and modern race data reading, to tips on media interviews.

“Scotland has an enviable reputation for producing truly remarkable racing champions like Jim Clark, Sir Jackie Stewart and David Coulthard and I am more than happy to provide my knowledge and expertise to aid tomorrow’s Scottish stars,” Mr Wilson added.

Rory can look forward to racing not only on his home circuit but also at Oulton Park, Donington Park, and Croft in England plus Kirkistown in Ireland and either Spa or Zolder in Belgium.