RISING racing star Tom Boardman heads into the unknown again this weekend for the next instalment of the 2001 www.theAA.com MSA British Touring Car Championship, rounds 13 and 14 held at Scotland's Knockhill circuit.

It will be the teenager's first visit to the undulating 1.3-mile Fife track, but he will thrive on the challenge.

The 17-year-old Lancashire lad says: "From what I've been told, Knockhill sounds like a good place to race. It's tight like Mondello Park in Ireland and I really enjoyed that circuit so I'm looking forward to getting to grips with Knockhill.

"It's quite a short lap as well so you will have to concentrate 100 per cent all the time and there will be nowhere to relax. That's what I enjoy, when you have to go for it all the time!"

After missing out on the points in the last four rounds, Britain's youngest ever touring car racer is determined to stop the rot north of the border.

His distinctively-liveried pink Peugeot 306 GTi6 BTC Production Class car suffered various mechanical problems in the recent races at Mondello and Donington Park, preventing Boardman mounting a serious challenge.

This weekend, however, the Forton-based driver is confident the team, run by his father John, will provide him with a trouble-free car.

And after putting only a few miles on the car's new engine -- fitted before the last two races at Donington -- his hot hatch should give him plenty of power to play with on the notorious Knockhill inclines.

Boardman says: "We've had a few problems in the last few races but now we're half way through the season I think we've learned enough about the mechanical failures to be able to prevent them. Everything should be repaired for Knockhill so I should have a very good car.

"The power of the new engine will help on the hills, which I think will be the hardest part of the circuit. There's a chicane with a blind brow at the top of one of them, which will be fun!"

He adds: "I've been on my computer game trying to learn the circuit as much as possible, but you don't get a proper feel of the drops and climbs just by looking at a screen. I can't wait to get there and get a few laps in for real. I've been told it's a great track and I think racing there should be really exciting."