BIKE-MAD Ian Lord is a cut above your average apprentice grease monkey as he has put himself in the fast lane to his dream job.

The 16-year-old from Wilpshire, near Blackburn, got the chance to work with race ace Darren Barton's RCD Motorsport outfit after convincing team bosses to give him his big break.

Now the Accrington and Rossendale College student is spending his weekends working on the team's 130mph Hondas as they race in the British Supercup and National Championships.

Ian, whose ambition is to work in 500cc Grand Prix racing, is studying for his BTEC and NVQ in motor vehicle engineering.

And he's putting what he's learned to good effect - the team has already bagged two wins and four second-place finishes this season.

He said: "I've always wanted to work in bike racing, and the experience I'm getting now will help me move up into Grands Prix. A lot of people dream of riding the bikes but I've always been more interested in bolting them together!

"Being a race mechanic is a pretty responsible job so I'm very lucky to be given the chance to show what I can do."

His biggest challenge will come at the British Grand Prix in August where the team will take on the best in the world.

Team boss Mark Hodgson is full of praise for his youngest team member: "Ian's certainly proved himself this season - there's no reason why he shouldn't go on to make a career in Grand Prix racing."

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