NIK Goodfellow is hitting the trail which led Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen to Formula One fame.

The Bolton School student is following in the motor racing stars' footsteps by racing in the Formula Renault Winter Series.

After a successful career as a kart driver during which he has raced and won around the world, the 18-year-old has been picked to join the Formula Renault Team Falcon Motorsport.

He suffered a bad start in the first round of the series last weekend when he crashed out but he hopes to learn from the experience when the series reaches its conclusion at Brands Hatch this weekend.

"This is an amazing opportunity for me," said the youngster from Standish who drives a Grand Prix-styled 140mph single-seater car.

"I'm determined to use my experience in Formula Renault racing as a springboard towards Formula One."

It was going well for Nik at Donnington Park last weekend when he successfully outgunned other drivers in a closely contested time trial to make it through to the race on Sunday.

He reflected: "The Sunday race conditions were pretty difficult because the track was both wet and dry.

"I made the choice of racing on slick tyres which are ideal for dry conditions but after making good progress up the field on the first three laps I hit a damp patch and lost it on a corner during lap five and the car was too badly damaged to continue.

"My consolation is that Mathias Lauda, the son of three times world champion Nikki Lauda, came off on exactly the same corner.

"My first race was an invaluable experience. and I'm determined to put in a championship performance this weekend."