STUDENTS are in pole position for a successful career on the track as they prepare to travel to the United Arab Emirates for an endurance race.

The Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai race is said to be a favourite of team and drivers from across the globe and leading the charge in motorsport will be the University of Bolton students.

The university and Century Motorsport will begin their 2016 GT season with their first attempt at the gruelling race on January 14 and 15.

The team's car will be driven during the 1,440 minutes of racing by Anna Walewska and Nathan Freke, who will be assisted by third year students Daniel Rathmill and Lee Cutting who are travelling with the team.

The team’s progress will be beamed live to the university’s stand at the world’s biggest motorsport show, Autosport International, which takes place from the Thursday until Sunday.

Daniel said: "To take part in my first 24 hour race is an exciting prospect and to do it whilst still studying for my degree is amazing.

"Having the opportunity to work with a professional race team is a unique experience and hopefully this can one day lead on to working on the Le Mans 24 hour race."

The University of Bolton says its uses leading UK and European championships as a part of students’ education, with undergraduates working in the pits at British GT and the European Le Mans Series.

Bosses say that they go much further than the conventional approach of work placement programmes with students at the University of Bolton benefitting from hands-on experience at the university’s facilities, combined with working on campus with RLR Msport and at Century Motorsport’s base in Fenny Compton, Oxfordshire.

The undergraduate degrees in Motorsport Technology and Automotive Performance Engineering (Motorsport) courses offered by the university include what it takes to run a race and championship winning team on every level — from engineering the cars to dealing with the challenges of a race meeting as a team manager.

The degree programmes give students a first-hand experience, from pre-event preparation through to post-event scrutineering.