He has spent the past three years of his life racing motor cars on a computer in his bedroom.
But now, Josh Martin, a university student from Ross-shire, is about to make the world’s first ever transition from virtual racing to the real thing.
The 20-year-old, who is from Muir of Ord, has attracted the attention of motorsport’s key players in recent years with his skills at car racing using a computer game simulator.
And from next spring he will be professionally driving a BMW 3 series race car on tracks around the UK, Europe and maybe even the USA, while carrying on the dream of competing in the the famous 24-hour Le Mans race, the pinnacle of endurance motor racing.
Mr Martin, who has just started his third year in psychology studies at Dundee University, will officially sign a contract tomorrow with full-time motorsport team ProRace UK.
The team are based in central Scotland and are the first to officially sign an E-sports athlete to represent a racing team.
Mr Martin is one of the highest ranked E-racers globally and has won 15 championship titles, holds 17 world records and has won more than 500 races.
Yesterday Mr Martin, who will reach speeds of up to 130mph during his race events, said: “The dream is that this will be a gateway to the Le Mans 24 hours race. For my first season I am aiming for five to six race events ranging from two to 24 hour races. Realistically, I would be looking at the possibility of racing at Le Mans in four years.
“We will likely start racing from March or April next year and it will be everywhere from Knockhill and Silverstone to Spa in Belgium, race tracks in Holland and the Nurburgring in Germany.
Mr Martin will also take on the role as ProRace UK’s E-sports ambassador in a bid to encourage more E-racers into the sport.
The student first tried online racing in 2013 and through a competition involving players from the north of Scotland, he won 10 of the 19 races and was runner up in eight.
In January 2014, French gaming accessories company Thrustmaster took him on to market their products and sent him £2,000 worth of racing equipment including a racing wheel, pedals and seat.
Due to his multiple online race victories, Richardson Racing boss Gwyn Richardson offered him the chance to watch and learn from some of the races during the 2015 Formula Ford season.
Mr Martin added: “I’ve been the flag bearer for E-sports in the UK and have seen how far I can take it, and it’s really good that it will open the door for more people in E-sports.”
