WHEN Andy Middlehurst retired from mainstream motor racing, it seemed the closest he would come to climbing on to the podium at Monaco was on a video game.

But now a thrilling foray into historic motor sport has turned those dreams into reality – thanks to a little help from the video website YouTube and a games console Andy, 47, hung up his motor racing helmet from top level competition about 10 years ago after a trophy-laden 20-year career.

But his need for speed meant he continued to drive old racing cars at events across Europe.

This year, he was enticed to the world of Historic Formula One, with the chance to steer Jim Clark’s 1963 World Championship-winning Lotus F1 around some of the world’s famous courses proving an irresistible lure.

And he achieved a lifetime goal when he navigated Monte Carlo’s winding streets to second place in a grand prix which features veteran drivers and cars dating back to the 60s.

It was also his debut on the Monaco course and Andy revealed watching clips of the course on the internet and practising the circuit on his son’s Sony playstation had given him some useful pointers.

Andy, a four-time British saloon car champion in the late 1990s, told the Star: “I learned the circuit on my son Chris’s Playstation and from in-car footage on YouTube.

“I was third quickest in the qualifying first session before moving up to second. In the race itself, I dropped back to sixth but then fought my way back up to second at the finish.

“It was my first visit to Monaco and it proved to be a dream come true.”

Andy’s return to racing means he is sharing the limelight with teenage son Chris, who is following the tyre tracks of his family’s proud motor sport tradition.

Chris, a pupil at Rainford High, is in his fifth season in kart racing and he has won many races and championships along the way.

The competition, regarded as a training ground for aspiring Formula One drivers, is backed by ex-world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Last weekend, Chris secured first place in a North West Karting Championships race on the Three Sisters Circuit in Wigan.

The Middlehurst family’s passion for motor sport stretches back more than 50 years.

Andy’s grandfather Jack was a speedway motorbiker in the 1930s and his father Philip was a racing driver in the 60s.

Andy continues to run the Middlehurst Nissan and Middlehurst Motorsport businesses on Jackson Street, St Helens.