Are you the next Lewis Hamilton? Click here to enter our competition

Ethan Pitt doesn’t know it yet, but his parents are banking on the seven-year-old becoming their retirement fund. “He’s secretly my pension,” says his mother Sarah. The youngster is one of hundreds being hothoused to follow in the tracks of Lewis Hamilton in the hope that they will become the next millionaire boy (or girl) racer.

Across the country, racing circuits that were on the brink of closure have had a new lease of life - a revival driven in part by the fact that Britain is riding the crest of the wave in motor sports. “Suddenly everyone wants to be a racing driver,” says Jonathan Palmer, a former Formula One driver who owns some of the best-known circuits, including Brands Hatch and Snetterton.

Part of the renaissance is down to the Hamilton effect. Every would-be F1 driver is inspired by stories of racing icons such as Fangio, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, and their triumphs over adversity, but Hamilton’s story has motivated a generation of youngsters - and their parents - like never before.

The story of how he overcame problems at home (his parents are separated; his brother is disabled) and financial hardship to battle his way through the ranks of motor racing and hold the most consecutive podiums of any British racing driver has had a powerful effect. Whether he wins or loses the world championship today after his duel with Felipe Massa, the Ferrari driver, at the Brazilian Grand Prix, he has kick-started a generation.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in karting, the high-speed sport that tests reaction time and hones track skills. Hamilton started karting aged eight at Rye House, near Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. He was discovered in 1996 by Ron Dennis, the McLaren Formula One team principal, at a “champions of the future” race at Buckmore Park karting track near Chatham, where Johnny Herbert and Jenson Button also cut their teeth.

To cope with rising demand, Buckmore Park recently opened a new beginners’ academy, the Bambino Club, coaching boys and girls as young as six. More than 200 youngsters have signed up, including Ethan. “People were initially sceptical and said a six-year-old is too young to be driving a kart,” say Bill Sisley, managing director of Buckmore Park, “but the youngsters have proved remarkably capable. Their inquisitive minds soak up instruction like a sponge, and already we’ve seen a couple with natural ability. It would be nice to see them take it further, but we’re not here to push anyone in any particular direction.”

Ethan’s parents extol the virtues of the Bambino Club. “Karting’s a great discipline, and doing it this way is affordable,” says his father, Gavin. “If you had to go out and buy a bambino-class kart, it would cost you £1,500.”

As for Ethan, he seems unfazed by the danger of piloting one of the 50cc, two-stroke Comer-engined karts round the course with his fellow learners. “The girls aren’t as good as the boys behind the wheel,” he observes, to the feigned horror of Mum.

Michael Carleton knows different. He initially came to Buckmore Park to give his eight-year-old son Christopher a fun day out, but to his surprise his daughter Tiffany, 7, also caught the bug. “I chose this instead of horse riding,” she says as she prepares for her next round of tuition. Carleton is relaxed about where it will lead. “So long as she’s got a smile on her face, I don’t care how she does,” he says.

Watching the impossibly small figures fling the karts around the purpose-made 300-metre kart circuit is an eye-opener. The asphalt is at its most demanding - sunny and dry in some spots, wet and cold in others. But the pint-sized racers aren’t thrown. They release the brakes should they lock the rear axle, counter-steer into tail slides if there’s a loss of traction and refine the art of the racing line, using up every inch of the track’s width to carry as much speed as possible.

Chris Pullman, Buckmore Park’s operations director, is a former chief instructor at Brands Hatch race circuit, with 23 years of talent-spotting under his belt. He echoes Sisley’s view that both the demand and the children’s abilities have far surpassed expectations.

Pullman devised the tuition programme, which even includes home-work sheets. “We start with the real basics, without the engine running, where we push them along in the kart and make sure they understand the principles of steering, throttle and brakes. They’re such fast learners at this age, and those who are exceptional aren’t just good on the track - they know how to conduct themselves off it too.”

Unfortunately, there are some who don’t know how to conduct themselves - the competitive dads. On more than one occasion, the fathers scream at their offspring, desperate to be heard above the buzz of the engines and through the crash helmet. Sarah and Gavin Pitt concede that some children are being forced to live out a parent’s fantasy. “I’ve never known a sport where the parents are so competitive,” says Sarah.

The thought of sealing a multi-million-pound contract with an F1 team is, it seems, a strong incentive. The Pitt family are about to find out the hard way just how much of a struggle making your way in motor sports is without any third-party funding.

They’ve asked Ethan’s head teacher for permission to have Wednesday afternoons set aside for karting, hoping that it will be viewed as a potential career path. The aim is for Ethan to take knowledge gained from the Bambino kart school and apply it in the next level - cadet classes for 8-to 13-year-olds. “That’s when the money starts pouring out of your pocket,” says Gavin with a nervous laugh.

If the young racer is made of the right stuff, perhaps he’ll be spotted by a talent scout, as Hamilton was. It’s a long shot, and Formula One is a distant dream, but if it’s keeping one little boy happy, maybe it’s a dream worth chasing.

BECOME A CHAMP

The Sunday Times is offering junior readers the chance to win a day of tuition at Buckmore Park Karting. Forty young readers will be chosen for the prize, and two of those lucky readers will also win a day of advanced training.

The competition is open to children aged 8-16, split into 8-to 11-year-olds and 12-to 16-year-olds. Entrants must obtain permission from their parent or guardian. The 40 contestants will be picked at random and will race in three heats and a final on a date to be announced. The best three drivers from each age group, judged on a number of factors, will then face the stopwatch in a fastest-lap shootout.

The two group winners will each win advanced tuition, the opportunity to take the Arks (Association of Racing Kart Schools) racing licence test and entry into an age-appropriate race. Tuition equipment will be supplied by Buckmore Park Karting. To enter and see full terms and conditions, go to www.timesonline.co.uk/kartrace. Entries must be received by midnight on November 9, 2008.