Life throws up some difficult decisions at times, but every now and then it dishes up a no-brainer as well.

So while the teenage Rory Butcher was grateful for the offer of a plumbing apprenticeship a few years ago, it was still a thanks-but-no-thanks kind of deal. All things considered - a process that probably lasted a couple of nanoseconds at least - he reasoned that he'd rather drive a Porsche for a living instead.

Strictly speaking, he actually decided he would rather work for his father, but as Derek Butcher just happened to be the owner of Knockhill race circuit in Fife, then one thing was always likely to lead to another. And so it did, as the younger Butcher worked his way up through the grades, earning his spurs and honours in junior motor racing categories before signing up with the Aberdeenshire-based Celtic Speed race team to compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup.

The Porsche series tops the undercard on the British Touring Car Championship bill. And while the prospect of watching the BTCC event, and particularly local hero and reigning champion Gordon Shedden, will draw many into Knockhill next weekend, a good number of race-goers may leave feeling Butcher and his like have dished up the better entertainment.

For some, the one-make series might seem an entertaining way to burn up a city bonus over a few summer weekends, but Butcher is firmly in the serious camp when he lines up on the grid. As much as he loves hurtling his automotive icon round the tracks of the UK, he still sees his involvement as a launch-pad to get him into a higher orbit.

"It is a superb stepping stone to other sports-car championships," said Butcher, 26. "It really teaches you how to drive a car that has a huge amount of power. Ultimately, I want to move on into sports-car racing, GT racing, and this is probably the best way to get there.

"I would hope to be competing at Le Mans within the next two or three years. In the next year or so I would like to move on to a series like British GT, which is an open sports-car championship with the races running over one, two or three hours. There are opportunities there and I have already been talking to people for the last couple of years.

"It's just about when I move on now. It might be at the end of this year or it might be one more season after that."

It would be easy to dismiss Butcher as just another of those drivers who was born with the racing version of a silver spoon in his mouth. But while he acknowledges his fortuitous family circumstances, he is unencumbered by airs of any kind or any sense of entitlement as he puts in his daily shifts as one of a number of instructors at the Fife track.

His father bought Knockhill a few years before he was born. Butcher grew up watching the transformation of the picturesque circuit from a strip of tarmac and a ramshackle collection of huts into one of the sport's top venues, the unofficial home of Scottish motor racing. Small wonder he will relish the opportunity to race there in the only visit of the Porsche series to Scotland, but he admits a home game brings a certain degree of stress too.

"It's brilliant coming to Knockhill," he said. "It's one thing to work there, but another to race. I know the circuit inside out and I only live a few miles away, so it's great not to have the journey up and down the M6 before and after the race.

"But there's certainly more pressure when you're at your own track. The thing is to make sure it doesn't affect you and you don't let having your sponsors and family and friends around be a distraction. There's still a job to do. You just have to try to enjoy it as best you can.

"It's a much busier weekend all round. When I'm down in the south of England there's less to do between the races, but when I'm here I find that more people want to speak to me, come and see the car and things like that. But it's all good stuff and I know that there are some drivers who have to deal with that at almost every round."

Butcher lies fourth in the championship standings, his position improved by two podium places at Snetterton a couple of weeks ago. With eight races left, he has a lot of ground to make up to get close to series leader Michael Meadows, but after a difficult start to the season he feels he can reduce the gap.

He said: "Snetterton was just a really solid weekend, by far the best of the year. A lot of that just came down to the fact we had no technical issues, we were quick in both races and our qualifying times were good. Everything just worked out pretty nicely.

"But we want to be competing for wins as well. We got a few last year, but the first half of this season has brought a lot of mechanical problems. Now I'm basically treating the second half like a new season, trying to bag as many good results as I can and just see where that takes me.

"I haven't ruled out winning the title, but it's not really something I'm focused on at the moment. If I can make up one more slot in the championship I'll be in the top three and probably be pretty happy with that. Anything after that would just be a bonus."