A DRIVING force in the world of motor racing is among those who have expressed an interest in taking over York City, the Evening Press can reveal.

The unnamed owner of a British Touring Car Championship team reportedly held talks earlier this week with chairman Douglas Craig.

The latest twist comes just hours after the up-for-sale football club was rocked to its foundations with the announcement that any owners must vacate Bootham Crescent by the end of June - unless they are prepared to meet the £4.5 million asking price for the ground.

We can also reveal that Flamingo Land owner Gordon Gibb is on the verge of throwing his hat into the ring to take over the running of City.

It is not clear at this stage whether the motor racing enthusiast is looking to just take control of the club or is interested in buying the club and the ground.

It is also not known whether he has received a copy of the document that is currently being circulated to groups or individuals who have expressed their interest to the board of Bootham Crescent Holdings.

However, it is understood the BTCC owner is not from York but he is a Yorkshireman who has been involved in motor sport for many years.

The alleged interest was leaked to the Evening Press by a BTCC insider from York.

It is not yet clear whether the businessman would be looking to take over the club alone, or as a leading light in a consortium.

"He has got big ideas, all geared up towards raising the profile of the club, getting money in and taking the club forward," said the source. "He is vastly experienced in raising sponsorship and money in a variety of ways. That experience would help bring in much needed revenue for York City."

Meanwhile, Gibb, who owns the Pickering-based theme park Flamingo Land, was putting together the final details of his bid today, before presenting it to the City chiefs before their deadline of January 17.

Gibb, who put in a bid for the club in August 2000, revealed a renewed interest in the club to the Evening Press just before Christmas, but he has since refused to be rushed into putting in an offer.

"I've not contacted the club just yet, but I'm currently orchestrating an approach," he said. "At the moment I'm speaking with my accountant and other parties to decide what is the optimum price for the club.

"I need to ascertain what exactly is available before I approach the club with any offer. We are doing our best to put our stall in order, but we should have a bid in by the end of the week.

"I don't want to be rushed into making an offer which offers York City an interim, or even worse, a short term future. A knee-jerk response is not the way forward, I want to make a long term investment into the club."

The 26-year-old former chairman of Hamilton Academicals originally put forward a bid of £500,000 for 200,000 shares, while also promising £1.5million over two years to invest in new players - a bid he viewed was 'realistic'.

However, this falls a long way short of the £4.5million-plus valuation which City chairman Douglas Craig has put on Bootham Crescent Holdings - the company which owns the football club and the ground - in the prospectus for potential buyers.

And Gibb believes this value will put off any potential buyers from expressing a serious bid.

"By doing this, it will drastically cut the interest from potential purchasers," he said. "By holding on to the ground they are stopping serious bidders because what serious businessman is going to take on a company with no assets?

"If someone is able to put a package together to save the club at that price then it will mean any redevelopment plan for the side will suffer. They are talking about the Football Club as a series of assets. This is not what the supporters want to hear, they see the club as a prized possession. This is not the best for York City."

The multi-millionaire did admit he could see the reasons behind selling the ground, but only if the money was to be ploughed back into the club for a new stadium.

Although Gibb has not ruled out a joint-venture with the likes of the Supporters Trust he is currently concentrating his efforts on a sole bid.

"I'd have to exhaust the avenues I am pursuing at the moment before looking at any other options," he added.

Within the last 24 hours, the Evening Press has also been contacted by another individual claiming to represent a major development company that is interested in buying both York City and Bootham Crescent, with a view to keeping the Minstermen playing at the ground in the future.

Updated: 11:58 Thursday, January 10, 2002