Ford brings together four of the greatest action sport stars for a reality TV adventure.

Somewhere, deep within the bowels of an underground bunker in Detroit there’s a locked room with a genius inside who had the inspired idea to hire the biggest names in action sports and X Games to drive for Ford.

As a result, FoMoCo has a roster that makes girls faint. It includes Ken Block in WRC, Tanner Foust in rallycross, Brian Deegan in rallycross and off-road plus Vaughn Gittin Jr in drifting.

Each of them is a superstar in his own right, but Ford has brought them together for its Octane Academy. The concept is to give regular Joes the opportunity to live like a rockstar, get a glimpse into the lives of your motorsport heroes, and possibly uncover the next action superstar.

During the summer X Games, Ford ran a series of TV commercials to promote the academy. Entry was simple – submit a video of yourself explaining why you should be considered. A total of 32 fans will be selected, with eight spending a day behind the wheel of an F-150 SVT Raptor with Deegan when the first fantasy camp kicks off in November. Another eight will be driving Fiestas with Block, Gittin Jr will introduce competitors to drifting in a Mustang, while Foust will show off the new Focus ST. The best driver from each of these camps will then will the Ford of their choice.

Why are we telling you this? Because it’s not too late to submit an entry!

You need to act fast if you want to be considered. Join the 6000 entrants who have already filed an application to be included in this unique opportunity.

All you have to do is make a video that explains why you should be picked. The only stipulation is that your video doesn’t involve any driving. They want to see who you are before deciding whether you have what it takes to win X Games gold.

If chosen, you could also be a TV star as well, because Fuel TV has picked up the Octane Academy and will broadcast a 13-episode series in 2012 following the exploits of each driver’s camp.

To get a taste of what the competitors (like yourself) might experience, we were invited to Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds to meet the drivers and perform some tricks ourselves.

In a private eurotuner battle, Neill took an early points lead on the day by managing to avoid spinning Gittin Jr’s Mustang for a few feet longer than Greg did. However, that was his only high!

After that, Greg demolished him in Foust’s 180˚ and 360˚ Focus spin contest – in which Tanner estimated he allowed all of us to spin him about 120 times during the day, causing a great deal of nausea.

Greg then went on to set fastest time of the day on Block’s gravel rally stage. This was by far the most fun event we sampled. It started with a passenger ride alongside Ken in a fully prepared front-wheel drive Fiesta rally car. Sadly, Ken’s Hybrid Hoon Vehicle wasn’t available for this demo, but he managed to get some amazing speed out of the little car, showing off his skills on the very loose surface.

When it was our turn, we got behind the wheel of more rally-prepped Fiestas. These were slightly milder than Ken’s version but still a great experience to drive. After one tuition lap, we were against the clock in a gravel stage marked by slaloms and entry gates that required total concentration.

The cars were set-up for wicked lift-off oversteer. This meant that as soon as you lifted off the throttle, the back would snap round unless the front wheels were straight. But with the course being a giant circular road, you were always turning. Yet you had to get the wheels straight, get on the brakes, control the slide on gravel and get through the gate without knocking a cone. Then you tackled a slalom, with the oversteer helping to turn you into each cone, or spin you if you relaxed for a second.

It was a brief glimpse into the demands of a rally driver and if you meet Neill, ask him about his Fiesta rally experience. Let’s just say he saw more stars than Ken Block!

You can watch our activities online in an exclusive video (come back if it’s not posted yet – we’re editing it as I write!) we put together but unfortunately, the lawyers wouldn’t let us race off-road in Deegan’s Raptor, suggesting we reverse through cones instead (weak sauce!).

However, the X Games gold medalist, complete with a blackeye from his recent boxing match against Dave Mirra, gave us the ride of a lifetime around the off-road course. We had no idea a Raptor could catch so much air, and Deegan’s giggling as he tackled every turn too fast made it a memorable jaunt.

Quite what the drivers and lawyers will allow Octane Academy contestants do on TV has yet to be decided. They’re still dreaming up the challenges but need to act fast because the first one with Brian Deegan is happening soon!

If you don’t make the cut, remember to tune into Fuel TV. If the contestants have half as much fun as we did, it should make great viewing.

For updates on Octane Academy or to enter, visit octaneacademy.com.