The Managing Director of Northampton-based Turbo Technics, Geoff Kershaw, has taken the overall championship title in this year's BARC SBD Speed Championship, as well as the class honours in the Richard Egger Insurance Hillclimb and Sprint Association 2009 Speed Championship. The 65 year-old, who formed Turbo Technics, the world's leading authority on turbochargers and associated hardware in 1981, claimed the titles at the wheel of his famous twin turbocharged Ford Sierra in his first year back in competition after a three-year break.
Kershaw is no stranger to motorsport; he began sprinting and hillclimbing in 1967 and has been a regular competitor ever since. He cites as his inspiration a fellow driver who continued to race until he was well into his 80s and Geoff has no intention of giving up anywhere in the foreseeable future.
Kershaw's story is perhaps the ultimate case of practicing what he preaches. His Sierra sprint car can trace its origins back to Turbo Technics' original Minker project, a turbocharged 'supercar' version of the Sierra 4x4, using the 2.9-litre 'Cologne' engine.
Once the Minker project was complete, Geoff began progressing the prototype development car as his own. It began life with 320bhp but quickly grew to 400bhp before a change to 24-valve cylinder heads in 1998 to its current 530bhp, featuring twin Turbo Technics variable nozzle turbos. The engine is mated to a standard Ford Sierra 4x4 transmission system, which in its standard form, Geoff describes as "virtually a consumable". The only modifications he made were to separate the bell housing and clutch system from the gearbox casing, allowing the gearbox to be changed at a race meeting if required.
Recent development of the car has focused on the suspension, with input from Andy Dawson and help from Team Dynamics, who also supplied the lightweight alloy wheels. This was the main area of consideration during the three year lay-off and clearly, the work has paid off, with Geoff and the Sierra claiming a host of class lap records.
In earlier years Geoff has also notched up a number of Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) at venues around the UK. Some of the most memorable were at Pestalozzi, on one occasion matching the time of former Touring Car driver Patrick Watts in an ex-works Caterham and also at Castle Combe.
This year's BARC SBD Speed Championship featured 13 rounds at some of the UK's most famous sprint and hillclimb venues, including Loton Park, Lydden Hill and Castle Combe. Kershaw set new class records at all of the championship rounds to end the season as 2009 Overall Champion and with it, the right to hold the Wilkinson Sword Trophy for the 2010 season.
Commenting after the end of the season, Kershaw said: "I'm thrilled and delighted to have won this year's championship. I've come close before, for example missing out in 1996 by 14/100 second on the last run of the last meeting but never actually taken the title. I also won the class in what was the BARC - CCC Championship for five years but the overall title is the one I have always wanted."
Kershaw also took the class title in the Richard Egger Insurance Hillclimb and Sprint Association 2009 Speed Championship, while finishing fifth overall in the standings. He dominated the C3 Modified Production Cars over 2000cc class, with a 16-point margin by the end of the season, to add another trophy to his collection.
