Borderer Steve Kershaw happy to finish second in British F1 sidecar series
Lauder’s Steve Kershaw and passenger Rhys Gibbons went into the weekend’s British F1 Sidecar Championship finale at Kent’s Brands Hatch with an outside chance of snatching this year’s title but it was always a long shot so they weren’t too disappointed at having to settle for second place in the end.
They were among 21 crews lining up for the seventh and last round of the series, made up of 15 races, and it was still all to play for mathematically, though the Borders pair were trailing season-long leaders Lewis Blackstock and Oscar Lawrence by 43 points, with only 50 available across two races.
That meant Kershaw and his Merseyside sidekick had to finish first or second in Saturday’s race one to still be in title contention going into Sunday’s 15th race of the season and, even then, only if Lancashire’s Blackstock and his Hampshire passenger finished outwith the top nine.
Last Friday’s qualifying saw East Yorkshire brothers Sam and Tom Christie claim pole position from Blackstock/Lawrence by a hundredth of a second, with North Yorkshire’s Luke Williams and Alfie Smith third and Kershaw/Gibbons’ LCR Triumph fourth.
First place in Saturday’s ten-lap race went to the Christies, last year’s world champions, with Blackstock/Lawrence second to secure 2026’s British title and Williams/Smith third, a tenth of a second ahead of Kershaw/Gibbons.
With Blackstock/Lawrence confirmed as champions crowned, Sunday’s race could have been a dead-rubber but that’s not how it panned out, with the speeds clocked matching those of the day before and podium places undecided until the final lap.
Beverley’s Christies ended up winning again, by a nose from Blackstock/Lawrence, with Kershaw/Gibbons third and only three-tenths of a second covering the top three.
Kershaw was delighted to bow out with a podium place, leaving him second on the championship leaderboard on 261 points, 54 behind Blackstock and Lawrence and 74 ahead of Cheshire’s Rob Biggs and Ferry Segers in third place.
“Winning the title was a long shot so we’re not too upset about that,” he said. “To be dicing for the win with last year’s world champions and double British champions is more important.
“We were 20 seconds off the win at the start of the year so the progress we’ve made with the Triumph engine is remarkable.
“Second overall is good, but we hope to go one better next year – roll on 2027 now.”
Gibbons was equally pleased, adding: “It’s my first full year on an F1 so I’m still learning.
“To get a couple of wins and regular podiums against some of the best in the world in fantastic.”