TIM GILLARD

Tim Gillard, a seventy-year-old Londoner, decided in 2020 to stop his karting business after 40 years of important victories and satisfactions culminating in the victory of the 2005 World Championship. We retrace these 40 years of history with him, now destined to continue under the aegis of the OTK Group

Text P. Mancini 

Gillard Racing Karts was started in 1980 by Tim Gillard, who had previously been working in the Kart Trade for 5 years, mainly on the tuning and rebuilding of engines. Even though this was envisaged to be the core activity of the new business, the intention was always to produce a kart and, in fact, this happened very quickly and an ambitious date, to debut the new kart, was set as the first round of the Kart and Superkart Championship for 100 National in April 1980. Wayne Homer had agreed to drive and the first time the kart turned a wheel was on the Friday, the day before the opening round at Tilbury. Amazingly there were 156 entries for just the 100 National class and after 3 nearly perfect heats, Wayne put the kart on pole position for the “A” Final. While running a comfortable second with 3 laps to go he suffered a puncture in the left rear tyre, which of course was an immense disappointment but the seeds had been sown and the decision to manufacture a kart fully justified.

Gillard Karts’ first National Championship success came in 1985 when Ivan Turner won the 100 Junior Briton British Championship at Clay Pigeon, followed in 1986 by Jonty Millwood winning the 100 National British Championship at Rowrah. In 2005 Gillard won, with PDB Racing, the CIK FIA World Championship with Oliver Oakes; he also won the CIK FIA Senior European Championships in 2001 with Carlo van Dam, in 2004 with Nick de Bruijn and the European junior championship in 2005 with Michael Christensen. We must remember also 3 European Rotax championships, many international races and many national championships in the world during 41 years.