The young Acheson from Cookstown Northern Ireland, was no doubt keen to emulate his father Harry’s racing exploits, and he was quick enough on his first appearances in a competition car to convince dad to purchase a Crosslé 32F in order to contest the 1977 Northern Ireland FF Championship. With the title duly delivered, a hitherto little-known Acheson moved across the water to race in no less than three FF1600 championships with a Royale RP24. Despite some early season shunts that included a broken wrist, the shy young Irishman proved almost unbeatable to prevail in all three, the RAC series, a tough Townsend Thoresen and somewhat less-than competitive BARC-backed Philips championship. In 56 starts he scored an amazing 29 wins and 15 second-places in addition to this, Kenneth took 28 pole positions and was undoubtedly a deserved winner of the prestigious Grovewood Award.
A major step up in British Formula 3 Championship in 1979 was at first hampered by a less than competitive Ralt, but switching to a March saw him gradually become a contender for honours against the likes of Chico Serra, Mike Thackwell and Andrea de Cesaris. Although a victory eluded him in the Vandervell series, Acheson did score three non-championship wins for the tight-knit little team and proved he was well placed for honours in the 1980 season.
In the event Kenneth was to be pipped to the title by Stefan Johansson following a costly error in the final round at Thruxton. However he had proved worthy of a place alongside his Swedish rival in the Toleman Formula Two team for 1981. A sound start to his season was halted after a collision with Michele Alboreto when challenging for the lead at Pau which left him with a badly broken leg. Acheson bravely returned for the final round and grittily took a third place to remind everyone of his determination and talent.
A seat in a works Ralt-Honda could have been a springboard for F2 championship success, but in the event Acheson could only muster a somewhat disappointing seventh in the series. He did however have the satisfaction of finishing ahead of his team leader Jonathan Palmer. Looking for a more sympathetic environment for the 1983 season, the Irishman opted to join forces with Paul Owens, running a Maurer chassis with Heidegger power. Apart from a splendid second place at Pau, little was achieved and, not unnaturally Acheson jumped at the chance to join the RAM team in Formula 1. His fruitless attempts to make an impression with the uncompetitive car, despite finally qualifying for the South African Grand Prix, proved to be a Grand Prix cul-de-sac, and his career momentum never recovered thereafter.
1984 saw a one-off race in CART at the Meadowlands but it lead nowhere, and Kenneth cooled his heels until he was recalled to F1 duty midway through 1985. Manfred Winkelhock had been killed in a sports car race at Mosport Park and John MacDonald handed Acheson just three outings before the Skoal Bandit money ran out and his Grand Prix days were over.
Acheson opted to continue his racing career in Japan where the burgeoning and well-paid Sportscar series provided him with an ideal opportunity to race competitively. He emerged as the 1987 joint All-Japan champion in a Porsche 962, thus paving the way for a place in the Sauber sportscar team, the high point being a second-place in the 1989 race sharing with Baldi and Brancatelli. When the German team decided to opt for youth Acheson was a casualty, but was still in demand elsewhere, especially at the Sarthe classic where he subsequently raced for Nissan, and then successfully for Jaguar and Toyota placing third and second in 1991 and 1992.
Kenneth made a final Le Mans appearance in 1995 with the Japanese built SARD MC8R, and his final race came early the following year at Daytona. He was piloting a Lister-Storm GTL when a collision with a slower car resulted in a frightening 180 mph accident. The Irishman suffered an eye injury and massive bruising, prompting his decision to retire from the sport.
