Damian Turner admits he was more than a little taken aback to discover he had reached the regional final of a prestigious business competition.

But it has not taken long for the manufacturer of performance exhausts and silencers for motorbikes to rev up for the regional final, which carries a £1,000 top prize.

One of 11 business people competing for the title of Shell Livewire North West Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Damian was due to learn if he was the winner at a presentation dinner at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium last night.

If successful, he will go forward to the national final in London on June 20, where a first prize of £10,000 will be up for grabs.

Damian, 28, formed his business Fuel Silencers in January last year, realising a long-held ambition to become his own boss.

Based at the Hall House Industrial Estate, near Kendal, he makes bespoke performance silencers for off-road racing bikes, using lightweight materials such as carbon fibre and titanium.

"They improve the performance of the machine, giving it a minimum of an extra three brake horse power up to 12 brake horse power on a Suzuki Bandit," explained Damian.

"Putting on a performance silencer is one of the first modifications that most people do to their bikes.

It makes a difference to the sound and it generally makes the bike more rideable."

A former typesetter and landscape gardener, Damian returned to his first love of motorbikes to start his business with help from the Prince's Trust - in the form of a grant and loan - and Business Link, which gave him a start-up grant.

He travelled the country, buying machinery and specialist parts for his business, whose products have since featured in trade bible Motorcycling News.

Interest has come from racing bike owners nationwide, with his web site (www.fuel-silencers.co.uk) generating inquiries even further afield from America, Europe and even India and Singapore.

Damian's application for the Livewire competition only arrived on the deadline day for entries at the end of January and he thought nothing more about the contest until an official rang him a fortnight ago to break the news that he was shortlisted for the regional award.

The £300 prizemoney and publicity for the business have proved very welcome for Damian, who said he never expected to get this far.

While off-road racing is in his blood - both his father and grandfather competed on grass tracks - Damian has no plans to follow in their footsteps just yet - he is too busy enhancing the performance of other racing bikes.