Wharton team members are hoping for sponsorship boost

NORTHERN Ireland will be represented by no less than five Tyrone drivers in the annual Ken Wharton Memorial Autotests, which sees the Province go head-to-head with the Republic of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.

This year’s event will take place in England and the local quintet representing the North – Newmills’ Mark King, Stewartstown’s Steven Ferguson, Dungannon’s Gary Campbell, Castlederg’s Jonni McDaid and Coagh’s Trevor Ferguson – are hoping to attract a sponsor or sponsors to help them cover the costs of competing.

They have already received a boost from Mervyn Gregg, who has covered their entry fees but they still have the expense of traveling to and from the event to fund.

“We’re trying to do things as a team because with the price of fuel and hotels, it all adds up,” explained King, who finished third overall in the Northern Ireland Autotest Championship this year behind the wheel of his Vauxhall Nova.

He continued: “We’re pooling our resources, using double trailers, getting as many people into each van as we are allowed to and we’re going via Dun Laogharie to Holyhead to reduce the amount of driving time in England so we can keep the costs down.

“But we’d really appreciate any support we can get to help.”

Northern Ireland is the most successful nation in the history of the Ken Wharton Trophy, having won the coveted piece of silverware over 20 times and this year’s team are hoping to add another to their collection.

King has won the event six times, and Steven Ferguson, who won the Northern Ireland title for an eighth time this year, has claimed it seven times, so there is no shortage in the ‘A’ team, which also includes Andy Blair from Ballyclare and Jonni McDaid from Castlederg. And this year, Northern Ireland B will be hoping to make an impact and with the likes of James Wilson, Andrew Earney, Trevor Ferguson and Gary Campbell in that squad, they could well cause a shock, but neither of the two teams from this part of the world is taking anything for granted.

“It will be harder won this year than other years because all the other teams are on par [with Northern Ireland],” King explained.

The Ken Wharton Memorial Autotests take place on the weekend of October 8th and 9th and just three weeks later, King flies to France where he will represent the UK in the FIA Motorsport Games.