After following his father’s exploits on the stages, John McGlaughlin has been a fan of rallying for most of his life. As a young boy, the Cookstown driver longed to compete in rallies across the country. Rallying was in his blood, so it was no surprise when he took his first steps in the sport at the tender age of 16.

Initially jumping into the passenger seat, John’s passion for the sport continued to grow. It was towards the end of 2001 that he purchased his first rally car, a Peugeot 309 GTi. After spending a year learning the ropes as a driver, he then progressed to a Peugeot 106 Cup Car. Those early days brought numerous class successes, and John’s onwards and upwards progression continued in 2004 when he purchased a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5.

2004 saw John contest the Northern Ireland Rally Championship, and despite his relative inexperience behind the wheel of a four wheel drive car, he was one of the main contenders for the N.I. Group N title.

John spraying the victory champagne!

The following year saw him switch to an Evo 7 Lancer, and once again he was one of the ‘main men’ vying for Group N honours. He entered the final round with a chance of lifting the award, and won his category on the event, but narrowly missed out on overall spoils by a handful of points.

It was onwards and upwards once again in 2006, but with a new season brought new challenges, as the Cookstown driver switched his attention to the Irish Tarmac Championship. John treated it as a year of learning, and he did more than enough to impress the judges of the Fisher Foundation Award. Announced as winner of the prestigious prize, John was looking forward to the 2007 season.

After upgrading his car to a new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, John was hopeful of securing some success during 2007. Unfortunately, mechanical problems thwarted his progress during the early events, but he still managed to secure some top five class results during the season. That maiden Group N International Rally win still eluded him though, and he had to wait that bit longer to seal the number one position.

The 2008 season started with a fantastic result in Galway, where John sealed one of his best International rally finishes to date – sixth overall and second in Group N! That was merely a sign of bigger and better things to come, as the Cookstown man went on to finish fifth overall and first in Group N at the Circuit of Ireland Rally!

After such a tremendous start to the year, John now leads the Group N Irish Tarmac Championship standings by two points. Once again, he is one of the main contenders for this year’s title, so keep an eye on jmcglaughlin.co.uk for all the latest news as John continues his 2008 campaign!

Without a good navigator, John McGlaughlin would find it difficult to achieve success on the stages, and this year that all important job lies on Crawford Henderson’s shoulders. As Chairman of the Northern Ireland Stage Rallies Committee, Crawford is well respected among the rally community.

He first started navigating during the late 70s at night navigation events, before progressing to stage rallying. During his time as a co-driver, Crawford has guided 35 drivers around the stages, in rear wheel drive, front wheel drive and four wheel drive rally cars – including two father and sons, as well as four members of the Shaw family!

Crawford has acquired many fond memories over the years, and with experience gleaned from the likes of competing in the original five day Circuit of Ireland Rally, he is perfectly equipped to keep John on the straight and narrow during the 2008 championship!