County Tyrone driving ace sets all-time Autotest record having secured his tenth Northern Ireland Championship to become the most decorated precision driver the province has ever seen with accolades throughout the British Isles.
For 42-year-old Steven Ferguson, a Joiner, from Stewartstown, this record-breaking achievement has been in the making since starting the sport aged just sixteen. It has been a lifelong Mini adventure for Ferguson, as his first season was completed in a road-going 1,400cc Mini.
Campaigning this car for three or four years, the bug for this unique sporting discipline had bitten and Steven progressed into a Mini Special. It’s in a Special that he has remained since, and achieved something no other driver has to date. And maybe never will, in this highly skilled motorsport.
A Mini Special is, in basic terms, the metal floor pan and bulkhead of a Mini, with space frame sides, minimal fibreglass bodywork, a roll hoop, and most usually a Mini rear axle. Over time, Steven moved into the yellow car pictured, which also features a custom space frame front end.
Built by his father, Norman Ferguson, in 1985, this car was used by Norman before ending up in the capable hands of Sam Bowden who, until two seasons ago, held the record for the most championship wins. Matching Sam’s total of nine wins in 2023, Steven smashed the record of his close friend and mentor in 2024.
Interestingly, it means that this chassis has claimed fifteen of the nineteen championships that Steven and Sam have clinched over the years. Winning the last six titles consecutively, in the hands of Ferguson.
Bolted to the tubular front end of the Mini Special is a 1.8-litre, 8-valve Vauxhall engine paired with a two-speed Vauxhall gearbox. Running motorbike carburettors, the engine produces a perfect amount of very usable torque.
The ‘box only needs first and reverse gears for autotesting, so that’s all it has. And Harry Hockly Motorsport driveshafts have been fitted to cope with the harsh demands of this sport. Weighing in at less than half a ton, and assisted with electric power steering from Vauxhall’s stable, it’s understandable how it can pirouette round strategically placed pylons in a concrete yard like Torvill and Dean on ice.
Steven has travelled the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland for this sport, and started his championship winning ways some fifteen years ago. From 2010 to 2017, the Tyrone driver claimed a whopping seven consecutive Hewison Autotest Championships in the Republic of Ireland.
His first Northern Ireland title was also won in 2010, when Ferguson won four years in a row. Then, since 2018, six consecutive titles made history for Steven within the local, highly competitive series, and is the reason you are reading this article right now.
Holding two MSA British championships (2011 & 2012), as well as one BTRDA British title (2012), Ferguson is the only driver in the history of the sport to win the Irish, British, and Northern Ireland championships within the same year, for two consecutive years.
It’s no wonder that the nine-time member of the NI winning team at the Ken Wharton International event has been awarded the ANICC NI Motorsport Award two years on the trot. A trophy which features the names of some of our countries greatest four-wheeled driving exports who have won events across the globe.
Speaking of his record breaking 2024 season, “It means a good bit!” Ferguson stated. “Sam Bowden had nine championships, he’s a good friend and he learnt me a good bit. Maybe all I know, autotesting wise, and he was happy enough for me to beat his record.”
Sam no longer competes, but as a mechanic he still does a bit of work at Steven’s car along with Steven’s dad, Norman. Others who have made these championships possible are NSF Joinery, Trevor Ferguson from Euro Auto Commercials, Traynors Motorstore, and Gerard Larkin from LRS Competition Engines.
Unable to commit to the full NI championship this season due to other commitments, only time will tell if Ferguson can break his own record to add an eleventh title to his ever growing trophy cabinet.
