A teenage karting driver from Magherafelt raced his way to second place in not one but two major championships in October and is now both Junior Vice-World Champion and Junior Vice-British Champion.
Fionn McLaughlin (14) has been ‘one to watch’ in the karting world for the past number of years, achieving consistent success in races across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Racing since the age of three, he has a variety of titles to his name, with the latest two another boost to his blossoming career.
Part of the Fusion Motorsport team – one of the leading global karting teams – Fionn has been travelling throughout Europe, training and competing for the past six years. Dedicating many hours of training to qualify for the championships, he was ultimately pleased with his placings, although his competitive eye is always, of course, on first place.
Read next: Tommy McCarthy offers insight into "freakish" power of Padraig McCrory
“I was happy enough to come second but I just missed out on first place,” he said. “It was tough racing all year and there were some races where I maybe didn’t drive my best, but overall, it’s been good.”
His dad, Martin McLaughlin, added that, with the British Championship delivering one of the toughest levels of karting in the world, doing well in that had boded well for the World Championships.
“The British Championship creates a good breed of drivers,” he said. “Usually, when you compete out in that you learn your ways, so when you go anywhere else, you’re always a front-runner.”
A seven-round competition, the British Championship saw Fionn on the podium consistently in each round, with the final taking place at the UK’s largest outdoor karting circuit – the PF International in Grantham, Lincolnshire. There were 150 drivers in Fionn’s Junior Category.
“It’s a massive achievement to come second in the British Championship,” said Martin.
“You’ve got all the professional racing drivers who have competed in that over the years, like Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell. So, it’s that same level of competition, where the big names have all gone through before.
“We owe a lot of thanks to the Fusion Motorsport team, too, for all their hard work and dedication. They do an amazing job and are always at the front of the podium in every race.”
With a requirement to finish in the top three in the local championships before proceeding to the world finals, Fionn reached the World Championship at Le Mans, France, in a strong position. Competing in the International World Final (IWF) 2022 IAME Junior races, Fionn performed consistently across the week, before taking second place at the final on Sunday, October 23.
“Fionn was one of the favourites going there, so expectation was high on him to do well,” said Martin.
“Throughout the two test days his performance was good and he was driving well and settling into it. It’s a long weekend, so you have to try and be consistent.”
With almost 140 drivers in Fionn’s category, he qualified second in the group and sixth overall on the Thursday, before winning an untested heat the same day in wet driving conditions.
Friday followed with a drier day and three heats, with Fionn winning two first places and one second, with a further two second places and another first-place win in Saturday’s heats.
“That left him going into Sunday in second place overall,” said Martin. “He was poll Saturday evening but another driver got a penalty, which affected that. By the end of the seven heats he was really on track, though.”
Indeed, winning his B pre-final race on Sunday, Fionn went on to secure second place in the overall final in the afternoon, making him Junior Vice-World Champion. Having remained in the top two all week, it further proved his capabilities and potential in the world of motorsport.
Fionn is now setting his sights on car racing and has already completed two test days for that. However, as dad Martin points out, “to move up into cars you need the right support.”
Magherafelt’s rising motorsport star is therefore hoping he can find the right backers to help him achieve his racing dreams – the like of which Northern Ireland might just have never seen before.
If you’re interested in sponsoring Fionn in his karting career, you can contact Martin McLaughlin at martin@infomcl.co.uk or call 07801832477.
READ NEXT:
- Carl Frampton accepts David Healy nomination for Linfield challenge
Lisburn boxer Walker overcomes 'Mike Tyson' moment to win in Frankfurt
Michael Conlan confirms huge night of Belfast boxing with discount prices
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
