Next year will mark 50 years since the start of Mervyn Johnston�s rallying career, and he was rewarded for his achievements last week when he received an award from the Tarmac Rally Organisers Association at their annual end of season prize giving.

The award for �Outstanding Contribution to the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship� is the latest addition to an already packed trophy cabinet for the Tullyhommon driver. Mervyn has won the Irish Historic Tarmac Rally Championship and record four times, and has tasted victory in every round of the series since his return to the sport after a long break.

Dubbed the �Tullyhommon Flyer�, Mervyn has always been synomonous with Minis, right from his first rally in 1961.

His first major success came with victory in the 1964 Circuit of Ireland Touring, and six years later he added the Ulster Rally Championship. Prior to his initial retirement from rallying he also finished fourth overall on the 1973 Circuit of Ireland, and achieved a similar result on the Welsh Rally later that year. Mervyn hung up his helmet at the end of that year, but 14 years later he was tempted back into the driving seat.

�Someone from the UAC (Ulster Automobile Club) rang me and said they were going to start a historic section and they were wondering if I would build a car and compete,� he explained. �I agreed to give it a go, and little did I know I would still be at it over 20 years later.� The entries for those first few rallies in the newly formed championship were few in number, but the rallying bug was firmly back in Mervyn system and he has been a regular in the series ever since. He registered his first championship success in 1991 and defended his title in 1992. The following year an increasing number of Porsches came into Irish historic rallying and relegated the less powerful Mini Cooper down the leader board, but Mervyn rose to prominence again in 2002 when he claimed his third title. 2003 should have marked his fourth championship success, but having started the season intending to complete only a limited programme. he failed to register for a championship he would have won. He did not make the same mistake the following year however, and won the crown for the fourth time in 2004. Despite almost fifty years behind the wheel, retirement is not a thought in Mervyn�s mind. He already has his entry in for next month�s Kenmare Historic Rally, and with the event counting as the opening round of the 2011 Historic Rally Championship a good finish from the Mini expert might yet pave the way for title number five.