Jennings Win’s Donegal International Rally
Fermanagh man Gary Jennings with Donegal native Neil Doherty on the notes had a memorable victory on last weekends Topaz Donegal International Rally. To make it an even sweeter victory Gary was in a rented Subaru S14 WRC, which he had never competed in before. Leading from start to finish Gary and Neil took a minute and 21 seconds win over Seamus Leonard and John McCafferty. Derek McGarrity and Paul Kiely had a steady run throughout the weekend to round off the top three.
As ever this event proved to be more of a marathon than a race with 143 cars starting in the main field to tackle the 22 stages over three days through some of the most famous stages in Ireland. Monaghan man Enda Sherry was seeded at number 1 alongside young Markethill driver Darren Gass. Leading the series prior to this event, this crew incurred road penalties on day 1 which would ultimately drop them from as possible 2nd over-all to 5th. Nonetheless a good points haul in their quest for the International title. Local men Niall Maguire and Conor Foley were at number 6 for the event and putting in some very consistent times throughout the weekend. Unfortunately bad luck set in on the final stage as gearbox troubles raised its ugly head again, forcing them into retirement while lying 6th over-all. Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly started at number 17 in their evo 9 and had a ding-dong battle all weekend with younger brother Josh who had Jason McKenna on the notes. Josh and Jason were late entrants and certainly had the upper hand through most of the weekend but Sam and James pulled out all the stops on the Sunday stages to pull through and take the Group N victory and 6th over-all. Josh Moffatt had to settle for 7th over-all, only 17seconds behind brother Sam after 3 intense days rallying. Another Monaghan crew saw Daniel mc Kenna and Arthur Kierans leading the national rally away at number 10 but their event was short lived with transmission woes forcing their retirement on Friday afternoon while leading the National rally. However they re-joined the Rally for the Saturday stages and set some great times, whilst entertaining the crowds along the way.
Heavy rains continued throughout the Friday and Saturday stages but thankfully the sun made an appearance on Sunday for the final day of the rally. The National Rally turned out to be more of a local battle as Declan and Brian Boyle just edged out Manus Kelly and Donal Barrett for the over-all win in the National Rally by a mere 4.8 seconds after 3 long days rallying. Incidentally Manus was in the now famous red Gary McPhillips escort for the weekend. Martin McGee was 3rd with Brian Brogan 4th over-all, both Donegal natives. Jim McKenna/Thomas Treanor was another local crew seeded at number 37 in their black escort but sadly retired over the final few stages on Sunday whilst lying 12th in the National event. Cavan pairing of Damien O’Reilly and Damien mc Cabe were at number 98 in there escort mk2 and finished 3rd in class 9 and 47th over-all. Donegal’s James Greenan had Monaghan man Jonathan Treanor on the notes and they had a good steady run throughout the weekend in there class 9 corsa despite losing some time on the Friday stages with gearbox problems and went on to take 2nd in class 9 and 40th over all. Sean Agnew had regular navigator Peter Deery on the notes and were 19th over-all and 2nd in class 9 in the national section. David Smyth/Mark Deery was another Monaghan crew to tackle the Donegal stages and had an excellent run to 39th over-all. Well done to all locals’ crews who made the trip.
2012 Topaz Donegal International Rally Top 10
1/ Garry Jennings/Neil Doherty (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 25m 06s
2/ Seamus Leonard/John McCafferty (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 26m 27s
3/ Derek McGarrity/Paul Kiely (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 28m 01s
4/ Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 28m 17s
5/ Darren Gass/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 29m 03s
6/ Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 34m 05s
7/ Josh Moffett/Jason McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 34m 22s
8/ Martin Doherty/Damien McCauley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 37m 52s
9/ Kevin O’Connor/Gerard Conway (Citroen C2R2 Max) 2h 42m 35s
10/ P J McDermott/Paul Goodman (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 42m 53s
Group N Production class:
1/ Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly
2/ Josh Moffett/Jason McKenna
3/ Martin Doherty/Damien McCauley
National Rally:
1/ Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Ford Escort) 2h 32m 21s
2/ Manus Kelly/Donal Barrett (Ford Escort) 2h 32m 26s
3/ Martin McGee/Denis O’Mahony (Ford Escort) 2h 34m 48s
Historic Rally:
1/ Andy Johnson/Jim McSherry (Vauxhall Chevette) 2h 03m 54s
2/ John Keatley/James McKeefrey (Ford Escort) 2h 04m 01s
3/ Stephen McFerran/Ellen McFerran (Ford Escort) 2h 08m 34s
Junior Rally:
1/ Damien Whoriskey/Michael McClafferty (Ford Escort) 56m 03s
2/ Barry McLaughlin/Aodhan Gallagher (Toyota Corolla) 56m 28s
3/ Christopher McLaughlin/Niall O’Donnell (Toyota Corolla) 58m 03s.
Raymond Conlon and Darren Mc Cague entertain in Sol Rally, Barbados
Well done to club members Raymond Conlon and Darren McCague who made the epic journey to Barbados recently to compete in the now famous Sol Rally, Barbados. Raymond and Darren slid their black twin cam to a fine 3rd in class on this event, which is ran over two weekends. Full report and photo’s next week.
Sympathy
Monaghan Motor Club would like to extend their sympathy to the family & friends of Michael Leonard who passed away recently. Michael was an active competitor for many years and also assisted on various events held by the club. A native of Aghabog, Michael has no doubt influenced many of the current motorsport followers in the area and will be sadly missed by all who knew him. May he rest in peace.
County Monaghan Motor Club 