2013 Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally
All roads lead to Monaghan this coming weekend as Monaghan Motor Club host their biggest sporting event of the calendar. With a bumper entry and no stone left unturned by the organisers this event is sure to live up to its billing as one of the top stages events of the rally season. A full entry of 141 cars will cross the start ramp at 9.20am Sunday morning to tackle the three stages which cover the general Northeast area of Monaghan, circling Castleshane, Glaslough, Emyvale and Tydavnet and back towards Monaghan where service is located in the main car park behind Flemings.
Last years winner Daniel McKenna will lead off a fantastic field of some of the top cars in the country, including seven WRC spec cars with Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle seeded at number two. Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry are seeded 3, Donagh Kelly 4 and Darren Gass 5, all in Subaru’s. Group N class is sure to be a battle royale through the Monaghan countryside with top four seeds all from Monaghan. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly head the quartet at 12, Josh Moffett/James Rowan 14, Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity 15 and Stephen and Suzanne Wright at 16.
The two wheel drive honours is highly sought after in Monaghan as last years winner Daniel McKenna with Stephen Hagan on the notes this year will once again be in the melting pot with Gary McPhillips/Mark Tierney seeded 7, James Stafford in the infamous Darrian at 8, Frank Kelly 9 with Rodney Wilton, Jim Mc Kenna, Pat Donegan and Brian Brogan to name a few in class 14 all fighting for class honours. Kieran “Bilko” McCarra will head the class 13 field following on from his fantastic results last year and is seeded 21. Midlands stages winners, Chris Armstrong/Tom Clinton are 22, Cavan’s Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne 23 and Russell Woods 24 with Paddy Kiernan/James McCarville sure to be up for class honours seeded 28. Another few local crews sure to be in with a shout in class 13 include Raymond Conlon/Darren McCague and Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly in the starlet.
Double border rally champions Arthur and Mac Kierans lead out the class 12 brigade with Enda Haran/Patrick Corcoran in the twin cam seeded at 43 sure to keep the Aghabog duo on their toes throughout the day. Barry Ryan/Emmett Sherry are top seeds in class 11 ahead of David Moffett/Fintan Sherry with Seamus Connolly/Gary McCruddan third seeds ahead of Johno Doogan, Paul Carroll and Martin McPhillips to name but a few in the highly competitive class 11 which sees over twenty entries. Class 10 is headed by Cavan man Gary Kiernan and Niall Tierney ahead of Monaghan’s John and Niall Kelly with Barry Treanor in hot pursuit in the 205. Lloyd Hutchinson is the man to beat in class 9 in the super quick mini but will have stiff competition from Justin Smyth/Gregory Mc Quillan with Maudabawn men Damien Reilly/Damien McCabe and Pa Bellew all sure to be fighting for class honours. Tommy Doyle/Liam Moynihan are top class 7 entrants in the super quick R3 and is sure to set some top times with Brendan Cumiskey/Conor Foley also out in the newly acquired DS 2 in class 7.
The junior rally will run in tandem with the main field and is led off by Cavan’s Darren O’Brien and Johnny Rooney seeded at 41. Kevin Eve’s and Adrian Reynolds are second junior seeds and will run at 63 with Ryan and Nicola McKenna seeded at 113 in their twin Cam and sure to be up for a class award.
So Monaghan is surely the place to be over this coming weekend and any marshals available are asked to contact any committee member or the club website. As always spectator and competitors safety is at the fore in any motor sport event and the 2013 Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally is no different. This week the Clerk of the Course Paul Hughes emphasised the importance of safety. “The core feature of our preparations has been and always will be the safety of all concerned. Safety Marshals, Stage Commanders and Officials have been trained accordingly. The Event Safety Plan has been compiled meticulously. What is required is that spectators play their part to ensure the safe running of the event. I want to draw the attention of spectators to the Spectator Safety notice in the rally programme. This is your guide to safer spectating, ignoring it is not an option. Safety is everybody’s business and there is one common ingredient that is essential: common sense. Please follow the instructions of the marshals and officials, who are working for your safety. I also ask spectators to respect private property where you assemble and bring your litter home. I am delighted that we have the Road Safety Authority road show attending this year to help us get the message across to all rally fans to “Keep the race in its place”. Finally, I wish everyone involved an enjoyable and safe day’s rallying in Monaghan”.
RSA and Motorsport Ireland Team Up Promote “Keep the Race in its Place”
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Motorsport Ireland, in association with County Monaghan Motor Club who are organisers of the Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally which is being staged on Sunday 21st April 2013, have issued a joint safety message to fans attending the sporting event to “Keep the Race in its Place”.
The RSA and Motorsport Ireland are running a safety campaign around the event to convey life-saving road safety messages to the public and to the high-risk target audiences viewing the event. At the event, the RSA will be opening up the ‘Roll-Over Simulator’ to the public. The RSA Roll-Over Car highlights the importance of wearing a seatbelt as people experience the car turning 360degrees. “The Rally enthusiasts are predominantly young men, and we want to talk directly to this ‘at risk’ group who follow the sport. Just like any other sport, there is a time and a place for Rally driving. These events are heavily marshalled and take place in a highly disciplined and controlled environment. The drivers are specially trained and must wear special personal protective gear. Along with this, the cars are specially prepared for the purpose of rallying. Trying this without all of these precautions would be extremely unsafe.” explained Noel Brett, Chief Executive, RSA. “That is why we want to remind everyone attending the Monaghan Stages Rally to drive safely – and “Keep The Race In Its Place”.
“We’re expecting thousands of fans to attend the Monaghan Stages Rally,” explained Alex Sinclair, Chief Executive, Motorsport Ireland. “And by teaming up with the RSA we want to emphasise the importance of safety, both on the rally course and on the open road. And anyone attending the rally will be getting the message that ‘safety wins’ loud and clear.”
The “Keep the Race in its Place” campaign reminds people to only watch the Special Stages from safety zones, never to enter prohibited areas, and between stages and afterwards, to follow the rally drivers’ lead by staying within the speed limits, by staying belted-in, and by never ever drinking and driving.
Setting this good example is well known rally driver Aaron McHale, Board Member of the RSA. Aaron is a successful rally driver and son of rallying legend Austin McHale. He is helping to get across these important safety messages to the public as part of an advertising campaign.
“As a rally driver I am acutely aware of the need for safety,” explained Aaron McHale, “It is the top priority for all rally drivers and it should be the top priority for all road users. You simply cannot drive on open roads the same way that professional Rally drivers do on closed roads with a co-driver warning you of upcoming obstacles and hazards. Ordinary drivers just don’t drive under the same strict health and safety requirements and when driving on public roads must obey the rules of the road.”
Fans travelling to and from the Monaghan Stages Rally on 21st April 2013 are urged to heed the message from the rally drivers – to ‘Keep the Race in its Place’, slow down, don’t drink and drive and always wear a seatbelt.
Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally Launch Day
Monaghan Motor Club through the guise of its committee members John Kelly and Damien Treanor held a hugely successful Rally launch day in the Hillgrove Hotel last Sunday. A large crowd were well entertained throughout the day with the plethora of rally memorabilia, including rally cars, vintage cars, classic rally cars, trade stands, videos, photographs etc. all combined for an enjoyable day to promote the upcoming Stages Rally this weekend. John and his team must be commended for their efforts in pulling the whole day together which was well supported. Any donations received at the door are for a nominated charity with report and photos to be published at a later date.
Willie Loughman Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally
Well done to Vincent and Jp McAree on their 5th overall result on last weekends Willie Loughman Carrick-on-Suir forestry Rally. The Ballinode cousins took the class win in their EVO 9. Indeed there was good Monaghan rivalry in class 8 throughout the day as Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly pushed the McAree’s all the way to the end and eventually finished just 15 seconds behind, also in a class 8 EVO 9.
Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna had been up to 4th overall and leading the Monaghan charge but they vanished off the leader board with two stages remaining. Michael Conlon and Ciaran McPhillips were also on a great run in the two wheel drive category and were 2nd behind the ultra quick Shane McGirr after four stages but unfortunately they kept two close to the Tipperary scenery and sustained wheel damage which ended their charge. Enda McNulty and Paul Sheridan failed to complete the second stage. Michael Carbin and Stephen Thornton’s bad run of luck continued as they too failed to finish. Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans were running as sweeper in the fiesta, picking up valuable stage miles ahead of their upcoming assault on the British Rally Championship.
Upcoming Events
National Navigation prize giving Saturday 27th April in Portlaoise. Kilmore Hotel Cavan Stages Rally Sunday 26th May.
County Monaghan Motor Club 