Local Cork crews came to the fore on last Saturday’s 100 Isles Navigation Trial organised by Skibbereen & District Motor Club. The event was the fifth round of the National Night Navigation Championship and was won by Ger O’Connell/Denis O’Donovan on 16 penalties.
COC Eric McCarthy laid out a demanding 80 mile route north east of Clonakilty in some classic navigation terrain. It was O’Connell/O’Donovan who came out on top with Owen Murphy/Daire Hayes in 2nd and Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy in 3rd. Midland’s Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston finished 4th to boost their National Championship hopes. Club members, Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes made the trip down but had to settle for 7th place after going over maximum lateness at the end of the night. Cavan’s Andrew Wedlock guided Derek Butler to victory in the Novice class and 8th overall. Paddy & Oisin Sherlock also made the trip down from Monaghan and they took a fine 2nd in the Beginner’s class.
Midland Motor Club will host the next round of both the National & Border Night Navigation Championships. This event is being organised by Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes and will take place on Saturday 14th February. The event will be based out of Drumlish and will be approximately 80 miles in length.
Galway International Rally Preview
The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship kicks off this weekend with the Galway International Rally once again the curtain raiser to the series. Two days of action gets under way on Saturday morning with six stages on the agenda. There will be a further eight stages taking place on Sunday before the finish in Galway City.
Leading Monaghan entries include Clontibret brothers, Sam & Josh Moffett in a brace of Ford Fiesta WRCs. Sam and co-driver James O’Reilly are seeded at 5 while Josh & navigator John Rowan slot in at 7. Michael Conlon & Ciaran McPhillips are amongst the leading two-wheel drive entries and are seeded at 19. Australia based Monaghan man Pauric Duffy & navigator Kevin Glynn are at no 33, Kieran McCarra/Mark Hamaill are back out at no. 40 in their Civic with Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden seeded at 45 in their Escort. A full report on their progress will be available next week.
Donegal Forestry Postponed
The Donegal Forestry Rally which was due to take place last Saturday has been postponed to a future date. The road conditions made running the event impossible and the club will advise a future date for this event once confirmed.
Open Forum
Monaghan Motor Club will host an Open Forum for marshals and competitors on Thursday 12th February in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan commencing at 8pm. The Chairman of the Rallies Committee has confirmed he will attend and it is hoped that the Chief Executive, President and Immediate Past President of Motorsport Ireland and members of the Rallies Committee will also be present. The agenda is as follows:
The Future of Rallying:
– safety
– competitor input to future rule changes
– marshal recruitment and training
– communications
This forum is not confined to Monaghan club members and members from our neighbouring motor clubs are also invited to attend
Upcoming events:
February 14th/15th Midland Navigation Trial
February 15th Monaghan Autotest
February 21st Fivemiletown Forestry Rally
February 22nd Birr Stages Rally
February 28th ALMC Endurance Trial
February 28th/1st Cavan Navigation Trial
March 1st Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally
County Monaghan Motor Club 