A plethora of Monaghan Motor Club Members made the trip to Wexford last weekend for the third round of the Irish Endurance Championship.
This was Wexford Motor Club’s first Endurance Trial but the hard-working team put together an excellent event featuring twenty selectives during the day and attracted an impressive entry of 50 crews.
Overall honours went to the experienced endurance crew of Dublin’s Karl O’Donoghue and Monaghan’s Evin Hughes.
The opening loop of five selectives featured a mix of surfaces including concrete, gravel and grass. Cork’s Derek Bulter/Aaron O’Regan were leading the event tied with the local crew of Martin French/Colin Murray.
Leading the Monaghan crews were Peter Barrable/Conor Mohan. Peter was chasing a third straight win in the championship after wins in ALMC and Tipperary. They were nine seconds off the pace after five tests while Karl O’Donoghue/Evin Hughes were a further five seconds back. Josh Moffett & Wexford navigator, Andy Hayes, were hauling their big Vectra around to hold a top 10 place. Scotstown’s Gary Cassidy/Paul Kelly had been as high as 3rd overall in their Mitsubishi Colt but mechanical problems sidelined them.
Following a repeat of the morning selectives, Martin French had edged into the lead, setting stunning times in his Micra. Such was the pace and strength of competition just 15 seconds separated the top six at the halfway mark. Barrable/Mohan were 4th but their engine was overheating and guzzling water between selectives. O’Donoghue/Hughes were 6th hoping to eradicate a few errors from the morning loop.
A new loop of selectives followed consisting of three autotest type selectives on concrete yards, a dusty quarry and a farm & field test. Selective 11 would turn the event on its head as O’Donoghue/Hughes jumped from 6th to 1st while other crews hit problems. They maintained their lead until the end of the loop with hard-charging local’s French/Murray, five seconds behind. Barrable/Mohan were holding onto 4th despite their engine worries. Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes were on the fringes of the top 10 despite two punctures with Mac Kierans/Muireann Hayes just behind in their Corolla.
O’Donoghue/Hughes maintained their lead to the end, finishing 17 seconds clear. A late push from Barrable/Mohan saw them claim 2nd, pipping French/Murray by three seconds. Bulter/O’Regan were just another second back with Sligo’s Patrick Corcoran/Gary Egan and Kildare’s Kevin O’Rourke/Dave McAuley completing the top six. 36 seconds spilt the six crews demonstrating the intense competition at the front of the field.
Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Vectra) finished 11th overall. Mac Kierans/Muireann Hayes (Corolla) were 14th. Emmet Sherry/Ciaran Geaney (Starlet) came home 20th. Nigel Brennan/Ryan Brenna (Colt) finished 24th overall. Damien & Thomas Treanor (Starlet) came home 28th overall after late problems saw them miss several selectives. Jack McKenna/Denver Rafferty (Starlet) and Gary Cassidy/Paul Kelly (Colt) were the other Monaghan crews to be classified as finishers despite both crews missing the majority of selectives. Thomas Wedlock/Conor Boylan competed in class 2 for Navigation cars up to 1400cc and took 6th in class on their first Endurance event.
Monaghan’s Endurance Trial is set to be the next round of the championship and is scheduled to take place on Sunday August 19th. As this sport continues to grow and develop, a strong entry is expected.
County Monaghan Motor Club 