The Motorsport Community was left shocked and stunned after the tragic death of Manus Kelly at the Donegal International Rally last weekend. Manus was widely regarded as a gentleman and an extremely popular and talented driver. He had won the event for the previous three years and was impressing again as he accustomed to R5 machinery in 2019. Unfortunately Manus sustained fatal injuries in an accident on Stage 15 of the event. His co-driver Donal Barrett was brought to hospital with minor injuries. The event was immediately cancelled as a mark of respect. The members of Monaghan Motor Club would like to extend their condolences to the Kelly family and friends at this time.
It was a sad end to what had been a classic event over the first two days. Sam Moffett & James Fulton were sensationally leading former WRC star Craig Breen in an identical Fiesta WRC. Josh Moffett/Keith Moriarty debuted an R5 Hyundai for the first time and held 2nd place in the R5 class. Niall Maguire/James O’Reilly also secured a top 10 finish in their Subaru. Paul Kelly guided David Condell to 9th overall in the National rally. Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly also won their class.
Autotest
The annual Monaghan Motor Club Autotest is scheduled to take place on Sunday next 30th June. This will be a counting round of the Traders Trophy club championship but will not be a round of the Hewison championship. Clerk of the Course Brendan Flynn has designed a set of tests with the clubman in mind. The venue is the Maguire Transport yard in Ballinode. Competitors must attend at 12.30 for paper scrutiny, with the action getting underway at 1.30pm. Regulations are available on the club website http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net.
County Monaghan Motor Club 