Josh Moffett & Andy Hayes secured overall victory on the Ravens Rock Rally, Round 5 of the Triton National Rally Championship.
Moffett continued his pursuit of the Triton title with a fourth win from five events and is odds on favourite for the championship.
The 9 stage Waterford based event attracted a smaller than usual National contingent. Moffett & Hayes emerged 18.3 seconds clear of Roy White/James O’Brien to increase their championship lead.
Moffett was fastest on the opening stage but it was White who moved in front on stages 2 and 3 and arrived at first service with a 2.4 second advantage. The pair were well ahead of the chasing pack led by John Dalton in a Darrian. White hit problems on the second loop with a broken handbrake and losing 5th gear. Moffett surged in front to lead by 24 seconds after six stages. He maintained his advantage on the final loop to secure overall victory.
White took 2nd place with the Escort of Richard Moore in 3rd.
Shane Maguire/Anthony Nestor won the Group N category and finished 10th overall. Aisling McArdle guided Des Lyons to 27th overall and 2nd in class 11F. Michael Conlon/Damien Fleming finished 32nd overall after a troubled event.
Round 6 of the National Rally Championship is the Sligo Stages Rally on Sunday July 14th.
Top 10:
1st Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1hr.06m.39.2s
2nd Roy White/James O’Brien (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1h.06.57.5s
3rd Richard Moore/John McGrath (Ford Escort) 1h.09m.53.1s
4th John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrian T90) 1hr.09.54.4s
5th David Guest/Jonathan McGrath (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1h.10m.34.6s
6th Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell (Mini WRC) 1h.11m.31.6s
7th Keith Power/Tommy Cuddihy (Mitsubishi Evo9) 1h.11m.50.9s
8th Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies (Ford Escort) 1h.12m.02.4s
9th Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Mitsubishi Evo9) 1h.12m.12.9s
10th Shane Maguire/Anthony Nestor (Mitsubishi Evo9) 1h.12m.52.4s
McCarra Tops in Autotest
The annual Monaghan Motor Club Autotest was held in ideal conditions on Sunday 30th June in the Maguire Transport Yard in Ballinode. As a counting round of the Traders Trophy club championship, it attracted the usual championship regulars. With this in mind, Clerk of the Course Brendan Flynn designed the tests to suit the limitations of the cars being used.
Oisin Sherlock got proceedings underway in his green Ford Fiesta followed by Craig McPhillips in his Toyota Starlet, the only two drivers competing in the saloon class. However, it was Kieran McCarra in his Starlet who topped the time charts with fastest time on 5 of the 8 tests to take overall victory on the day. Ciaran Tynan, sharing the same car, was runner-up following a consistent performance throughout the 8 tests.
At the conclusion, COC Brendan Flynn thanked Maguire International for the use of their premises, the Northern Standard for its support and the marshals and officials who worked to ensure a well-run event.
Top Six:
1st Kieran McCarra (Starlet) 326.8 seconds.
2nd Ciaran Tynan (Starlet) 338.6 secs,
3rd Martin Tynan (Starlet) 351.1 secs,
4th David McCrudden (Starlet) 382
5th Oisin Sherlock (Fiesta) 452.6
6th Craig McPhillips (Starlet) 471.6
County Monaghan Motor Club 