County Monaghan Motor Club

A number of Monaghan Club Members made the long trip to Cork for last weekend’s Regie Tilson Endurance Trial. The event was Round 5 of the Coffee Perfection Irish Endurance Trial Championship and attracted most of the series regulars.

Oisin Sherlock guided local man Derek Butler to overall victory on the event, claiming their second win of the year.

Overall honours looked set to be contested by three crew each with a Monaghan man in the navigator’s seat. Top seeds were Dublin’s Peter Barrable and Ballinode’s Conor Mohan. At No.2 were another Dublin/Monaghan team of Karl O’Donoghue and Evin Hughes. Derek Butler/Oisin Sherlock were seeded at 4 but were leading the Endurance Championship into this event.

O’Donoghue/Hughes & Butler/Sherlock exchanged the lead over the opening four selectives with Butler/Sherlock leading after selective 4. The local crew of Sean Daly/Darren O’Mahony were in 2^nd. O’Donoghue/Hughes held 3^rd after losing 20 seconds sliding through the finish box. The all Monaghan team of Jack McKenna/Craig McPhillips held 3^rd on equal times with O’Donoghue/Hughes with Peter Barrable/Conor Mohan in 5^th.

Butler/Sherlock were setting some stunning times to amass an impressive 27 second by lunchtime. O’Donoghue/Hughes were a strong 2^nd. Selective 9 proved dramatic as Butler/Sherlock got stuck and incurred a test maximum costing them over 30 seconds and the lead to O’Donoghue/Hughes. Amazingly, O’Donoghue/Hughes did the exact same thing on Selective 11 but as that selective was longer they dropped a minute and a half to the leaders.

This left Butler/Sherlock in an unassailable lead and they eventually finished 35 seconds clear of the nearest rivals to extend their Championship lead. Daly/O’Mahony were 2^nd with Barrable/Mohan in 3^rd. O’Donoghue/Hughes recovered to 5^th. Mac Kierans/Muireann Hayes finished 7^th overall while Aaron McElroy guided Circuit Racer Nicole Drought to 8^th overall and victory in class A1. Jack McKenna/Craig McPhillips had been running in 3^rd overall but missed the final loop of selectives due to mechanical problems.

The Endurance Trial Championship continues with the Monaghan Endurance Trial on Sunday August 18^th. COC Fintan Keenan had been working hard on this event which will feature selectives in North and Mid-Monaghan. The event is expected to attract a capacity entry as the Sport continues to develop and grow