County Monaghan Motor Club

 

Monaghan’s Damien Connolly navigated Desi Henry to victory on the Lakeland Forestry Stages rally on Saturday last 7^th October, which was the final round of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship.

The pair had a comfortable 22 seconds to spare over Clontibret driver Sam Moffett and James Fulton, with both crews in Fiesta WRCs. Moffett had challenged for the lead for much of the event but mechanical problems forced him to conserve the car to get to the finish. Cathan McCourt put in a late charge to catch Moffett but fell short by just 11 seconds on his way to third place.

Third placed Cathan McCourt had already secured the championship title on the previous round in Cork. Sam Moffett, who was the champion in 2017, secured 3^rd in the 2019 championship on a tie break.

Monaghan competitors featured in six of the top ten cars. Andrew Grennan navigated Vivian Hamill to 4^th overall in a Fiesta R5, just 5 seconds ahead of 5^th placed Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley in a Fabia R5. Stephen Wright/Arthur Kierans (Fiesta R5) were 8^th overall with Mickey Carbin/Conor Mohan (Lancer Evo 8) completing the top ten on the day. This was enough for the Smithborough/Ballinode pair to secure their position as runners-up in the championship.

Lakeland Stages Top Ten

1 Desi Henry/Damien Connolly (Fiesta WRC) 34m 17s,

2 Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Fiesta WRC) 34m 39s,

3 Cathan McCourt/Barry McNulty (Fiesta R5) 34m 50s,

4 Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan (Fiesta R5) 35m 11s,

5 Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley (Fabia R5) 35m 16s,

6 Patrick O’Brien/Thomas Nugent (Lancer Evo) 35m 20s,

7 Niall McCullagh/Ryan McCloskey (Fiesta R5) 35m 41s,

8 Stephen Wright/Arthur Kierans (Fiesta R5) 35m 44s,

9 Conor McCourt/Brian Hoy (Fiesta) 35m 48s,

10 Mickey Carbin/Conor Mohan (Lancer Evo 8) 36m 00s.

Smyth & McEneaney Shine in Wexford

Lisnalong’s Justin Smyth and navigator James McEneaney finished in a superb 8^th overall position and were the class 12 winners on the 2-day Wexford Stages Rally, run over Saturday and Sunday last.

The pair had 7 seconds to spare over 9^th placed James Bradley/David Byrne following the 15 stage event. Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Escort) were 12th overall and 3^rd in class 14. Shane Farrell navigated Quentin Park (Escort) to 6^th in class 12, while Ryan and Nigel Brennan were 2nd in class 1 in their Honda Civic. Richard Moffett and Martin Connolly had started strongly and were 3^rd overall after stage 5, but retired their Starlet thereafter.

Navigation Classes

The Monaghan Motor Club Navigation Trial classes continue each Friday starting at 8pm in the Sean McDermotts GFC complex in Threemilehouse. If you have an interest in Motorsport, then Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct ‘foundation’ for this sport. The classes cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations for both Navigation and Endurance Trials and will also include a session on pace notes for stages rallies. It’s not too late yet to join. Contact Shane on 086 2616120 to book your place.