County Monaghan Motor Club

Wexford Stages Rally

Richard Moffett and Darragh Kelly were the highest placed Monaghan crew at last weekend’s Wexford Stages Rally. The pair finished the two day, 18 stage event in 5^th place overall and 2^nd in class 14. They had been running as high as 3^rd OA but dropped back on the treacherous Sunday stages, which included a big moment when the car caught a huge puddle of water on the inside of a fast left hand corner sending the crew up the road in a 360° spin. (The video is available to view on the Moffett Motorsport FB page).

Paul Kelly navigated David Condell to 13^th OA and 7^th class 14. Justin Smith/James McEneaney finished 19^th OA and 1^st class 12. Nigel Brennan/James Sherry finished 43^rd OA and 4^th class 11F.

Ryan Farrell navigating for Richard Harney retired after SS2. Paul McPhillips navigating for John Boland had an off on SS7, the team managed to get the car repaired overnight and they returned on Sunday, before mechanical trouble retired them for good on SS15. Shane Farrell on the notes for JT Warnock were having a great weekend up until the last stage, where they broke the crown wheel and pinion on the start line, cruelly ending their weekend.

Andrew Purcell along with Josh Moffett’s Tarmac Championship navigator and local man Andy Hayes won the event in their Skoda Fabia R5. They finished the event with 31.2 seconds to spare over long time leaders James Stafford/Thomas Scallan.  Stafford had a commanding lead of 53.6s over Purcell after day one in his RWD Darrian T90 GTR. However, with the torrential rain over Sundays nine stages, the lightness of the Darrian left that Stafford was unable to match the grip levels of the Skoda and thus dropped back to 2^nd OA on SS15. Former WRC star and Flying Finn, Mikko Hirvonen made the trip over to take part. He finished a fantastic 6^th OA and 3^rd class 14.

Elsewhere, Brendan Cumiskey and Martin Connolly finished 12^th OA on the Galloway Hills Rally in their Ford Fiesta Rally4.

Show and Shine

Monaghan Motor Club would like to thank all who turned up to the Show and Shine event at the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday last. A large turnout of cars came despite the heavy rain. A huge thank you must go to the organising team and the local businesses who donated spot prizes. Congratulations to Marco Lennon who won the Best car on Display award.  All proceeds of the event will be donated to SOSAD. SOSAD Ireland is a non-profit organisation that provides free counselling services to people who are suffering with-Suicidal Ideation, Self Harming, Depression, Stress and Anxiety or If you simply need to talk. More information is available at www.sosadireland.ie.

Motor Club AGM

Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday evening 28th September at 8pm in the Four Seasons Hotel. Our invitation is open to all those who are interested in motorsport, to come long and discuss topics and events for the upcoming season. We will have a special address from the President of our governing body- Motorsport Ireland. This is our first AGM in person since 2019 so please attend where we can collectively discuss matters concerning our sport.

PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com