There was a deserved round of applause in the Sliabh Beagh Hotel when brother and sister Shane and Molly Maguire were announced as overall winners of Monaghan Motor Club’s January Navigation Trial.
The Novice pairing finished the 80-mile event on seven penalties, well clear of the rest of the field by the final control.
The event, the first navigation trial of 2024 and the first round of the Monaghan Motor Club championships, was headed by COC Killian McArdle and Assistant COC Gary Cassidy and had a little bit of everything with lanes, farmyards and forests.
Martin Tynan and David McCrudden were the first crew on the road at 9.01pm and there was little time for crews to settle in as it was straight into a forestry loop.
Timepoints two, three and four required repetition of the same forest track with different departures eventually leading crews out to the familiar deer farm, which marked the return to sealed surfaces for a time.
TP5 to TP8 brought competitors across some familiar roads used on navigation and stage rallies, with the odd slippy lane thrown in for good measure. From there the event went towards Selloo for the first relaxed section of the night and the ITC section.
The ITC ended with a stretch of the main Monaghan/Roslea road. Timepoints 13, 14 and 15 took in Drumslavog and Athaboy, with TP16 just off the Scotstown-Knockatallon road being the point where many positions would be won or lost. The plot and bash began at the end of, what was on the map as, a grey lane leading to nowhere. From there three herringbone tulip diagrams would be required to reach timepoints 17, 18 and 19. The three checks were all located on one farm and were placed on farm tracks and between sheds. Eight crews left TP16 on a clean sheet. Three crews, Maguire/Maguire, Derek Mackarel/Conor Boylan and Packie Duffy/Evin Hughes would leave the plot and bash section joint leaders having all dropped just four marks over the three timepoints.
A much needed relaxed section at TP20 gave crews some breathing space but that only lasted the length of Aghanameena Lane where a snake-shaped herringbone would lead crews to TP22 and from there another herringbone would direct them on to TP23. The two timepoints were located in opposite directions on a farm track at Feebaghbane. Where the vast majority of crews would drop chunks of time and/or get wrong approaches or departures if they were lucky to get them at all, the Maguire siblings cleaned the section to put fresh air between them and the rest of the field.
The route required a circuit of Esh forest to capture TP25 and TP27. The relaxed section between TP28 and TP29 was again welcomed by competitors. A lot of miles had been travelled since the last plot and bash and many were riding close to their 15 minutes of maximum lateness.
TP30, Via 3 and TP31 took in one and a half loops of the Bragan mountain road. A late frost meant there was no time to be switching off so close to the end. A final lane to Control C at Barratitoppy and straight to the hot food, sandwiches and tea provided by the Sliabh Beagh Hotel staff.
In the end, Molly and Shane Maguire had done enough to take their first overall win together, with the Semi-Expert pairing of Declan Tynan and Aaron McElroy finishing 2nd Overall on 34 penalties. Martin Tynan and David McCrudden were one penalty further back taking 3rd OA and 1st Expert.
Despite a wrong approach to the last via Mackarel/Boylan had done enough for 4th OA and 2nd Expert crew. With the Maguires forgoing their class victory, Martin and Gretchen Swinburne were 1st Novice, just ahead of the Expert crew of Andy Mackarel and Greg Shinnors. Michael Carbin and Ben Mohan took 1st Beginner and 10th OA.
The next round of the National Navigation Championship is the 1000 Shakes this weekend, hosted by Cork Motor Club. Monaghan Motor Club’s Drumlin Navigation Trial takes place on 3 February and is a counting round of the National, Border and Club championships.
Kelly and Mohan gain snow experience
In preparation for their second year in the JWRC, which opens with Rally Sweden. Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan took part in the Riihimäki-ralli in Finland for some testing and confidence building. The Fiesta Rally3 crew finished 5th in Class as they closed the gap to the leaders with every kilometre. WRC Rally Sweden takes place from 15-18 February.
Rallysport Association Winter Series
Many local drivers have used the Rallysport Association series to cut their teeth in motorsport, and at the weekend 12-year-old Jack Treanor was out for his second ever event in a Nissan Micra prepared by his father Damien. If past Monaghan Motor Club successes are anything to go by, it’ll be another name to remember for the future.
County Monaghan Motor Club 