Author: monaghanmotorclub

 

The climax of Monaghan Motor Club’s rally calendar takes place over the coming weekend with the Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally on Sunday next. Many months of meticulous planning will come together over the coming weekend. A bumper entry of 131 crews will descend on Monaghan town and the neighbouring North Monaghan villages like, Balinode, Scotstown, Tydavnet, Bragan and Carrickroe. Saturday will be taken up with recce of each of the three stages where crews will make their pace notes and familiarise themselves with the stages at hand. Mc Elvaney Motors on the Dublin road will be the main hub of activity on Saturday evening where mechanical scrutiny of each car takes place and then its back to the Hillgrove where all cars will be parked over night and ready for Sundays stages. First competing car is due to leave Rally HQ on Sunday morning at 9.25am with Stage 1 starting at 10.00am. CoC for the event is Dessie Keenan and along with his many helpers has laid on a fantastic route of just over 200 stage kilometres. The third stage of each loop is probably the longest (30km) and most challenging stage of the Irish Rally calendar thus far. Centralised service after each of the three stages is once again in the main town car park beside Saint Peters lake (behind fleming’s). The event is estimated to attract up on 20,000 spectators and rally fans over the course of the weekend making it one of the largest sporting events of the year in the county.

            Local Balinode men Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry will lead the field away from the Hillgrove as number 1 seed in their WRC Impreza, followed by Seamus Leonard and Donagh Kelly also in WRC subaru’s. Scothouse man Daniel McKenna with Andrew Grennan back on the notes will start at 4 and head an amazing group of escorts with Gary Mc Phillips and Mark Tierney in hot pursuit at 5. Donegal cousin’s Declan and Brian Boyle are at 6 in a similar escort and sure to be on the pace. Billy Coleman winner Sam Moffatt with James Reilly on the notes are the only class 4 entrant in the top 10 in their EVO 9, starting at 7. Camillus Bradley and Brian Brogan are next at 8^th and 9^th respectively, both in class 14 escorts while Maurice Moffatt gets reacquainted with navigator Jason McKenna to complete the top 10 in the infamous starlet. Others sure to feature in the top 10 results throughout the day include are Shane Maguire, Trevor Bustard, Josh Moffatt and Conor Harvey, all in class 4 machines. Rodney Wilton is also down to compete in his brand new class 14 escort.

            Looking further down the field Mickey Conlon and Darren Mc Cague head the local entries in class 13, with Kieran ‘Bilko’ Mc Carra, Mac Mc Kenna, Jack Maguire, Barry Mc Kenna and Gerard Mc Quaid to name but a few amongst a group of 24 entrants in class 13. Border champions Arthur and Mac Kierans lead of the class 12 brigade at number 37 with James Cassidy and James at 47 and Eamonn Mc Guigan at 48. Class 11 could also be dubbed “the battle of the locals” with the top 8 from the surrounding areas. Darren and Nicola McKenna lead off at 40, followed by Anthony Hand/Emett Sherry at 41, Ryan Lougheran/James Mc Carville at 42, Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden at 43, David Moffatt /Andrew Spears at 44, Martin McPhillips/Ciaran Tynan at 45, Johno and Padraig Doogan at 46 with Damien Sherry starting at 58 in his twin cam. Class 10 will also be ultra competitive with Parick Kiernan starting at 72 in his escort, followed by the ever reliable Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes in the 205 with Aaron McQuaid, John Kelly, Barry Treanor, Cathal Sheridan and Sean Sherry all in hot pursuit.

            Class 9 see’s Justin Smyth and Gregory Mc Quillan lead off ahead of Donegal’s Barry McGill with Cavan’s Brendan O’Reilly 3^rd class 9 off the start ramp. David Smith and Austin Hamill are sure to be in contention in class 6, which features the C2R2 of Donegal’s Joseph McGonigle and the puma of Roger Donnan. Sean Agnew and Peter Deery will be hoping for better luck than the circuit in class 6 also. Martin Tynan will have regular night navigation navigator Fintan Clerkin on the notes for the very first time on tarmac in his class 4 EVO 8. Class 15, which is for group N cars out of homologation, will also feature a few locals as Cathal Mc Glone and Damien Doherty lead off the locals. Andy Mackarel and Richard Cassidy are next up at 50 with Michael and Declan Tynan just behind in the EVO 5.

            So Monaghan town is the place to be this coming weekend where the cream of Irish Rallying will pit their wits against one another. Monaghan Motor Club wish all starting crews the very best of luck and hope to see everyone back at the Hillgrove Hotel on Sunday night for prize giving. Any marshal’s available for the day please contact a committee member.  

 

Mc Aree’s Third o/a on Moonraker

Vincent and Jp Mc Aree brought their EVO 9 home to an impressive 3^rd over-all on last weekends Carrick-on-Suir Moonraker forestry Rally. This was the third round of the Irish Valvoline Forestry Championship and the Ballinode crew punched in some excellent times throughout the day. The event was won by last years champion Owen Murphy with Gary Jennings in 2^nd. But things could have been a lot different had Jennings not rolled his Subaru while leading the event, remarkably they only lost about half a minute and set fastest stages times thereafter to finish in 2^nd, only 12 seconds off Murphy. Vincent and Jp were only 13 seconds off the over-all winner after 9 stages. Colin Britton and Arthur Kierans were in 5^th over-all as only 21 seconds separated the top 5 finishers. Stephen and Suzanne Wright finished up in 6^th over-all, another good points haul for the championship. Emmet Sherry was sitting with John McLaughlin in their EVO and had a good run to 8^th over-all and 4^th in class. Mickey Conlon and Damien McCabe had been lying in 12^th over-all and leading class 5 after the 7^th stage but failed to make the finish as his gear box cried enough.

 

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving

Friday night last saw a hub of activity around championship sponsor the Squealing Pig Bar and Restaurant for this years annual prize giving. After a long year with seven events hosted by the four clubs of Monaghan, Cavan, Midlands and Donegal it was time to let the hair down as many a story was remimised of the year gone past. The Squealing Pig laid on a fabulous meal, which was followed by prize giving, and plenty of banter among the 60 strong who attended. MC for the night was our very own Sean McCaffery and along with Andy Mackarel and Paul Fitzpatrick they organised a very successful night. Well done to all award winners and to the 2011/12 Squealing Pig border navigation champions Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins. 

 

Open Navigation Meeting

Monaghan Motor Club is holding an open Navigation Trial meeting on Wednesday 25^th April at 8pm sharp in the Hillgrove Hotel. The function of the meeting is to discuss all aspects of the sport and determine if any suggestions or amendments would improve the full spectrum of the sport. This is an important open meeting so we would ask all competitors and event organisers to attend.

 

Motorsport Ireland National Night Navigation Prize Giving

National night navigation prize giving for the 11/12 season past will take place on Saturday 28^th April at 8.00pm sharp in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise. All award winners are asked to be present or send a representative. Full list of award winners will be available shortly. There will also be an open forum meeting prior to prize giving, this is important as it is a chance for competitors to voice their opinions on all aspects of the sport with a view to improving it for the future.

 

IRC Drivers to the fore on Circuit Easter weekend has become synonymous with the running of the Circuit of Ireland Stages Rally. This year there was the added bonus of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge using this Irish event as the 3rd round of this competitive championship. Indeed it was these pocket rocket S2000 cars, which dominated the circuit from start to finish. Juho Hanninen and Mikko Markkula from Finland had a memorable first visit to Irish tarmac with a 44 second win from Norwegians Andreas Mikkelson and Ola Floene. All the way from the Chez Republic were Jan Kopecky and Pavel Drester to finish 3rd, making it a Skoda top 3 after 15 stages. The Armagh City Hotel was HQ for this high profile event, which had a somewhat party atmosphere as it co-incided with the Titanic anniversary celebrations in Belfast. Indeed stage one of the event was a spectator stage around the newly opened Titanic quarters with the backdrop of the Harland and Wolff cranes providing a spectacular showpiece. There were high expectations of Irelands young guns being able to match the IRC regulars but unfortunately it was a weekend to forget for most of them. First victims were Alastair Fisher and Rory Kennedy who were on a good pace but a small mistake on a fast series of bends on ss6 saw them burst an oil cooler after a spin to end their challenge. Waterfords Craig Breen encountered fuel pump problems, which saw him pick up a minute and a half road penalties to relegate him to 5th o/a at the end. Next up was Robert Barrable and Monaghan’s Damian Connolly, also in an S2000 Skoda in 6th o/a. Robert and Damian set some good times as the weekend progressed but lack of stage mileage probably put them at a distinct disadvantage over the IRC front runners. Sam Moffatt and James O’Reilly were in contention in group N and eventually finished 3rd, just under a minute behind the ever flying Gary Jennings with Donagh Kelly 2nd, just 4 seconds ahead of Sam and James. Josh Moffatt and Domhall Lennon were also punching in good times in the 2nd Combi-lift EVO 9 and finished 4th in class and 13th o/a. Peter Deery was navigating for Armagh’s Sean Agnew in the competitive Citreon C2R2 but they failed to make the finish after featuring in the class placing’s through the first few stages. The Circuit of Ireland was also a counting round of the Irish tarmac Championship, which saw over 60 entrants. Galway winners Darren Gass and Enda Sherry made it another win with a measured drive to finish almost a minute and a half ahead of Eugene Donnelly and Paddy Toner. Eugene was showcasing his familiar WRC Corolla on this event having been 2nd to Gass and Sherry in the Mini WRC in Galway. Derek McGarrity rounded off the top 3 in his Mini WRC. Adrian Hetherinton won the two-wheel-drive category ahead of Drew Stewart with Wesley Patterson 3rd. Early leader, Frank Kelly relieved himself of a wheel on stage 6 to end his rally. Raymond Conlon, with Galway’s Sarah Wheelan on the notes climbed the leader board throughout the weekend to finish 11th o/a in the twin cam. Raymond disappointed that the last of the night stages had to cancelled on Friday night as his night navigation experience gave him great confidence in the dark. Brendan and JP McAree made the short trip North in the immaculate Porche and enjoyed their run to 37th o/a and after a steady run in the historic section. Cootehill father and son team, Gerry and Aaron McIntyre slid their starlet round the Northern stages to 45th over-all. Well done to all finishers and thanks to all the local marshal’s who helped out over the course of the weekend. ULSTER AC DONNELLY GROUP CIRCUIT OF IRELAND RALLY (ROUND 3 OF INTERCONTINENTAL RALLY CHALLENGE): 1 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1h 58m 21.8s 2 Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1h 59m 06.0s 3 Jan Kopecky/Pavel Dresler (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 00m 01.3s 4 Mathieu Arzeno/Renoul Jamoul (Peugeot 207 S2000) 2h 02m 23.4s 5 Craig Breen/Gareth Roberts (Peugeot 207 S2000) 2h 03m 15.6s 6 Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 03m 36.3s 7 Sepp Wiegand/Timo Gottschalk (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 04m 37.7s 8 Garry Jennings/Barry McNulty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 2h 06m 49.7s 9 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 2h 07m 33.2s 10 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 2h 07m 37.8s 11 Martin McCormack/David Moynihan (Citroen DS3) 2h 10m 16.6s 12 Tommy Doyle/Liam Moynihan (Renault Clio R3) 2h 10m 37.1s NATIONAL RALLY (ROUND 2 OF IRISH TARMAC CHAMPIONSHIP): 1 Darren Gass/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 01m 59.5s 2 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Toyota Corolla WRC) 2h 03m 27s 3 Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Mini Countryman WRC) 2h 06m 30.2s 4 Steve Perez/Paul Spooner (Ford Focus WRC) 2h 09m 12.9s 5 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Escort) 2h 12m 19.8s 6 Wesley Patterson/Martin McGarrity (Ford Escort) 2h 13m 22.7s

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving This Friday 13th April marks the annual Squealing Pig Bar & Restaurant Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving. Proceedings will kick off at 8.00pm sharp in the Squealing Pig with meal followed by prizegiving. Final border championship points are available on Monaghan motor club website so check them out; you may just be a winner. If not come along anyway to support this popular championship with a guaranteed night of banter and reminisce about the season gone past. To book tickets please call or text Andy on 087 2558957 Motorsport Ireland National Night Navigation Prize Giving National night navigation prize giving for the 11/12 season past will take place on Saturday 28th April at 8.00pm sharp in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise. All award winners are asked to be present or send a representative. Full list of award winners will be available shortly. There will also be an open forum meeting prior to prize giving, this is important as it is a chance for competitors to voice their opinions on all aspects of the sport with a view to improving it for the future.

Open Navigation Meeting Monaghan Motor Club is holding an open Navigation Trial meeting on Wednesday 25th April at 8pm sharp in the Hillgrove Hotel. The function of the meeting is to discuss all aspects of the sport and determine if any suggestions or amendments would improve the full spectrum of the sport. This is an important open meeting so we would ask all competitors and event organisers to attend.

Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally – almost here!! One of the most popular events across Ireland in the rallying colander – the Monaghan Stages Rally, is fast approaching. With only 2 weeks to go, we are yet again in for something special in Monaghan when the cream of Irish rallying will visit the county in their droves. The attraction for man and machine in Monaghan is now well known as the place to come, where real competition takes place. The naturally challenging terrain of our countryside is ideal to test all levels of competitor with their various grades of rally cars and in 2012, we will yet again see some great battles on our door steps. New COC for the event is Dessie Keenan, who has taken on the task of setting out some excellent stages for the drivers and spectators. In 2012, Dessie has brought the event back to north Monaghan and will cover areas such as Tydavnet, Carrickroe, Bragan, Scotstown and Bellanode. Once again, our long-standing sponsor – the Hillgrove Hotel, has welcomed our club and event back to their excellent facilities and throughout the rally weekend the Hotel will be the main hub of all activity. Paper scrutiny will take place here on Saturday 21st April along with Parc Ferme for the rally cars. Mechanical Car Scrutiny also takes place on Saturday at McElvaney Motors on the Dublin Road from 3pm. Official start as usual will be at the front of the Hotel on Sunday morning where an expected 130 rally cars will pass through on their way to the stages. Dessie has kept with the format of 3 stages run 3 times which suits this region and allows for central servicing in the town car park at the back of Fleming’s Super Market. New to this year, is a very challenging 30Klm stage, which will test the stamina of the teams, and indeed tyre choices will become a tactical issue during the day. So keep Sunday 22nd April free for this event, as it is surely an event not to miss!

Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans teamed up last weekend to win the Midlands Motor Club Moto Stages Rally. With Daniels regular navigator Andrew Grennan sidelined for a few weeks, Arthur jumped at the chance of navigating and they pulled off the win by a narrow margin of only 2 seconds after 9 stages. Donegal’s Declan and Brian Boyle were also on a serious pace throughout the day and any minor mistake would have been enough for either crew to relinquish the lead.

Daniel and Arthur started with a blistering time on the first stage, 6 seconds ahead of the Boyles with  Donagh Kelly 3^rd in an EVO 9, but Donagh would later retire with gearbox problems. By first service their lead was cut to 3 seconds after three stages and on the middle loop despite their best efforts the Scotshouse/Aghabog pairing could only stretch the lead to 4 seconds as the Boyle brothers piled on the pressure. Just behind the top two there was an even more personal battle going on between Maurice Moffett/Patrick Brides and son Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly. Richard was quickest of the Moffett’s through the first loop in the infamous starlet but the threat of being beaten by his son spurred Maurice and Patrick on to eventually take 3^rd overall, albeit in a more powerful class 14 starlet. Back in front, Daniel stretched his lead to 6 seconds through stages 7 and 8 but on the last stage of the day the Boyle brothers threw caution to the wind and pulled 4 seconds back but this wasn’t enough. Back at the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon Daniel Mc Kenna and Arthur Kierans were crowned 2012 Midlands Stages winners. Incidentally this is the second year running Daniel has won this event.

To quote the wise words of a local “hero” there were two Kierans’ navigating for two Mc Kenna’s in two Millington powered escorts! Young Mac Kierans got the call up late in the week to sit with Jim McKenna but their day wasn’t quite as straightforward. Jim’s immaculate class 14 escort bared all the hallmarks of a high-speed spin but nevertheless they got away with only cosmetic damage and finished 12^th over-all and 3^rd in class 14. Cavan’s Paddy Boyle and Marty Sherlock made a return to the stages after a lengthy 3 year sabbatical but refound their form and set some great times as the day progressed to finish 14^th o/a. Next of the locals was Jack Maguire and Stephen McElroy in 15^th o/a. Mickey Conlon had Darren McCague on the notes and they too had a troubled day, picking up a puncture and dropping at least two minutes to finish in 17^th over-all. Maudabawn men Mervin Wedlock and Damien McCabe were next up in 18^th o/a in their class 13 escort. Martin McPhillips and Ciaran Tynan had a steady run in the McPhillips Engineering backed twin cam to win class 11 and finish 20^th over-all. Martin and Ciaran had been involved in a great class battle with Carrickmacross men Johno Doogan and JP McAree but unfortunately the South Monaghan crew encountered alternator belt problems through the middle loop which ultimately forced them into retirement.

Local midlands crew and regular night navigation contenders Packie Duffy and Michael Reilly had a good run on their home event to win class 3 in  their Type R Honda. Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston would usually be rivals on the night navigation scene but teamed up for their local stages event. Unfortunately their challenge came to a sudden stop on stage 2 after setting a great time on the opening test. Cavan’s Brendan O’Reilly had Mark Hamill on the notes and they had an enjoyable run through the narrow Roscommon roads to take 2^nd in class 9 behind Pa Bellew and Andres Reid.

Not to be outdone by the Moffett battle at the head of the main field, David Moffett and Andrew Spears, in the 3^rd of the Moffett starlets, took stage wins on all 6 stages of the Junior Rally to take a convincing win. Not only this but David’s time on the opening stage was a 5^th fastest time in the main field with brother Richard setting 4^th fastest, such was the pace of these youngsters. Longford’s Barry and Sean Brady were 2^nd in the junior rally in their civic ahead of another local crew John Collum and Caitriona Spollen also in a civic.

So another win for the Scanbitz escort and an almost perfect day in the Moffett stable. Best of luck to all travelling local crews for this weekends circuit of Kerry Stages.

 

MIDLAND MC STAGES RALLY TOP 10

1/ Daniel McKenna/Arthur Kierans (Escort) 56m 48s

2/ Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Escort) 56m 50s

3/ Maurice Moffett/Patrick Brides (Starlet) 59m 37s

4/ Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly (Starlet) 59m 50s

5/ Neil Tohill/Gerard Tohill (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 60m 41s

6/ Michael Curran/Sean Hayde (Escort) 60m 49s

7/ Alan Sheridan/Gerry Conlon (Escort) 61m 05s

8/ Andrew Mullen/Elaine Doherty (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 61m 35s

9/ Daniel Conaghan/Terence Magee (Escort) 62m 06s

10/ Marc McDermott/Damian Flanagan (Civic) 62m 19s

 

Juniors:

1/ David Moffett/Andrew Speares (Starlet) 41m 06s

2/ Barry Brady/Sean Brady (Civic) 43m 53s

3/ John Collum/Catriona Spollen (Civic) 44m 57s

 

Bulldog Rally

Club member Emmet Sherry made the trip to Wales at the weekend to contest the Bulldog Rally as navigator for upcoming Fermanagh driver Jon Armstrong in a LHD ST Fiesta. This was only Jon’s second ever pacenote event and following a 13^th overall result on the recent Omagh Spring Rally confidence was high in the Armstrong camp. Jon and Emmet started well, just 7 tenths of a second off the fastest overall BRC Challenge competitor after taking it reasonable steady through the first stage. On stage 2 Jon and Emmet had a good charge through the 8-mile stage and were 12 seconds faster than the nearest Challenge competitor. Unfortunately stage 3 was to be their last, unaware that they had picked up a puncture on a rough cut up hairpin Jon entered a tight right hand corner following a series of fast flowing corners and soon realised they were in trouble. The car just would not turn in at all and the result was slipping the car off a drop and rolling 2 times. The accident ended Jon and Emmet’s event, as the car was too far off the road and had a fair amount of damage, a disappointing end after a great start. Jon and Emmet plan to continue their assault on the BRC challenge and hope to have their car ready for the Jim Clarke Rally.

 

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving

Keep free Friday 13^th April for the annual Squealing Pig Bar & Restaurant Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving. Proceedings will kick off at 8.00pm sharp in the Squealing Pig with meal followed by prizegiving. Final border championship points will be available shortly so keep an eye out; you may just be a winner. If not come along anyway to support this popular championship with a guaranteed night of banter and reminisce about the season gone past. To book tickets please call or text Andy on 087 2558957

 

Marshals Required

Monaghan MC are urgently looking for marshals for the Circuit of Ireland on Easter weekend, particularly Easter Saturday. Anybody available and willing to help please contact 047-81139 after 7pm or e-mail Monaghan Motor Club at monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com

Monaghan Motor Club hosted the final rounds of both the National and Squealing Pig Border navigation championships on Friday night last. New Coc for this event was Barry Garvey and with his driver Kevin Keenan as assistant, this was sure to be a test of navigation skills around the north Monaghan countryside. Local man Damien Connolly used his knowledge of the area to full effect and recorded a 14-penalty win along with his Donegal driver Gary McElhinney. Prior to the event Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins were marginally in front for the over-all border championship honours and duly obliged by finishing 2^nd here to lift the 2011/12 Squealing Pig Border navigation championship. Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes’ persistence paid off when their 3^rd over-all result here ensured they were crowned 2011/12 National Night navigation champions. The Smithboro/Ballybay pairing put a bad start to the campaign behind them and knuckled down with a string of top three finishes’ to lift this years national title.

With 49 starters and an 11pm start hopes were high for all competitors of a good end to the season. From the off it was apparent that this event was going to be tricky as the leading crews departed into the unknown from time point 1, a maze of lanes behind McAree engineering in Ballinode! All but two crews drop time here as the event then headed towards Tydavnet and then back west towards Scotstown and the first of two visits to the farm lanes known locally as “yankees” with four time points here throughout the night. Early leaders Bob Moyna and Shane Maguire miss time point 8 altogether but results sheets suggest this local crew only drop one time penalty right up to time point 25. Bob obviously getting into the swing of handling the ex-Carbin Legacy! Carbin and Hughes took over as leaders from tp 8 where they remained until tp31 when a dropped minute relegated them to 2^nd behind Andy and Liam.

Moving North to the very tip of Monaghan the lanes came thick and fast around the Glaslough area, another visit into Mac McKennas with every make of car, van and lorry making the exit very difficult to spot. Then it was south again nearer to Ballinode with 3 slots into time points around Kevin Keenan’s parish. The narrowest of turns into a slatted shed and twist left and right around girders then out around the machinery to a time point, almost impossible to make these times. Even the calves in Keenan’s farm were trying to make their escape! Noel Hall drops time like everyone else but had he not stopped to put two nice wee calves in the boot he may have avoided having to skip time points later on! The final four time points saw most crews forced to skip some, if not all of them in a bid to make the finish before going over maximum. Time point 43 and Control C were once again back in the maze of lanes around Moyna’s behind McAree Engineering in Ballinode. A serious test of man and machine and with final control outside “maggies” in Ballinode it was a welcomed sigh of relief from everyone. A great event to finish off the year and yet again many more new lanes to remember for the years ahead.

With Andy and Liam forced to skip tp 42 and take a wrong approach to 43 along with approximately 34 others as time simply evaded them it was Damien Connolly and Gary McElhinney who had just enough time to visit everything and claim the over-all win. The Connolly/McElhinney win promoted Mackarel and Higgins to expert class winners ahead of the newly crowned national champions Carbin and Hughes. Michael and Ciaran Tynan managed a better run this time out to take 3^rd expert and 6^th over-all. Competition was fierce once again in the semi-expert class but Sean McKenna and Gary Farrelly managed a slender 3-penalty win and 4^th over-all ahead of Midland’s men Chris Kelly and Sam Johnston. Both these crews forced to miss tp 41 and 43 as they were over their maximum 15 minutes. Bob Moyna and Shane Maguire kept the pressure on throughout the night but they too were forced to skip but nevertheless 3^rd in semi and 13^th over-all a good run for these guys. Novice class winners Niall McKenna and Adrian Treanor had a tremendous run considering they only contest selected events and 8^th over-all and the novice class win is a great return on this tricky event. Fintan Clerkin with Martin Tynan driving are moving up the leader board with every event and take 2^nd novice and 10^th over-all on this event. 3^rd novice went to Arthur and Mac Kierans. On a tough night for any beginner it was Corks Matt Shinnors with Catherine Levis on the maps who took a 14 penalty win from Conor Meehan and Brendan Keenan. Aaron Duffy and Michael McCluskey topped off a good season with 3^rd beginner.

So that’s it, another navigation season over and with many a story to be told from the past six months, the poti-lamps and romers are back in the cupboards until October at least. Well done to Barry and Kevin on an excellent testing event, thanks to all the marshals who turned out, not only on Friday night but also throughout the course of the season. Keep an eye on club web site and papers for updates on upcoming prizegiving nights for both championships. Well done to our new national navigation champions, Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes as well as new border champions Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins.

Monaghan MC March Navigation Top 12

1/ Gary McElhinney/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza) 35 marks

2/ Andy Mackarel/Liam Higgins (Subaru Impreza) 49m

3/ Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 58m

4/ Sean McKenna/Garry Farrelly (Subaru Impreza) 63m

5/ Chris Kelly/Sam Johnston (Subaru Impreza) 66m

6/ Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 76m

7/ Daniel McKenna/Stephen Hagan (Subaru Impreza) 77m

8/ Niall Kelly/Adrian Treanor (Toyota Celica) 82m

9/ Karl Reid/Aidan Friel (Subaru Impreza) 91m

10/ Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin (Subaru Impreza) 92m

11/ Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall (Subaru Impreza) 98m

12/ Darren Quinn/Nigel McCloughry (Subaru Legacy) 99m.

Semi-experts:

1/ Sean McKenna/Garry Farrelly

2/ Chris Kelly/Sam Johnston

3/ Bob Moyna/Shane Maguire 101m

Novices:

1/ Niall Kelly/Adrian Treanor

2/ Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin

3/ Darren Quinn/Nigel McCloughry

Beginners:

1/ Shane Dalton/Michael Reilly (Subaru Impreza) 202m

2/ Matt Shinnors/Catherine Levis (Opel Kadett) 216m

3/ Conor Meehan/Brendan Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 230m

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving

Keep free Friday 13^th April for the annual Squealing Pig Bar & Restaurant Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving. Proceedings will kick off at 8.00pm sharp in the Squealing Pig with meal followed by prizegiving. Final border championship points will be available shortly so keep an eye out; you may just be a winner. If not come along anyway to support this popular championship with a guaranteed night of banter and reminisce about the season gone past.

 

Marshals Required

Monaghan MC are urgently looking for marshals for Midland Stages Rally on this Sunday 25th March & for the Circuit of Ireland on Easter weekend, particularly Easter Saturday. Anybody available and willing to help please contact 047-81139 after 7pm or e-mail Monaghan Motor Club at monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com