Monaghan Motor club hosted the first Night Navigation Trial of 2011 on Saturday last 15th January to kick-start a busy schedule for this form of motor sport. There are seven events in total over an 11-week period to be run by motor clubs from Cork to Donegal. First time Clerk of the Course and novice navigator Fintan Clerkin took on the challenge of setting out this tough event, ably assisted by James Mc Carville and their team, choosing Tydavnet as their HQ. Torrential rain throughout Saturday caused havoc as two lanes were lost pre-event with a number of others very close to flooding. However this added to the challenge for competitors and it was Michael and Ciaran Tynan who emerged as victors on this tricky event through the North Monaghan countryside with Gareth Beagan and Stephen Thornton in 2ndand Andy Mackarel/Liam Higgins in 3rd.
Once again a near full entry of 47 starters crossed the start ramp and without any time for settling in was lane after lane from the off. Time points 2 and 3 were pre-plotted through farmyards while tp4 was a tricky tulip diagram through yet another farmyard with only 6 crews managing to get it spot on while a further 6 crews took wrong approaches and 26 crews missed it altogether, a sign of things to come throughout the night. Tps 8 and 10 were the next plot and bash sections with an envelope given to crews at tp7 containing a large A4 page for tp10 but the smallest piece of paper possible with the coordinates for tp8. Most crews never even spotted this as only 3 crews managed to get tp8 without any penalties and only 2 crews getting tp11 without any penalties.
As the event moved east towards Emyvale and then onto the Carrickroe area there was no let up as even the expert crews battled to keep afloat not only because of the rain but also the intensity of the tricky slots into lanes, around farms, through fields with the slightest mistake surely meriting a wrong approach at the least. By mid point it was event winners Michael and Ciaran Tynan who were out in front with Andy and Liam 2nd and Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall 3rd for overall honours while a newly formed crew of Dessie Keenan and Shane Maguire on the maps were putting local knowledge to good use as they led the semi-expert class with Donegal man Karl Reid driving Ciaran Geaney holding a convincing lead in the novice class. Damian Hagan/Macartan Kierans well ahead of the opposition in the beginners section.
Towards the latter stages of the night the event then headed north west towards the much anticipated Bragan Forest complex with lane after gravel lane putting a smile on even the most downhearted of crews battling with the harsh elements of a typical Irish winter night. With most class awards still up for grabs it was all to play for over the final few time points which saw the event move back towards the outskirts of Tydavnet. Three lanes in close proximity, the first two dropping down onto the Scotstown road behind the community centre and the third which can only be described as a “small” hole in the hedge entry to the final lane of the night proved to be a sting in the tail. At this stage most crews had ran OTL and were forced to skip the final time point and head straight for final control and then to the Rock Inn, Tydavnet to dry off!! Michael and Ciaran had done enough to take overall honours, this their 2nd ever overall win with their first dating back to November 2008 in Cavan. Gareth and Stephen had a tough night but still managed 2nd overall with Andy and Liam taking 3rd overall and 2nd expert. Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes had a consistent night and finished 4th o/a and also took a convincing win in the semi-expert class. National champions Arthur Kierans/Ashley McAdoo could only manage 5th o/a and 3rd expert, a testimony to the challenge provided by the organising team. Dessie Keenan and Shane Maguire took 2nd semi-expert and indeed the results sheets suggest that had it not been for a dreaded stop sign penalty of 100 this crew could have been 2nd overall. I hope James Mc Carville had nothing to do with this result!! Karl Reid and Ciaran Geaney had an excellent finish to win the novice class ahead of more local men Donal McArdle and Raymond Conlon. It was a midlands one two in the beginners class as Packie and Colin Duffy once again proved their worth to take class honours ahead of the next midlands event CoCs Michael Reilly and Enda Mc Loughlin. It is worth noting that mid-point leaders Damian Hagan and Macartan Kierans did lead this class for most of the night but a visit to the scenery in the Bragan Forests halted their drive, a dent to Damian’s pride given that he was CoC for the Monaghan Forest stages rally a few years previous! Well done to Fintan, James, Gary, Barry and everybody else who made this supposedly novice event possible!
So that’s the new year started with a bang. All roads lead to Cork this weekend for the resumption of the National championship while Midland Motor Club play host to the next round of the Squealing Pig Border championship on 12thFebruary followed by our first trip to Donegal for another round of the Border on 19th February.
Monaghan Navigation Trial Overall Results
1 Mickey Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 67 marks,
2 Garreth Beagan/Stephen Thornton (Subaru Impreza) 100m,
3 Andy Mackarel/Liam Higgins (Subaru Impreza) 126m,
4 Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes (Subaru Legacy) 134m,
5 Gerry Cassidy/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza) 143m,
6 Arthur Kierans/Ashley McAdoo (Subaru Impreza) 145m,
7 Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall (Subaru Impreza) 161m,
8 Dessie Keenan/Shane Maguire (Subaru Impreza) 177m,
9 Damien Treanor/Jonathan McGovern (Toyota Sprinter) 199m,
10 Karl Reid/Ciaran Geaney (Subaru Impreza) 211m,
11 Declan Tynan/Andrew Grennan (Subaru Impreza) 223m,
12 Donal McArdle/Raymond Conlon (Subaru Impreza) 225m.
Semi-experts:
1 Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes,
2 Dessie Keenan/Shane Maguire,
3 Damien Treanor/Jonathan McGovern.
Novices:
1 Karl Reid/Ciaran Geaney,
2 Donal McArdle/Raymond Conlon,
3 Sean McKenna/Garry Farrelly (Subaru Impreza) 237m.
Beginners:
1 Pakie Duffy/Colin Duffy (Subaru Impreza) 266m,
2 Michael Reilly/Enda McLoughlin (Proton) 360m,
3 Cathal McKenna/Garry McCrudder (Civic) 380m.
Annual General Meeting
There was a good attendance at the Monaghan Motor Club AGM on Friday night last 14th January. A highlight of the evening was the launch of the revamped Monaghan Motor Club website. The site can be accessed atwww.monaghanmotorclub.net.
Club Chairman Paul Hughes during the course of his address, thanked the outgoing Committee for its work in ensuring another successful year. He thanked the eight Clerks of the Course, their assistants and the marshals who all worked to provide good quality safe events. He thanked all the sponsors without whom the events would not have run and especially the Hillgrove Hotel. The on-going co-operation of Monaghan County Council, Monaghan Town Council and the Garda Siochana was also acknowledged. Peadar McMahon and Rory Geary received special mention for their media coverage of club events throughout the year. The Chairman congratulated club members who excelled in 2010 at National and International level. He also paid a special tribute to Ronnie Hawe on being presented with the inaugural Gerry MacNamara Memorial Award for the most outstanding contribution to the club.
The Election of Officers and Committee for 2011 resulted as follows:
Chairman Paul Hughes, Vice Chairman Ronnie Hawe, Club Secretary Cora Maguire, Assistant Secretary Brenda Flynn, Treasurer Cathal MacArtain, Assistant Treasurer Brendan Flynn, Registrar Ronnie Hawe, PRO Ciaran Tynan.
Committee: Enda Sherry, Dessie Keenan, Damien Hagan, Kerry Stevenson, Gary McPhillips, Conor Maguire, Thomas Treanor, Cathal McGlone and Carol Patterson.
PRO Details
Following the Annual General Meeting on Friday last, Ciaran Tynan has been elected as club PRO for the forthcoming year. This is a position that requires a lot of feedback from competitors doing events in order for weekly reports to be compiled and competitors to get a mention in the papers etc. We ask that if you are competing somewhere, send a quick e-mail with results or any stories regarding club members on events throughout the year. These can then be added to weekly reports, otherwise you can’t be guaranteed a mention. Ciaran’s e-mail address is tynaneng@gmail.com
County Monaghan Motor Club 