Five Monaghan Motor Club crews made the journey south to Cork for the 1000 Shakes navigation trial on Saturday night last 22nd January. Arthur Kierans and Ashley McAdoo were bidding to extend their lead in the National Championship, with close rivals Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes hoping to bridge the gap somewhat. Richard Cassidy headed south to drive for Dubliner and veteran navigator Paul Phelan in his trusty Vectra while Darren Babbington and Francis Keenan felt the journey was necessary in their bid for semi-expert class honours. Macartan Kierans is showing great promise as a beginner navigator this season and called on the services of local Cork driver Jimmy Deane to pilot him through the twisty West Cork countryside. Indeed it was Arthur and Ashley who led from start to finish to maintain their lead in the National Navigation championship. They finished ahead of a duo of Cork crews with brothers Joe and Greg Shinnors pipping rivals Alan and George Shinnors for 2nd overall. The first half of the event was all pre-plotted with a mixture of gravel lanes, farm lanes and grassy tracks combined with the infamous twisty narrow roads of the West Cork countryside. Time point 10 was the first to feature time penalties as a litany of grassy lanes eventually forced most expert crews to incur at least 1 penalty. Tp11 would prove fatal for Michael and Evin’s hopes as an uncustomary timing error resulted in a massive 50 pens and ultimately cost them the event win. Tp15 was next to cause trouble where a mile long grassy lane combined with a marshal’s time clock being almost 2 minutes off caused most expert crews to accrue a further penalty. The bulk of the penalties were accrued at the first SRS section. This was timed at 32kph but the organisers seemed to have applied penalties based on 30mph. However, the same applied for everyone with Arthur and Ashley getting 20pens through this section as they headed for the petrol halt, down a total of 22pens. The second half started off with four plot and bash sections, which weren’t cleaned by anyone. The event leaders dropped 1 pen at tp104 and another at tp107, this was to be their last penalties of the night. They did have a scare however as they, along with over 10 other crews were adjudged to have failed to stop at a yield sign at TP116. However these and all other stop sign penalties were later scrapped on a technicality. Richard Cassidy and Paul Phelan had a consistent run to finish a creditable 5th o/a and 3rd expert, a missed time point their biggest slip-up of the night. Darren Babbington and Francis Keenan made their trip worthwhile as they finished 7th o/a and 2nd in the semi-expert class behind local Cork men Johnny Kenneally and Ken Carmody. Wrong approaches accounted for the majority of their 62 pens. Michael and Evin eventually finished 10th o/a on 71pens but this could have been a whole different story had they not got the 50 at tp11. Derek Butler and Olivia McCarthy won the novice class while travelling midlands men Packie and Colin Duffy took the beginner class honours and in doing so maintained there lead in the National series. Macartan Kierans plugged away all night to finish 4th in class and gained valuable experience. Next up is the Midland Motor Club event on 12th/13th February based at Shannon Key West Hotel, Rooskey, Co. Roscommon. This is a reserve event for the National Championship and round 4 of the Squealing Pig Border Championship Donegal Motor Club follow this on 19th/20th February with their first event for some years in the Border Championship.

Cork 1000 Shakes Navigation Trial Results 1 Arthur Kierans/Ashley McAdoo (Subaru Impreza) 24 marks

2 Joseph Shinnors/Greg Shinnors (Subaru Impreza) 27m

3 Alan Shinnors/George Shinnors (Subaru Impreza) 36m

4 Johnny Kenneally/Ken Carmody (Vauxhall Vectra) 47m

5 Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan (Vauxhall Vectra) 49m

 6 Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill (Ford Mondeo) 50m

 7 Darren Babington/Francis Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 62m

8 Brian O’Mahony/Declan Swanton (Opel Corsa) 70m

 9 Derek Butler/Olivia McCarthy (Nissan Sunny) 71m

10 Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes (Subaru Legacy) 71m

11 Ger O’Connell/Denis O’Donovan (Subaru Impreza) 74m

 12 Chris Kelly/Sam Johnston (Subaru Impreza) 85m

 Semi-experts: 1 Johnny Kenneally/Ken Carmody 2 Darren Babington/Francis Keenan

3 Brian O’Mahony/Declan Swanton.

 Novices: 1 Derek Butler/Olivia McCarthy 2 Brian McCarthy/Stephen Quinn 86m 3 Alwyn White/Adrian Tobin 185m

 Beginners: 1 Pakie Duffy/Colin Duffy (Subaru Impreza) 92m 2 David Beamish/Muireann Hayes 126m 3 Darren Quinn/Nigel McCloughry 191m

Upcoming Events Keep free Sunday 20th February for the annual Monaghan Motor Club Autotest, which will once again be based at Wright’s quarry, Swann’s Cross. As always there will be a club members category so now is the time to acquire a suitable car or pull last year’s one out for this entertaining form of motor sport. Fivemiletown Forest Rally runs on Saturday 26th February, which usually sees a few club members on the entry list for this compact and local event.

 PRO Details Following the Annual General Meeting, 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

Monaghan Motor club hosted the first Night Navigation Trial of 2011 on Saturday last 15^th 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 2^ndand Andy Mackarel/Liam Higgins in 3^rd.

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 2^nd and Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall 3^rd 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 2^nd ever overall win with their first dating back to November 2008 in Cavan. Gareth and Stephen had a tough night but still managed  2^nd overall with Andy and Liam taking 3^rd overall and 2^nd expert. Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes had a consistent night and finished  4^th o/a and also took a convincing win in the semi-expert class. National champions Arthur Kierans/Ashley McAdoo could only manage 5^th o/a and 3^rd expert, a testimony to the challenge provided by the organising team. Dessie Keenan and Shane Maguire took 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 12^thFebruary followed by our first trip to Donegal for another round of the Border on 19^th 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 14^th 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

Club Championship Set For Off

Monaghan Motor Club organises its first event of the year on Saturday night next 15th January with the opening round of the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship, the January Navigation Trial. Tydavnet Community Centre is headquarters for the night with local man Fintan Clerkin acting as COC, ably assisted by James McCarville.

It has been a couple of years since an event last visited this area which is sure to be a good test for crews. Andy Mackarel/Liam Higgins will be looking to defend their Gary Nesbitt title, while Andy is bidding for a 10th Traders Trophy and his 4th in succession. Route cards are available from 6.30 pm and marshals are asked to be at the Community Centre by 8pm. First car away is at 9.01pm.

AGM

The Monaghan Motor Club Annual General Meeting will be held in the Hillgrove Hotel on Friday, 14th January 2011 at 8pm. During the meeting the election of officers for 2011 will take place. All 2010 members are eligible to vote.

Ballot papers can be downloaded from http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net or by contacting the Secretary Cora Maguire, 14 Cluain Ard, Dernagrew, Monaghan, 047-77942. There will be an open agenda and all members are asked to attend.

Despite the adverse conditions throughout the country, the annual Monaghan Motor Club Dinner Dance and Presentation of Awards went ahead as planned on Saturday night last with over 100 people attending. The main event of the evening was the presentation of the Traders Trophy to the overall club champion for 2010, Andy Mackarel. The competition for this prestigious award is based on total points scored for overall placings in all club events throughout the year. These include autotesting, navigation trials, autocrossing and stages rallying. Andy has now won this award on 9 occasions, which is a club record.

A special feature of the evening was the presentation of the Gerry MacNamara Memorial Award. This perpetual cup will be awarded annually to the person who has made the most outstanding contribution to the club. It was fitting then that the inaugural award should go to Ronnie Hawe. As the Club Chairman Paul Hughes put it: “To say that the award was well-merited by Ronnie is the ultimate understatement”. The club was honoured to have Gerry’s son Darra present to make the presentation.

Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins were presented with the Gary Nesbitt Memorial Award as navigation champions. The winners of the remaining perpetual awards were as follows:

Perpetual Cups for Stages Rally

Maguire International Cup: (best club finisher)    Niall Maguire            Enda Sherry

Keenan Stainless Steel Cup: (best club 2.4ltr)        Gary McPhillips          Mark Tierney
Squealing Pig Cup: (best club 2ltr)                            Mac McKenna           John Loughran
JG Kelly Supplies: (best club 1.6ltr)                        Jim McKenna              Thomas Treanor
CombiLift Cup: (best Club Junior)                           Darren McKenna      Nicola McKenna

Ladies Award:                                               Janice Mackarel
(Highest Placed Lady in Traders Classification)                            
Novice Navigator:                                         Barry Garvey
(Best placed Navigator in Novice Class of Club Championship)           
George Cannon Cup:                                   Michael Tynan / Ciaran Tynan
(Best placed Monaghan Residents in Drumlin / not overall winners):                  
Premier Award:                                            Arthur Kierans / Ashley McAdoo
(Highest placed club finishers in Drumlin):          

Gary Nesbitt Navigation Club Championship

Beginner:
5th        Aaron Duffy               Dessie Keenan
4th        Eoghan Corr                Peter Deery
3rd        Brendan Ward                        Paul Treanor
2nd        Christopher Fanning               Sean Kelly
1st        Martin McGuigan                   Brendan Treanor

Novice:
5th        James McCarvile                     John Hetherington
4th        Gerry Cassidy                         Fintan Clerkin
3rd        Darren Babington                   Paul Sheridan
2nd        Sean McKenna                        Garry Farrelly
1st        Kevin Keenan                         Barry Garvey

Semi-Expert:
3rd        N/A                                         Hugh Kelly
2nd        Declan Tynan                          Andrew Grennan
1st        Michael Carbin                        Evin Hughes

Expert:
3rd        Trevor Farrell                          Noel Hall
2nd        Arthur Kierans                        Ashley McAdoo
1st        Michael Tynan                        Ciaran Tynan