Author: monaghanmotorclub

Monaghan Motor Club hosted the first Navigation Trial of the season last Saturday night. The event was the final round of the club Gary Nesbitt Navigation Trial Championship and the penultimate round of the club Traders Championship.  Local man Evin Hughes along with his Longford driver Pakie Duffy organised an 80 mile event based out of the Pearse Brothers GAA Centre and taking in the greater Ballybay area. 

 Creeve man Aidan Keenan along with Corrybracken navigator Sean Marron earned their first ever overall win after a very compact and challenging route. They negotiated the 80 miles dropping just 7 minutes. Darragh Kelly/Oisín Sherlock finished 2^nd on 10 marks and Shane Dalton/Ryan Treanor finished in 3^rd place, also down 10 marks.

Due to the Drumhowan vs Clones Junior Championship game taking place, the Navigation did not begin until 10pm. From Time Point 1 at Ballintra graveyard approaching from the Ballybay-Castleblaney road, it was turn right and out to the Lough Egish road turn left and head for the first farm lane of the night at Edenanay for TP2. After departing the time point it was down into the farm yard and in and around the sheds to reach Via1. The departure from the Via was directly across the public road and down another farm lane before heading to TP3 on a loop of a farm at Cornahoe. TP3 was the first place where most competitors dropped time due to the demanding nature of the route up to this point. The route to TP4 brought crews back up to Ballintra graveyard. A strategically placed TP1 left that anybody not being careful would overshoot the left hand turn off and end up receiving a double visit back at the start.

TPs 4 and 5 took the event through Corbrack and Corrybrannan to TP6 in Dixon’s farm at Drumhillagh. From here it was into Treanor’s farm at Corkeeran for a loop around the shed to Tp7 before continuing out the back lane to reach TP8. Treanor’s lane would spell the early demise of local radio DJ Sean McCaffery and his driver Richard Cassidy as the gearbox in their Vauxhall Vectra decided it didn’t get a long enough summer vacation and ultimately packed it in. Car 2 on the road Derek Mackarel/Conor Boylan (joint leaders of both the club Navigation and Traders Championships) almost followed Cassidy/McCaffery into retirement as the alternator in the Subaru Impreza broke causing the battery to die. Amazingly, while getting a tow back to HQ they spotted Car 1, Arthur Kierans/Conor Maguire stopped (engine) so they robbed their alternator and after some quick repairs, they were able to rejoin the event at Control B.  A herringbone tulip plot & bash was handed out at TP13 for Tp14 and Via3, however anybody who immediately followed the tulip would forget about the pre plotted Via2 at Creeve and head instead for TP14. A total of four crews would make this mistake. TP14 was in Keenan’s farm, also in the townland of Creeve before continuing the tulip down to the road island at Agheralane to get a very well hidden Via3. At Via3 another plot & bash was issued which brought competitors to TP15. The difficulty of this section was evident from the number of competitors that completely missed one or more checkpoints.

TP16 and 17 were located on a farm at Carrickinare before heading up a long slippy and overgrown grey lane and turning right to the visit the midpoint Control back in the same farm and location of Via1. From the Control it was a short road section loop before once again traversing the long grey lane at Carrickinare and turning left to reach TP18 and 19 for the second relaxed section of the night. TP18 was very well placed to catch out any ‘sleeping’ navigator as after leaving TP17 it was very easy to forget about the Control and arrive at the relaxed section. In fact, many competitors were spotted reversing away from TP18 to head for the Control as failure to reach this Checkpoint would signify a very unfortunate exclusion. At the halfway mark, the event leaders were Martin Tynan/David McCrudden having a furthest cleanest tiebreak advantage over Keenan/Marron as both crews were down 5 marks.

TP19 signified the beginning of the ITC route and this brought the event into new area just north of the Ballybay-Doohamlat road. More plot and bash was issued at TP22 at Cremartin for the location of TP23, whose approach was down another challenging farm lane at Dunfelimy. At TP23 a trace diagram was handed out. Unconventionally, navigators had to plot the trace backwards from TP25 to discover the location of TP24. Tynan/McCrudden would drop out of contention for the win here as they lost 7 minutes trying to figure out the difficult trace diagram. Unfortunately, Michael Carbin/Conor Mohan would pick up a wrong approach at this location, dropping them 15 marks. From TP25 at Corfinlough it was a straight forward route to the final control back in the Pearse Brothers GAA centre, signalling an end to a demanding but very enjoyable night’s sport.

At the end it was the Novice pair of Keenan/Marron who came out on top with a famous win beating all the seasoned Experts and dropping just two marks on the entire second half of the event. There were tiebreakers for 2^nd,3^rd and 4^th OA as three crews all finished on 10 marks. Kelly/Sherlock got 2^nd with a further cleanest tiebreak over Dalton/Treanor, who in turn got a further cleanest tiebreak over Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan. Michael and Ciaran were quite unfortunate, as they discovered a minor electrical problem in their car when leaving HQ causing them to arrive one minute late to the first Time Point.

In the classes, it was Kelly/Sherlock 1st Expert, Dalton/Treanor 2nd and Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan 3rd.

 Semi-Expert was won by Damien Treanor/Christopher McMahon on 49 marks, 2nd was Garrett Collins/Patrick O’Sullivan on 53m and 3rd was Gary Cassidy/Killian McArdle on 132m.

Ray O’Neill/Ryan Farrell were comfortable winners in the Novice class finishing on 20m, 2nd was Kieran McCarra/Aaron McElroy on 45m and 3rd was Mickey Conlon/Paul McPhillips finishing on 108m.

In the beginner class, Ballybay men Elijah Dixon/Marco Lennon once again stormed to victory and also finished an excellent 5th OA on 12m. 2nd in class went to Ciaran Duffy/Pauric Duffy on 42m and 3rd went to  Shane Maguire/Ciaran Maguire who finished on 99m.

Evin thanked Doohamlat Motors for providing an excellent scrutiny venue, the Pearse Brothers GAA for the top notch HQ and all the landowners and residents along the route for their continued support of the events, many of whom stood out to the early hours for to take in the spectacle of the navigation event. He also thanked all the marshals who assisted in the running of the trial, especially the ones who travelled from other counties to help out.

The first round of the National Navigation Championship’s takes place in Cork on Saturday the 15^th October. CoC Aaron O’Regan has organised an 80 mile event based out of the west Cork village of Inchegeelagh. Regulations and entry are available now. The next Monaghan Navigation will take place on Saturday the 12^th of November.

Top 10 Results:

1st Aidan Keenan/Sean Marron (Subaru Impreza) 7m,

2nd Darragh Kelly/Oisín Sherlock (Subaru Impreza) 10m,

3rd Shane Dalton/Ryan Treanor (Subaru Impreza) 10m,

4th Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 10m,

5th Elijah Dixon/Marco Lennon (Subaru Impreza) 12m,

6th Shane Farrell/James McCabe (Subaru Impreza) 12m,

7th Martin Tynan/David McCrudden (Subaru Impreza) 15m,

8th Ray O’Neill/Ryan Farrell (Subaru Impreza) 20m,

9th Michael Carbin/Conor Mohan (Ford Focus) 27m,

10th Ciaran Duffy/Pauric Duffy (Subaru Impreza) 42m.

Birr Endurance

Emmett Sherry/Alecia Knox finished 2^nd OA on last Sunday’s Birr Endurance Trial, the final round of the 2022 Coffee Perfection Endurance Championship. The pair finished the sixteen selective event 1:04 seconds in arrears of winners Robert Howard/Claire Murtagh. Championship leaders Andrew Wedlock along with Ciaran Maguire finished the day in 3^rd OA. They actually finished on the same overall time as Sherry/Knox, but were relegated to 3^rd due to Sherry/Knox setting a faster time on selective 1. Jack McKenna/Megan Sullivan finished the day in 13^th OA and 2^nd class A2M. Imants Ignatjevs/Luiza Ieremie finished 23^rd OA and 2^nd class 2.

Awards Night

The Monaghan Motor Club awards night will take place on Friday the 21^st October in the Four Seasons Hotel. More information later.

PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com

Kaine Treanor guided Chris O’Callaghan to 3rd place overall at the GSMC Mini-
Stages rally last Sunday. The pair finished 22.5 seconds down on winners Ryan
Loughran/Paddy McCrudden. Richard Moffett/Johnny Baird finished in 4 th OA
and 1 st class 14. Johno Doogan/Paul Lennon finished 6 th OA and 2 nd class 14.
Piaras O’Ceallachain navigated Brian Lavelle to 12 th OA and 1 st class 13. Josh
Moffett took brother Sam’s Toyota Starlet for a spin and finished 14 th OA and
2 nd class 13 with Andy Hayes on the notes. Raymond Conlon/Paul Sheridan
finished 15 th OA and 3 rd class 13. Maurice Moffett made his long awaited return
to rallying, he alongside Jason McKenna finished 16 th OA and 8 th class 14. Jack
Maguire/Keith McConnon finished 28 th OA and 1 st class 11F. Barry
McKenna/Raymond Knox finished 31 st OA and 9 th class 13. Oisín Sherlock
guided Anthony O’Brien to 53 rd OA and 5 th class 11R.
James McEneaney navigating for Marty Toner retired after SS2 with a throttle
sensor issue in their BMW. Paddy O’Reilly/David Fitzsimons retired on SS2 after
a minor off road excursion.

Monaghan Navigation Trial

The new navigation season is fast approaching. Evin Hughes and Pakie Duffy
have took on the role of organising the first event which will be the final round
of the club Navigation Championship and the penultimate round of the Traders

Championship. The Navigation will take place this Saturday 1st October and
will be based out of the Pearse Bros GAA Centre, Ballybay. The event will be 80
miles approximately. Please note some minor changes to the regulations since
publication. Sign on will now take place at 7pm, Route Card 1 at 7:30pm, and
first car away at 10:01pm. As ever, plenty of marshals will be needed for the
running of the event, so anyone available to marshal are asked to let the
Motor Club or Evin know as soon as possible.
Cavan Autocross

The final round of the club Traders Championship will take place on Sunday
October 2 nd in Latton Quarry. The event is organised by Cavan Motor Club.

PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com

Ballinode man Conor Mohan and Aghabog man Arthur Kierans secured their respective British Rally Championship titles on this weekends Trackrod Rally Yorkshire. Arthur Kierans alongside Alan Carmichael secured the National title thanks to another class win over the six gravel stages of the Yorkshire forests. Having missed the opening round, dominant displays on each round following, they have secured the title with one event to spare. Conor Mohan had a nerve-wracking few weeks as his Donegal driver Eamonn Kelly had secured his drivers title on the previous round, the ‘Get Connected Rali Bae Ceredigion’, Eamonn determined to make sure Conor got the title he fully deserved, put his boot to the board and won the Junior section outright and claimed their 4th outright win in a row and 5th win in this years championship. With one round still to take place, Conor cannot be beaten. Having secured the Junior BRC tiles, the only challenge left for Eamonn over the 2022 season  is to get his Ewrc profile picture updated… Congratulations all.
PRO Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com

Derek Mackarel was once again the top local competitor in the forests at last
weekend’s McKelvey Asbestos Bushwhacker Rally organised by Omagh Motor
Club. Derek back with regular navigator Eamonn Creedon finished the event in
11 th overall and 1 st in class 8 and as usual of late the highest placed non
R5/Rally2 car in their Mitsubishi Evo IX . Right behind in 12 th place OA were
British Rally Championship National Section leaders Alan Carmichael and
Arthur Kierans in their Hyundai i20 R5, just 3.7 seconds in arears.
Gary McCrudden guided Alan Smith to 15 th OA and 1 st in the 2wd section. Kaine
Treanor navigated Marty McKenna to 25 th OA. Paul Kelly guided David Condell
to 27 th OA and 3 rd class 7 in their Escort Mk II. Ryan Farrell navigating for
Damien McGauran finished 28 th OA and 1 st class 6. Steven Corey/Ella Ryan
finished 31 st OA and 4 th class 7. Conor Boylan navigated Adam Semple to 53 rd
OA and 9 th class 4. Mickey Conlon/Paul McPhillips had a tough day and finished
73 rd OA. Martin Hughes navigating for Ciaran McCullagh retired on SS6.

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.

October Navigation Trial

The new navigation season is fast approaching. Evin Hughes and Pakie Duffy
have took on the role of organising the first event. The Navigation will take
place on Saturday 1 st October and will be based out of the Pearse Bros GAA
Centre, Ballybay. The event will be 80 miles approximately. Regulations and
online entry form are available online and on the Motor Club Facebook page.
Entry’s close Monday evening the 26 th . As ever, plenty of marshals will be
needed for the running of the event, so anyone available to marshal are asked
to let the Motor Club or Evin know as soon as possible.
PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com

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