Author: monaghanmotorclub

Sam Moffett & James Fulton put in a dominant display on the Nenagh-based Birr Stages Rally on Sunday last 26th February. The event was the opening round of the 2017 Triton National Rally Championship. Despite stiff competition from the previous three National Champions on the day, Moffett/Fulton controlled the event from the word go to finish almost a minute clear of pre-event favourite Declan Boyle.

The writing was on the wall from the opening stage where Sam was a full 11 seconds clear of the field despite stalling on the start line. 2015 National & Tarmac Champion, Donagh Kelly with Ballinode’s Conor Foley on the notes held 2nd place. The 2013 and 2014 Champion, Declan Boyle went fastest on stage 2 to climb to 2nd place but further fastest times from Sam on stages 3 and 4 left him 30 seconds clear at the half way mark. Kelly/Foley had dropped to 4th place over a minute down and were in a close battle with reigning National Champions, Roy White & James O’Brien.

Conditions were extremely tricky with strong winds and rain but it had no affect on Moffett & Fulton. Another brace of fastest times on stage five and six stretched their lead to almost a minute. Sam admitted to having a moment on stage 6 where the car almost got away from him. Another fastest time came on stage 7 before they eased slightly on the final test to secure a stunning win. The Boyles were 2nd with Kelly/Foley completing the podium in 3rd. They held off Roy White/James O’Brien by three seconds.

Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry finished in a steady 6th place despite a misted-up windscreen hampering them on the opening stages. They weren’t the only Monaghan crews who were successful as Gary McPhillips was the top two wheel drive finisher and Emmet Sherry navigated David Guest to Group N honours.

McPhillips, who had Donegal man James McNulty, in the passenger seat was embroiled in a day-long battle with Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O’Neill for the best two wheel drive car. Hetherington had led early on but McPhillips reigned him in and came out on top by just 2.4 seconds. They were also 8th overall.

In Group N, Emmet Sherry joined forces with Cork’s David Guest in his Lancer. The pair gelled quickly and were in the Group N lead throughout the day. Their main challenger was Shane Maguire with Donegal’s Paul McLoughlin navigating. After eight stages 17.1 seconds separated them.

Andrew Grennan was in the hotseat for Tyrone’s Vivian Hamill. The pair were caught out on the opening stages where they lost several minutes. They made up ground to finish the day 33rd overall and 6th in class 14.

The National Rally Championship continues with the Longford-based Midland Stages Rally on March 26th.

Birr Stages Rally Results

1 Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Fiesta WRC) 60m 27s,
2 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Fiesta WRC) 61m 26s,
3 Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley (Focus WRC) 62m 02s,
4 Roy White/James O’Brien (Fiesta WRC) 62m 06s,
5 Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty (Fiesta WRC) 62m 57s,
6 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 63m 37s,
7 Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming (Fiesta S2000) 64m 54s,
8 Gary McPhillips/James McNulty (Escort) 65m 13s,
9 Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O’Neill (Escort) 65m 15s,
10 David Guest/Emmet Sherry (Lancer Evo 9) 67m 53s.
Tynan Family Affair on Clones Navigation Trial

It was an all-round success for the Tynan family on last weekend’s Monaghan Navigation Trial. The event was the opening round of the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship. COC Eoghan Corr laid out a challenging 100 mile route based out of Clones. The Creighton Hotel served as an excellent HQ. At the end of the night both Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin and Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan finished on identical scores of two penalties each to tie for the win.

A tricky opening section included a clockface herringbone tulip which caught many crews out. The event moved towards Smithborough before a SRS section near Newbliss and some challenging lanes in the Stone Bridge/Kileevan areas. Already Martin Tynan & Fintan Clerkin and Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan were clear in the lead on clean sheets with Brendan Treanor/Gary Farrelly a fine 3rd on 1 penalty.

TP23 was not cleaned by any crew with the joint leaders each dropping two penalties here to remain equal first. A broken driveshaft would put an end to Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan’s hopes of a good result around this section which included some very slippy grass lanes. By the petrol halt in Scotshouse, it was Tynan/Clerkin and Tynan/Tynan on two penalties each, with Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan (6 penalties), Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (6 penalties) and Mark Deery/David McCrudden (7 penalties) completing the top five.

Further challenging lanes between Scotshouse and Clones were on the cards including some new lanes. One trick used was that crews needed to plot the ITC location to avoid a double visit on plot & bash. More challenging grassy lanes saw crews loop their way back via Stonebridge to Clones. Both Tynan/Clerkin and Tynan/Tynan cleaned the second half to take a joint win on two penalties apiece. Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan secured 3rd place on 7 penalties with Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes 4th on 9 penalties. Mark Deery/David McCrudden took victory in the Semi-Expert class taking 5th overall on 11 penalties. Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan (61 penalties) and Jack McKenna/Andrew Wedlock (152 penalties) completing the top three in this class.

Caolan & Ryan Treanor (47 penalties) put in a superb display to take 7th overall and victory in the Novice class. Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock (98 penalties) and Shane Dalton/Seamus McTigue (99 penalties) completed the top three. Aaron Dixon/Dylan Lennon picked up a convincing win in the Beginner’s class. Their total of 88 penalties was also good enough for 10th overall. Michael Carbin/Mark Mohan also impressed to take 2nd in class on 101 penalties. Emmet McCooey/Christopher McMahon finished in 3rd on 181 penalties and could have won the class but for two 50 penalty infringements.

Well done to COC Eoghan Corr and ACOC Ruadhri Nash on a tough but well run event. Eoghan would like to thank all the residents and landowners along the route and the many marshals who turned up on the night. This weekend’s Cavan Navigation Trial is not running so the next scheduled event is the March Navigation Trial which is being run by Sean McCaffrey. The event will be a counting round of the National & Border Championships.

Results

1 (tie) Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin (Subaru Impreza) and Mickey Tynan/Ciaran
Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 2m,
3 Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 7m,
4 Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 9m,
5 Mark Deery/David McCrudden (Subaru Impreza) 11m,
6 Brendan Treanor/Garry Farrelly (Subaru Impreza) 32m,
7 Caolan Treanor/Ryan Treanor (Subaru Legacy) 47m,
8 Keith McConnon/Micheal McCluskey (Subaru Impreza) 49m,
9 Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan (Subaru Impreza) 61m,
10 Aaron Dixon/Dylan Lennon (Subaru Impreza) 88m,
11 Aidan Sherry/Oisin Sherlock (Subaru Impreza) 98m,
12 Shane Dalton/Seamus McTigue (Subaru Impreza) 99m.

Semi-experts: 1 Kevin McCormack/David McCrudden, 2 Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan,
3 Jack McKenna/Andrew Wedlock (Subaru Impreza) 152m.
Novices: 1 Caolan Treanor/Ryan Treanor, 2 Aidan Sherry/Oisin Sherlock, 3
Shane Dalton/Seamus McTigue.
Beginners: 1 Aaron Dixon/Dylan Lennon, 2 Mickey Carbin/Mark Mohan (Subaru
Impreza) 101m, 3 Emmet McCooey/Christopher McMahon (Subaru Impreza) 181m.

Fairyhouse moved from horse racing to horse power during last weekend’s ALMC Endurance Trial. The event was the opening round of the Irish Endurance Trial Championship. It consisted of 20 selectives including two tests at Fairyhouse racecourse itself and other private venues in the neighbouring areas.

Last year’s winner, Robert Barrable/Ciaran Larkin overcame a poor a start to take overall victory after some impressive times on the night selectives. Club member, Evin Hughes, guided Karl O’Donoghue to 2nd place with another Monaghan man, Conor Mohan, guiding Peter Barrable to 3rd overall. Both crews reported a solid and consistent run throughout the day. Oisin Sherlock/Shane Farrell took their Micra to 2nd in class 1A after an up and down day which included a brush with the scenery on the Larkin’s test.

ALMC Spring Endurance Trial Results

1 Robert Barrable/Ciaran Larkin (Toyota Starlet) 9m 27s,
2 Karl O’Donoghue/Evin Hughes (Toyota Starlet) 9m 46s,
3 Peter Barrable/Conor Mohan (Toyota Starlet) 10m 15s,
4 Kevin O’Rourke/Dave McAulay (Toyota Starlet) 10m 19s,
5 Paddy Corcoran/Joe Corcoran (Toyota Starlet) 10m 53s,
6 Glyn Gaffney/Alan Dolan (Toyota Starlet) 11m 24s.

Monaghan Navigation Trial

Regulations are available on the club website for this weekend’s Monaghan Navigation Trial which is a counting round of the Gary Nesbit Club Navigation Championship and Trader’s Trophy. COC Eoghan Corr has laid out a 100 mile route with the Creighton Hotel in Clones acting as HQ. Marshals are required for this event and those available should present themselves at HQ from 8pm.

The Moffett brothers continued their impressive performances on the Irish Forestry Championship with a 1-2 finish on the Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally on Sunday last 12th February. Josh Moffett & Stephen Thornton came from behind to pip Sam Moffett & James Fulton by a margin of just 0.6 of a second! The Clontibret brothers were driving identical Ford Fiesta R5s. The six stage event included the classic Gurteen forestry complex.

Sam & navigator James Fulton held the lead for the first four stages but a mistake on stage five dropped them to 2nd place, 6.3 seconds off younger brother Josh & navigator Stephen Thornton. A storming drive through the final stages saw Sam take 5.7 seconds back but they just missed out on the win by 0.6 of a second. Multiple British Champion, Keith Cronin with Mickie Galvin on the notes finished 3rd overall in their first event in a Fiesta. They were 21 seconds adrift.

Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips finished 14th overall and 2nd in class 13 in their Escort. Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane had been holding a top 10 position before a long delay on stage five dropped them to 22nd overall and 3rd in class. Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes, who had travelled down from the Midland Navigation Trial the previous night, had been charging hard in their Nova and comfortably leading the Junior class until their retirement on stage four.

Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally Top Ten

1 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Fiesta R5) 42m 48.5s,
2 Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Fiesta R5) 42m 49.1s,
3 Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin (Fiesta R5) 43m 10s,
4 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Fabia R5) 43m 22s,
5 Marty McCormack/David Moynihan (Fabia R5) 43m 26s,
6 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Corolla WRC) 44m 21s,
7 Pat O’Connell/Mark Wiley (Lancer Evo 9) 45m 45s,
8 Jonny Leonard/Niall Burns (Lancer Evo) 47m 17s,
9 Gerard Lucey/J J Cremin (Lancer Evo 8) 47m 36s,
10 Martin Cairns/Anthony Nestor (Fiesta WRC) 47m 39s.

Midland Navigation Trial

Colin Duffy & Sam Johnston took overall honours in the Ballinalee-based Midland Navigation Trial. The local men negotiated the 80 mile route without dropping a single penalty. National Championship leaders, Derek Mackarel & Muireann Hayes took 2nd overall on six penalties with Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan completing the top three.

COC Evin Hughes and ACOC Pakie Duffy laid out an enjoyable route consisting mostly of tarmac roads with the rare grassy lane. The top four crews cleaned the first half in the section between Ballinalee & Aghnacliff. The remainder of the event was based in the Arvagh & Ballinamuck areas. The sting in the tail was from TP25 – TP31 which included six of the plot & bash timepoints. Tulips, Herringbones & Traces were all used causing confusion for many. Duffy/Johnston were unstoppable through this section managing to keep a clean sheet. Mackarel/Hayes slotted into 2nd place with Cassidy/Phelan in 3rd with both crews dropping significant time penalties.

Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan were winners in the Semi-Expert class. Derek Butler/Andrew Wedlock took 2nd with Ted Gaffney/Karen Gaffney in 3rd. Novice class honours went to local men Shane Dalton/Robert Howard. Monaghan’s Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock were 2nd with Peter Deery/David McCrudden 3rd. Andrew Gould/Trevor Cassidy took the Beginners class from the Ballybay crew of Aaron Dixon/Dylan Lennon, with Emmet McCooey/Christopher McMahon in 3rd.

Midland Navigation Trial Top Ten

1 Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston (Subaru Impreza) 0 marks,
2 Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes (Subaru Impreza) 6m,
3 Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan (Vauxhall Vectra) 11m,
4 Shane Dalton/Robert Howard (Subaru Impreza) 20m,
5 Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan (Subaru Impreza) 20m,
6 Aidan Sherry/Oisin Sherlock (Subaru Impreza) 28m,
7 Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill (Subaru Impreza) 55m,
8 Keith McConnon/Micheal McCluskey (Subaru Impreza) 59m,
9 Peter Deery/David McCrudden (Subaru Impreza) 72m,
10 Trevor O’Callaghan/Patrick O’Leary (Subaru Impreza) 76m,

Autotest

Steven Ferguson was the outright winner of the Monaghan Motor Club Autotest based in Wright’s Quarry, Swan’s Cross. The result saw him clinch the Hewison Championship for a record seventh consecutive year. Paul Mooney finished a close 2nd with Guy Foster 3rd.

The club section of the event was won by Kieran McCarra who took a comfortable win from Martin Tynan. Ciaran Tynan, David McCrudden & Peter Deery completed the positions in the club class. COC Brendan Flynn would like to thank all the marshals for their help and to the Wright family for the use of their premises.

Monaghan Motor Club Autotest Top Ten

1 Steven Ferguson (Mini-Nova Special) 557.0s,
2 Paul Mooney (Mini-Nova Special) 559.4s,
3 Guy Foster (Mini Special) 576.4s,
4 David Thompson (Nova) 591.9s,
5 Ian White (Mini Special) 592.0s,
6 Darren Quille (Westfield) 607.6s,
7 Chris Grimes (Mini) 613.0s,
8 Tom Devaney (Westfield) 633.7s,
9 Norman Ferguson (Mini) 643.8s,
10 Liam Cashman (Westfield) 646.7s.

Pacenotes Stages Rally

Monaghan’s Martin Connolly guided Philip Allen, son of the late Glenn Allen, to a fine 8th overall on last Saturday’s Pacenotes Stages Rally based at Kirkistown. The event was the opening round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Matthew McKenna guided Brian McFall to 22nd overall.

The 2017 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship got under way with the Galway International Rally last weekend. Monaghan crews again featured strongly in the R5 category and filled five of the top ten overall places. It was Sam Moffett & Karl Atkinson who led the Monaghan charge. They began an early battle with Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble over the opening loop with just 1.1 seconds between them after stage three. Josh Moffett/James Fulton were just six seconds back. All three were competing in R5 Fiestas.

Fisher/Noble steadily pulled away over the remaining stages on day 1, ending with a 29 seconds lead over Moffett/Atkinson. A stage five puncture dropped Josh Moffett/James Fulton outside the top 10 but they recovered to 8th overnight. Damien Connolly joined forces with Dublin’s Robert Barrable on their first rally in two years. They spent the day acclimatising to the car which wasn’t easy given the slippery nature of the stages. By the end of the day they were 5th overall and 3rd R5. Hot on their heels were Stephen Wright/Arthur Kierans in 6th place. Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane in another R5 Fiesta rounded out the top 10.

Not so lucky were Dublin’s Aaron McHale with Ballinode’s Darragh Kelly on the notes as their event came to an end on stage 8. Andrew Grennan was sitting with Vivian Hamill in the National Rally. They were putting in a steady drive to hold 9th place. Barry McKenna/Leon Jordan & Darren O’Brien/Kaine Treanor were both forced to enter Rally 2 after retiring.

The final day featured six further stages. Moffett/Atkinson could make no further impression on Fisher/Noble on day two. They finished 30 seconds adrift to take 4th overall and secured 2nd place championship points. Barrable/Connolly were two minutes further back in 5th overall while Wright/Kierans and Moffett/Fulton followed home in 6th and 7th. Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane finished 10th overall.

In the National Rally, Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan took 9th overall, Barry McKenna/Leon Jordan 32nd overall and 2nd in class 13 with Darren O’Brien/Kaine Treanor 34th overall.

GALWAY INTERNATIONAL RALLY TOP TEN:

1 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h 40m 35s,
2 Roy White/James O’Brien (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1h 41m 34s,
3 Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h 41m 43s,
4 Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h 42m 13s,
5 Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h 44m 23s,
6 Stephen Wright/Arthur Kierans (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h 44m 37s,
7 Josh Moffett/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h 45m 20s,
8 Joe McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney (Skoda Fabia R5) 1h 45m 21s,
9 Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h 48m 05s,
10 Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane (Skoda Fabia R5) 1h 51m 16s.
Autotest

The annual Monaghan Motor Club Autotest takes place this weekend at Wright’s Quarry, Swans Cross. The event will have a class for club members as well as the Autotest regulars. COC Brendan Flynn requires a number of marshals for the day and anyone available to marshal should contact him.

Midland Navigation Trial

The National & Border Navigation Championships continue with the Midland Navigation Trial this Saturday night. The Stag’s Head in Ballinalee is the venue for the event which is being run by Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes. The event begins at 9.00pm.

Ballinode’s Shane Maguire & Aghabog’s Mac Kierans were crowned West Coast Rally Champions at last weekend’s Prizegiving. The series consisted of six events along the West Coast featuring events in Birr, Kerry, Limerick, Galway and Clare. The pair showed consistency and speed throughout the 2016 season to claim the championship for the second consecutive year. This is Shane’s 4th championship success following in the footsteps of his father, Niall, who is also a multiple winner.

Skibbereen Navigation Trial

The National Night Navigation Championship resumed with the 100 Isles Navigation Trial, organised by the Skibbereen club. A smaller than usual contingent of Monaghan crews made the trip to Co. Cork. Derek Mackarel piloted local woman Muireann Hayes to 2nd overall, strengthening their lead at the top of the National Championship points table. Reigning champions, Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes had a difficult run to 8th overall. Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock were the only other crews to make the trip, taking 12th overall and 2nd in the Novice class.

The National Championship continues with the Midland Navigation Trial on 11th February.

Passing of Founding Member Des Cullen

It is with deep regret that we record the passing of one of the founding members of Co. Monaghan Motor Club, Mr Des Cullen. Des was a member of the original committee of the club. Des and his brother Jim competed in a variety of motorsport events in the 1950s and became friendly with both Kevin Sherry & Brendan Devine. Dublin-based Des was a true legend of Irish motorsport, competing successfully since 1950 on motorbikes and in cars in various disciplines of the sport. His biggest achievement was winning the 1961 Cork 20 Hour Rally and Holmpatrick Trophy Race. He maintained an interest in the club and returned to Monaghan to attend the 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner in 2006. We extend our condolences to the Cullen family on their sad loss.