Author: monaghanmotorclub

 

Donegal Motor Club hosted round 3 of the Squealing Pig Border Navigation Championship on Saturday night last 23^rd January. The Eamon Harvey Memorial Navigation Trial was run out of Milford with 70 miles on offer. Local competitors had reigned supreme on this event in recent years but it was the Longford/Monaghan duo of Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes who took victory this year.

 

A tricky plot & bash section between TP14 and TP16 would be the deciding factor. Top seeds Paul Reid/Kevin Gallagher and Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan both picked up 20 penalties at TP15. Martin Tynan & Fintan Clerkin fresh from a 2^nd place finish in Monaghan were in the lead at this point. However, a ‘herring bone tulip’ on plot & bash resulted in them dropping 10 penalties which demoted them to 2^nd place. Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes had a good run throughout to come home with a total of 14 penalties, which was good enough to secure overall honours and a second consecutive win following their success in Cork.

 

Martin Tynan & Fintan Clerkin secured 2^nd place on 18 penalties. Paul Reid/Kevin Gallagher (29 pens) and Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (31 pens) were next up with Semi-Expert class winners, Eoghan Corr/Ruadhri Nash completing the top five.

 

Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock made it back-to-back wins in the Novice class followed closely home by fellow Monaghan men, Kevin McCormick & David McCrudden.

 

The next round of the Squealing Pig Border Championship is the Midland Navigation Trial on February 13^th.

 

Results:

1^st Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 14 pens,

2^nd Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin (Subaru Impreza) 18 pens,

3^rd Paul Reid/Kevin Gallagher (Subaru Impreza) 29 pens,

4^th Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 31 pens,

5^th Eoghan Corr/Ruadhri Nash (Subaru Impreza) 36 pens,

6^th Brendan Friel/Ciaran Geaney (Subaru Impreza) 48 pens,

7^th Dermot McGroary/Eamon Doherty (Subaru Impreza) 59 pens,

8^th Macartan Kierans/Andrew Wedlock (Subaru Impreza) 96 pens,

9^th Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock (Subaru Impreza) 115 pens,

10^th Kevin McCormick/David McCrudden (Subaru Impreza) 120 pens,

 

 

Defending National champions Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes took overall victory on last weekend’s 1000 Shakes Navigation Trial based in Macroom, Co. Cork. The event was a counting round of the National & Munster Night Navigation Championships and attracted a strong entry of Monaghan club members.

 

COC Nial Murphy organised an 80 mile route through some classic navigation terrain. The opening section resulted in a number of crews dropping early penalties and a plot & bash section resulted in more penalties being dropped. By the midway point of the event, Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes had moved into the lead from their National Championship rivals, Dermot Whelton & Mark McCarthy. The pair would be evenly matched over the remainder of the event with Duffy/Hughes coming home with a five penalty advantage. 3^rd overall went to Limerick brothers Alan & George Shinnors, a further three penalties in arrears. Owen Murphy/Daire Hayes & Donal Healy/Denis O’Donovan completed the top five despite brake issues and a long delay stuck in a field respectively.

 

One of the performances of the event was that of Aiden Sherry & Oisin Sherlock who finished 6^th overall and 1^st in the Novice class. The pair got all timepoints during the night as they secured their best result to date. Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan also had an excellent run to 2^nd in the Novice class and 10^th overall. Keith McConnan & Micheal McCluskey finished 8^th overall and 2^nd in the Semi-Expert class. Colm & Conor Mohan finished 4^th in the Novice class and 14^th overall despite some late mechanical drama. Ryan & Caolan Treanor finished 3^rd in the Beginners class on an impressive first visit to Cork. There was disappointment for Eoghan Corr & David McCrudden who were sidelined with mechanical failure.

 

Results

1 Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 8 marks,
2 Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy (Subaru Impreza) 13m,
3 Alan Shinnors/George Shinnors (Subaru Impreza) 15m,
4 Owen Murphy/Daire Hayes (Subaru Forester) 17m,
5 Donal Healy/Denis O’Donovan (Toyota Starlet) 19m,
6 Aidan Sherry/Oisin Sherlock (Subaru Impreza) 28m,
7 Johnny Casey/Patrick O’Sullivan (Peugeot 306) 29m,
8 Keith McConnon/Micheal McCluskey (Subaru Impreza) 31m,
9 Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill (Mondeo) 32m,
10 Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan (Subaru Impreza) 33m.

 

The National Championship continues in a fortnight’s time with the 100 Isles Navigation Trial based in Innishannon, Co. Cork. The Border Navigation Championship resumes with the Donegal Navigation Trial on Saturday next 23^rd January in Milford.

 

AGM

 

There was a good attendance at the Annual General Meeting of Monaghan Motor Club which was held in the Hillgrove Hotel on Thursday 14^th January 2016. Reports were presented by the Secretary Roisin Meenagh and by Treasurer Cathal MacArtain. The Chairman Paul Hughes, in a wide ranging address, thanked all who had helped and supported the club and its activities throughout 2015. In particular he thanked the Hillgrove Hotel as main sponsor of the stages rally, all local sponsors, those who provided venues for events, as well as residents and landowners. He reserved a special thank you for Cora Maguire who was retiring from the committee having given over 30 years of excellent service. It was another successful year for club members at both International and National level, the highlight of which was Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna being crowned National Forestry Champions, while Evin Hughes regained the National Navigator title.

 

The election of officers for 2016 resulted as follows:

Chairman: Paul Hughes, Vice-Chairman: Conor Maguire, Club Secretary: Roisin Meenagh, Event Secretary: Gary Hall, Treasurer: Cathal MacArtain, Ast, Treasuer: Brendan Flynn, PRO: Evin Hughes, Registrar: Ronnie Hawe, Committee: Kerry Stevenson, Thomas Treanor, Eoghan Corr, Shane Maguire, Michael Sheridan, Garry Farrelly, Ciaran Tynan, Fintan Keenan, Damien Hagan, Fintan Clerkin and Samuel Patterson.

 

Michael & Ciaran Tynan kicked off the new year in style with overall victory on last weekend’s Monaghan Motor Club navigation trial. COC Darragh Kelly laid out a challenging 85 mile route in the North Monaghan area. It proved to be a battle of the Tynans at the top as Michael & Ciaran faced off with Martin Tynan & Fintan Clerkin. Just two penalties would separate them at the end of the night. Damien Hagan & Damien Connolly finished just 1 penalty further adrift in 3^rd place.

 

The opening section of the event took crews from Ballinode to Threemilehouse. Hagan/Connolly dropped three penalties into TP2 which would prove crucial at the end of the event. A plethora of new lanes were used between TP7 and TP14. TP14 would catch National champions Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes out with a wrong approach. Plot & Bash at TP15 & TP16 caught out some crews but all but one crew were caught at TP17 for a wrong approach. Some forestry lanes near Bragan which included some straight line tulips were enjoyed by many. Derek Mackarel/Arthur Kierans, who was a last minute stand in navigator dropped out of contention after missing Via6. In the closing stages, Tynan/Tynan held off the challenge of Tynan/Clerkin and Hagan/Connolly to take overall honours. Mackarel/Kierans finished 4^th overall and victory in the Semi-Expert class with Keith McConnan/Micheal McCluskey 5^th overall and 2^nd in the Semi-Expert class. Duffy/Hughes finished 6^th overall and 3^rd in the Expert class.

 

Shane Maguire & Barry Garvey came home 3^rd in the Semi-Expert class. Emmet McCooey/Conor Boylan won the Novice class from Mac Kierans/Thomas Wedlock with Kevin McCormick/David McCrudden in 3^rd. But for a 50 penalty during the event, this pair could have taken overall honours. Oisin Sherlock/Pamela McMahon won the Beginner’s class from Ryan Treanor/Eimear O’Reilly.

 

The club would like to thank Darragh & Michael Carbin for their hard work in organising this event. The next club event is the Autotest on February 14^th. The Night Navigation Trials continue with the Cork 1000 Shakes Navigation Trial next Saturday night 16^th January based in Macroom which is a counting round of the National Night Navigation Championship.

 

Results

 

1 Mickey Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 23 marks,
2 Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin (Subaru Impreza) 25m,
3 Damien Hagan/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza) 26m,
4 Derek Mackarel/Arthur Kierans (Subaru Impreza) 41m,
5 Keith McConnon/Micheal McCluskey (Subaru Impreza) 43m,
6 Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 43m,
7 Shane Maguire/Barry Garvey (Subaru Impreza) 48m,
8 Emmet McCooey/Conor Boylan (Subaru Impreza) 49m,
9 Mac Kierans/Thomas Wedlock (Subaru Impreza) 57m,
10 Fintan Larmer/Sean McCaffrey (Subaru Impreza) 63m,
11 Kevin McCormack/David McCrudden (Subaru Impreza) 67m,
12 Aaron Duffy/Laurence Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 68m.

 

 

Monaghan Motor Club AGM

The annual general meeting of Co. Monaghan Motor Club takes place  Thursday 14^th January 2016 at 8.30pm in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan.

All 2015 club members are eligible to vote in the election of the 2016 committee. All members are encouraged to attend and participate in the open discussion on the topics raised. It is hoped to have further information available on the insurance situation for 2016.

All Drivers insurance (IRDS) applications must be with MotorSport Ireland today (Monday 5th Jan 2016) before 4.30pm. IRDS letters will not be issued for 2016, instead, a list of all drivers will be registered on the MI website. This list will be first published on by Friday 8th Jan 2016. Drivers whose name is not on this list prior to this event, will not be allowed to start.

 

Monaghan Motor Club’s first event of 2016 takes place this Saturday night with the opening Navigation Trial of the new year. Darragh Kelly & Michael Carbin are COC and ACOC respectively. Ballinode Community Hall is the venue for the event and a route of approximately 85 miles has been put together by the organising team. The event is the opening round of the Monaghan Motor Club championships. First car is due to leave the start at 9.01pm. Marshals are required for this event and are asked to meet at Ballinode Community Centre at 8pm.

 

Midland Navigation Trial

 

The final Night Navigation Trial for 2015 took place in Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim on Saturday 12^th December. COC Seamus McTigue laid out a challenging 85 mile route around the shores of Lough Allen and Arigna village. It had been several years since an event took place in the area which presented a fresh challenge for the majority of crews.

 

It was the Longford/Monaghan pairing of Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes who took a start to finish victory in their Subaru. The opening section which included a trace diagram caught out a number of crews and time penalties were also being dropped due to some demanding terrain. Duffy/Hughes had pulled ten penalties clear of the opposition on the first half of the event and were able to maintain their advantage in the second half despite a wrong approach. National Championship rivals, Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy made their trip from Cork pay off with a fine run to 2^nd overall to maintain their points lead in the National Championship. The Novice pairing of Mark Derry/Patrick O’Leary had a great run to 3^rd overall and class honours. Shane Dalton/Nigel McCloughry were 4^th overall with Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan 1 penalty behind in 5^th.

 

Peter Farrell & Shane Farrell won the Semi-Expert class from Keith McConnan/Micheal McCluskey and Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly. Eoghan Corr/Ruadhri Nash finished 2^nd Novice with Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock in 3^rd. Hugh McBrien/Patrick Corcoran won the Beginners class from Gerry Kelly/Patrick Brides and Calvin Beattie/Martin Brady.

 

The next round of the National Championship is the Cork 1000 Shakes on January 16^th with the next round of the Border Championship in Donegal the following weekend.

 

Monaghan Motor Club AGM

 

The annual general meeting of Co. Monaghan Motor Club takes place on Thursday 14^th January 2016 at 8.30pm in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan.

 

All 2015 club members are eligible to vote for the 2016 committee. Nomination forms are available to download from monaghanmotorclub.net. Nominations for appointment to the 2016 committee must be returned to the Secretary Roisin Meenagh by Tuesday 12^th January 2016. All members are encouraged to participate in the nomination process.