Author: monaghanmotorclub

Monaghan Motor Club’s sporting year for 2015 came to an end with the annual dinner dance & prizegiving on Friday night last. Damien Connolly was crowned the overall club champion for the third year in succession and was presented with the coveted Trader’s Trophy. Damien accumulated most of his points in the navigator seats on the night navigations, stages rally and endurance trial events while getting behind the wheel for the autotest.

Michael Tynan & Ciaran Tynan took the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship for the first time.

On the National scene, Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna were the overall Irish Forestry Champions with Josh also being a runner-up in the Billy Coleman award.

Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes won the National Night Navigation Championship. Each of the event winners and COCs were also presented with their awards on the night.

The Gerry McNamara award was won by Conor Maguire for his outstanding contribution to the club over the years.

The club would like to thank all of its event sponsors, in particular the Hillgrove Hotel for their support for the stages rally and monthly club meetings.

The Irish Forestry Championship prizegiving took place last weekend in Tullamore. Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna got their hands on the 2015 Championship trophy after an impressive season in their Lancer. Having narrowly lost out on the championship in 2014, Josh & Jason pulled it all together this year with overall victory in Mayo and consistent scores on the other rounds to claim their maiden National forestry title.

Michael Conlon & Ciaran McPhillips claimed the 2 wheel drive championship category. The pair dominated the early season with a string of class wins and regular placings in the top 10 overall. This helped secure the championship with two rounds remaining. Derek Mackarel was one of the stars of the Junior class. Derek took a superb class win in Mayo and also scored high in Carrick, Donegal and Cork to secure 3^rd in the Junior class. Michaela McGinn finished 2^nd in class 13 after a consistent season navigating for Damien McGauren.

Dinner Dance & Prizegiving

The annual Monaghan Motor Club Dinner Dance & Prizegiving takes place on Friday night, December 4^th. The event will see the club celebrate the success of their competitors at both National & International level in 2015. Some of the most notable successes includes Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna winning the Irish Forestry Championship, Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry taking runners-up spot in the National Championship, Shane Maguire winning the West Coast Championship and Evin Hughes winning the National Night Navigation Championship. Damien Connolly is the overall club champion for 2015, clinching the coveted Trader’s trophy for a third successive year, while Mickey and Ciaran Tynan are the club navigation champions.

The night begins with a motor sport reception at 8pm sharp featuring unseen video footage followed by the prizegiving dinner. Leading Northern Sound radio presenter, Sean McCaffrey, is MC for the annual motor club awards ceremony which will feature various fun surprises during the evening to make this a special night to be a part of and end an event-packed 2015 season off in style!

Tickets are available from committee members or call Conor on 086 1677446 to book your place.
 

Carbery Night Navigation Trial

Three Monaghan crews made the trip to Leap, Co. Cork for the Carbery Night Navigation Trial on Saturday night last. The event was a counting round of the Munster Navigation Championship. Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes finished 3^rd overall and 2^nd in class. Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan were 8^th overall and 1^st in the novice class despite gearbox problems. Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock were just behind in 9^th overall and 2^nd novice.

Monaghan Motor Club members were again well represented at the annual National Rally Championship awards ceremony. Triton Showers were in their first season as sponsors on what was a successful year for the championship. Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry were once again at the sharp end of the series, finishing in a fine 2^nd place overall. Niall is a past three time winner and has multiple runner-up and 3^rd place finishes over the years. His son, Shane competes in the Group N category and finished 3^rd in class after an up and down season. Michael Carbin & Emmet McCooey took class 20 honours completing a Border and National championship double. Seamus Connolly & Gary McCrudden were class 11R champions. Jim McKenna placed third in class 14.

Cork Star-Trek Navigation Trial

A number of Monaghan crews made the trip to Shanballymore, North Cork for round two of the National Night Navigation Championship. Sean Daly organised an 80 mile route including some classic forestry lanes used on the Cork Forestry Rally. Best Monaghan crew on the night were Ciaran Sheridan & Conor Boylan who were a terrific 5^th overall and 1^st in the Novice class. Keith McConnan & Micheal McCluskey were 6^th overall and 1^st in the Semi-Expert class continuing their fine start to the year. Aaron Duffy/Laurence Keenan came home 8^th overall. Defending champions, Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes were a disappointing 12^th overall after an issue at TP7. Aiden Sherry & Oisin Sherlock came home 13^th overall and 4^th in the Novice class. Colm Mohan & Conor Mohan were unfortunate to retire after getting stuck aiding another competitor.

Billy Coleman Award

The club wishes the best of luck to Josh Moffett who has been named as one of the finalists for the 2015 Billy Coleman Award. The prize which is worth €50,000 to the winner is awarded to the best young rally driver in Ireland. Josh who was also a finalist last year, had another exceptional year. He won the Irish Forestry Championship outright, took 3^rd overall placing on the Circuit of Ireland, a round of the European Championship and claimed overall victory on this year’s Monaghan stages rally. Josh will now join Rob Duggan & Patrick O’Brien on the final shortlist. The winner will be announced at the Champions of Irish Motorsport awards on December 2^nd.

Dinner Dance & Prizegiving

The annual Monaghan Motor Club Dinner Dance & Prizegiving takes place on Friday night, December 4^th. The event will see the club celebrate the success of their competitors at both National & International level in 2015. Some of the most notable successes includes Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna winning the Irish Forestry Championship, Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry taking runners-up in the National Championship, Shane Maguire winning the West Coast Championship and Evin Hughes winning the National Night Navigation Championship. Damien Connolly is the overall club champion for 2015, clinching the coveted Trader’s trophy for a third successive year, while Mickey and Ciaran Tynan are the club navigation champions. Tickets are available from committee members.

Monaghan Motor Club was well represented on Wales Rally GB, the final round of the 2015 World Rally Championship. Leading Monaghan interest were Clontibret brothers Josh & Sam Moffett driving two Ford Fiesta WRCs. John Rowan and Karl Atkinson were navigating respectively. Monaghan’s James O’Reilly joined forces with Marty McCormack in their Skoda Fabia S2000 and reigning British Champion, Arthur Kierans from Aghabog teamed up with Billy Coleman award winner, Dean Raftery. Castleblayney man Pauric Duffy & Kevin Glynn were also contesting the event in their R5 Fiesta.

The Rally is well known for its tricky muddy conditions and this year’s event was no exception. Josh & Sam played themselves in on day 1 which included classic stages at Hafren, Sweet Lamb and Myherin. There was little to separate the pair with Josh 36 seconds ahead at the end of the day. There was big disappointment for McCormack/O’Reilly who retired on stage 3 when the alternator failed. Dean Raftery/Arthur Kierans’s rally also came to an end on stage three. Pauric Duffy/Kevin Glynn made steady progress to 35^th overnight.

A further seven stages were contested on Saturday including two stages in darkness. Josh & Sam continued to make steady progress and finished the day in 16^th and 17^th place respectively. McCormack/O’Reilly re-joined under Rally 2 and set some encouraging stage times despite a puncture including a top 20 time on stage 11. Duffy/Glynn retired on stage 8 but would re-join on Sunday.

The final day consisted of four short stages. Both Moffett brothers brought their cars home safely. Josh & John Rowan were an excellent 14^th overall holding off a late charge from Sam who took 15^th place just 13.2 seconds behind after over 3 hours of driving. Marty McCormack/James O’Reilly recovered to 45^th overall setting another top 20 time on the final stage. Pauric Duffy/Kevin Glynn completed the Sunday stages to secure 51^st overall.