Author: monaghanmotorclub

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.

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.