Author: monaghanmotorclub

A strong contingent of Monaghan crews made their way to Donegal for the annual Harvest Stages Rally, which was based in Inishowen this year. The event was the final round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. Daniel McKenna navigated by Gordon Noble was the top Monaghan driver home securing 4^th overall and 1^st in class 14 driving Brendan Kelly’s Toyota AE86. David Moffett/Fintan Sherry finished 10^th overall and 2^nd in the ultra competitive class 13. Shane Maguire brought his Lancer home to 12^th overall and 2^nd in class 4 with Paul McLaughlin in the navigator’s seat. Pauric Duffy/Kevin Glynn finished just behind in 13^th overall and 1^st in class 5 in their Fiesta. Mark Tierney guided Brian Armstrong to 17^th overall and 2^nd in class 12.

Michael Carbin/Emmet McCooey finished 18^th overall and 2^nd in class 20, while Evin Hughes guided Rodney White to 23^rd overall and 5^th in class 13 in one of the few remaining Sunbeams. Barry McKenna/Emmet Sherry finished 27^th overall and 6^th in class 13, Johno Doogan/Ciaran Marron took 30^th overall and 7^th in class 13, while Barry & Jonathan Treanor secured 31^st overall and 3^rd in class 11R, all competing in Escorts. Declan Connolly/Alison Hughes finished 93^rd overall and 8^th in class 9 in their Civic. Martin Swinburne/Gretchen Fegan (Corolla) took overall honours in the Junior Rally securing them the class in the Border Championship.

Damien Connolly was once again navigating for Peadar Hurson in the Subaru. They held an impressive early lead before retiring on stage four. Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan held 2^nd overall before their retirement on stage 8, rounding off a very disappointing year for this crew. Barry Treanor, Alison Hughes, Mark Tierney, Michael Carbin & Emmet McCooey and Martin Swinburne/Gretchen Fegan all secured their respective classes in the Border Championship.

Birr Endurance Trial

Evin Hughes made the trip from Donegal to Birr pay off as he guided Karl O’Donoghue to 3^rd overall on Sunday’s Birr Endurance Trial. The event was won by Limerick crew Alan and George Shinnors in Starlet.

Isle of Mull Rally

Arthur Kierans was in the hotseat for Derek McGeehan on the Isle of Mull Rally in Scotland. Unfortunately they were early retirees. The event was subsequently abandoned following a fatal accident.

Defending National Champions, Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes kicked off the new Navigation season in style by taking overall honours on last weekend’s Monaghan Navigation Trial. COC Mac Kierans, ably assisted by Ruadhri Nash laid out a challenging 70 mile route in the Aghabog and Threemilehouse areas. Duffy/Hughes emerged victorious by just 1 penalty from Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan with Semi-Expert pairing Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly an impressive 3^rd overall.

The opening section of the event took crews from Aghabog to Stone Bridge, Kileevan, Newbliss and Threemilehouse. The majority of crews dropped two penalties at TP3. Plot & Bash at TP13, TP16 and TP17 saw more time dropped with some slippy lanes included in the mix. The final three plot & bash timepoints were between TP21-TP23. Duffy/Hughes held off a late charge from Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan to take the win. Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly took 3^rd overall on the “Semi-Expert beats Expert” rule which left Michael Tynan & Ciaran Tynan 4^th overall. Trevor Farrell & Noel Hall returned to the navigation scene after a short absence and secured 5^th overall, one further penalty adrift.

Novice class honours went to Mark Derry & Patrick O’Leary on 33 penalties. Keith McCormick/David McCrudden took 2^nd on 87 penalties with Cathal McKenna/Shane Farrell in 3^rd position on 110 penalties. Beginners class honours went to Colm Mohan/Conor Mohan on an impressive 45 penalties. Emmet McCooey/Conor Boylan finished 2^nd on 76 penalties with Mark Sheridan/Craig McPhillips in 3^rd on 172 penalties.

CO MONAGHAN M. C. NAVIGATION TRIAL TOP TEN

:
1 Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 8 marks,
2 Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 9m,
3 Mickey Carbin/Darragh Kelly (Subaru Impreza) 11m,
4 Mickey Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 11m,
5 Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall (Subaru Impreza) 12m,
6 Martin Tynan/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza) 13m,
7 Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan (Vauxhall Vectra) 17m,
8 Fintan Larmer/Sean McCaffrey (Subaru Impreza) 17m,
9 Mark Deery/Patrick O’Leary (Subaru Impreza) 33m,
10 Damien Treanor/Jonathan McGovern (Subaru Impreza) 35m,

The next event is the Drumlin Navigation Trial on Saturday 7^th/8^th November which is also the opening round of the National & Border Night Navigation Championships.

Foley Secures 2^nd International Win of the Year

Conor Foley joined forces with double Tarmac and National Stages Rally Champion, Donagh Kelly for last weekend’s Cork 20 International Rally. The pair had already tasted success at the Killarney Rally of the Lakes and they repeated their form to take a dominant win. Their main rival was four times Cork winner, Daragh O’Riordan. Just five seconds separated them after day one, with Kelly & Foley just in front. O’Riodan’s retirement on stage 11 left Kelly/Foley in the clear for victory. Keith Cronin/Shane Buckley took 2^nd place, almost two minutes behind with Melvyn Evans/Mark Glennester taking 3^rd.

Stephen Wright/Mickie Galvin took 4^th overall and a convincing victory in class 5. Pauric Duffy & Kevin Glynn finished 8^th overall and 3^rd in the same class. Brendan Cumiskey with Ronan O’Kane

on the notes finished 9^th overall. In the National Rally, Carrickmacross pairing Gerry McGivney/Gavin McGivney returned to the stages and finished 25^th overall and 4^th in

class 13. Brendan & JP McAree finished 5^th overall in the Historic Rally.

Upcoming Events

10^th October, Donegal Harvest Stages Rally

18^th October, Mayo Forestry Mini Stages Rally

Clontibret’s Josh Moffett with Jason McKenna on the notes secured 2^nd place overall on last weekend’s Bushwhacker Rally, which was a counting round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship. The pair finished twenty seconds adrift of winners Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty. Scotshouse man Andrew Grennan guided Adrian Hetherington to 10^th overall and 2^nd in class 7. Other local crews to feature included Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly who finished 12^th overall in their Lancer. Matthew McKenna guided Gerard McFall to 14^th overall, while JP McAree finished 45^th overall with driver, Derrick Jobb. Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes took 46^th overall in their Nova. Emmet Sherry guided Amy Cox to 61^st overall. However, the unfortunate Alan Smyth/Mac Kierans retired, which ended their hopes of success in the Road to Wales initiative. Alan Atchenson/Michaela McGinn also retired.

Competitors Gear Up for New Navigation Season

Regulations have been released for Monaghan Motor Club’s next event, the Club Navigation Trial on Saturday 3^rd October. The event is a counting round of the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship and the Traders Trophy. COC for the night is Mac Kierans, assisted by Ruadhri Nash. A route of approximately 70 miles is on the cards with Agahbog the centre of the action on the night. Marshals are needed and volunteers are asked to attend at the Carne Resource Centre, Aghabog by 8pm.

Navigation Classes

Monaghan Motor Club continues its series of Navigation Classes on this Friday 2^nd October at 8pm in Sean McDermott’s GAA complex at Threemilehouse. These classes are open to all members of the public interested in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in this popular discipline of motorsport. A training package is provided to each participant for a nominal fee.

Upcoming Events

2^nd to 4^th October, Cork 20 International Rally

3^rd October, Monaghan Navigation Trial

10^th October, Donegal Harvest Stages Rally

18^th October, Mayo Forestry Mini Stages Rally

Daniel McKenna & Galway co-driver, Kevin Glynn finished 4^th overall on last weekend’s Clare Stages Rally. Daniel was again behind the wheel of the PH Rentals Ford Fiesta R5. The pair held a solid 2^nd place over the first three stages just 12 seconds in arrears of Ed O’Callaghan. A stage four puncture cost them dearly as they lost over two and half minutes. They fought back with fastest overall times on the final two stages to recover to 4^th overall. Shane Maguire & Mac Kierans brought their Lancer to 11^th overall and 1^st in Group N. This result secures Group N in the West Coast Championship for Shane. Paul Kelly was sitting with local man Paul Purtill. They took an early class 13 lead but fuel pressure problems cost them six minutes on stage 3. They eventually finished 52^nd overall.

Competitors Gear Up for New Navigation Season

Regulations have been released for the Monaghan Motor Club’s next event, the Club Navigation Trial on Saturday 3^rd October. The event is a counting round of the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship and the Traders Trophy. COC for the night is Mac Kierans, assisted by Ruadhri Nash. A route of approximately 70 miles is on the cards with Agahbog the centre of the action on the night.

Navigation Classes

Monaghan Motor Club continues its series of Navigation Classes on this Friday 25^th September at 8pm in Sean McDermott’s GAA complex at Threemilehouse. These classes are open to all members of the public interested in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in this popular discipline of motorsport. A training package is provided to each participant for a nominal fee.

A small contingent of Monaghan crews made the trip to the South-East last weekend for the 2 day Wexford Stages Rally. Justin Smyth/Gregory McQuillan had a difficult event in their Escort. They lost 4 minutes on the opening stage with fuel pressure problems. However, they charged back after that, setting some impressive stages times and climbed back to 2^nd in class and 48^th overall. Ballybay’s Stephen McElroy guided local man Frank Kinsella to 59^th overall and 6^th in class 10. Keith McConnon guided Brendan O’Reilly to 6^th in class and 71^st overall. Their hopes of a good result were dashed following an eight minute delay on stage six. Barry McKenna/Evin Hughes retired from the top 20 following a broken half shaft on stage six. Padraig Connolly/Padraig Corrigan retired on the opening stage with head gasket failure.

Navigation Classes

Monaghan Motor Club continues its series of Navigation Classes on this Friday 18^th September at 8pm in Sean McDermott’s GAA complex at Threemilehouse. These classes are open to all members of the public interested in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in this popular discipline of motorsport. A training package is provided to each participant for a nominal fee.