Author: monaghanmotorclub

Galway Summer Rally
It was another good day on the stages for Monaghan’s Josh Moffett. The Combilift Rallying driver, navigated by John Rowan, took a convincing win in Group N on the Galway Summer Rally last Sunday and has gotten his bid for 2014 National Group N honours back on track.
Moffett made his intentions clear on stage one with a time of 10:30.6 which was 14.6 seconds ahead of Stephen McCann and Paul Kelly. Championship leader Shane Maguire and Stephen Thornton were a further 10.8 seconds behind in third. By the time cars entered first service Moffett had increased his lead to 45.2 seconds over Mc Cann with Maguire not letting second out of his sight, he was just twelve seconds behind in third.
Drama was to follow on stage 4 as Stephen McCann rolled his Evo 9 out of the event and by second service Moffett was in full control and led the Group N field by over a minute and a half. On the final loop there was no let up on the charge as the Combilift Rallying driver crossed the finish line almost two and a half minutes ahead of fellow Monaghan rivals Shane Maguire and Stephen Thornton who finished 2nd in class and 9th over. Speaking at the end of the rally Josh had this to say ” Yeah we’re over the moon, it was a great rally some great stages. The result will really help with regards the championship as we missed a few rounds earlier in the year.” Maguire/Thornton’s 2nd in class was a valuable points haul as they still lead the group N championship.
Elsewhere Jim McKenna and Thomas Treanor who took 5th in class 14. Jonathan Treanor navigated Colin O’Rourke to 3rd in class 13. It was a good day for Packie Duffy and Evin Hughes who took second in class 3. Commiserations to Emmett Sherry, Justin Smyth and James McCarville who failed t make the finish.
The event was won by the Boyle cousins, Declan and Brian from Donegal with almost a minute of an advantage over top seeds and Welsh man Hugh Hunter . Roy White and James O’Brien rounded off the podium places in third in the MG ZR Rover.

National Loose Surface AutoCross Championship
Congratulations to Derek Mackarel who took his Scanbitz Nova to 3rd overall and a class win in the Carlow Loose Surface Autocross on Sunday. This result increases Derek’s overall lead of the National Loose Surface Autocross with two rounds remaining.

Clare Stages Rally
Sam Moffett and Cavan’s Gary Kiernan are to swop cars for the Clare Stages Rally. Sam will get behind the wheel of Gary’s MK2 Escort to experience rear wheel drive for the first time while Gary will have a go in his Evo 9. Speaking on Monday Sam said; “I’ve always wanted to have a go in a proper rear wheel drive car and I’m grateful to Gary for giving me the chance. We’d been talking about it for a while and Clare seemed like a good rally for us to swap. Gary was out in Germany recently doing my gravel notes and my Evo hasn’t done much rallying since I started using the Fiesta so it’ll be a good opportunity for him too.”

Night Navigation Classes
Please note that Monaghan Motor club have started their night navigation classes ahead of the upcoming night navigation season. These classes started on Friday 29th August but have now moved to a Wednesday night due to unavailability of Threemilehouse GAA complex on a Friday. Its not too late to join in these classes so if you wish to learn more about the sport of night navigations or indeed stages rallying please feel free to attend these classes in Threemilehouse GAA complex on a Wednesday night at 8pm sharp.

It was a weekend to remember for Sam Moffett, James O’Reilly and all involved with Combilift Rallying. Sam and James made their World Rally debut on Rally Germany bringing their Fiesta WRC home in a fantastic 15th overall. The pair had a good first day in the event, learning as they went along. Moffett lay 12th overall going into the overnight halt commenting that the pace at the front was incredible! On a very wet day 2 the pair struggled with tyre issues. Choosing a soft compound rubber for the very long 42km, Panzerplatte Lang stage, Moffetts tyres were down to their canvases by the finish line! Moffett and O’Reilly got over those issues and finished the day in 19th place learning with every stage mile. The final day brought better fortunes as Moffett grew in confidence. He set 13th fastest time on the first two stages of the day and set about bringing the car home on the last two stages. The pair moved up the leader board and crossed the finish line in 15th place. Well done to all of the team!

Carbin and Thornton Take Podium Spot on Sunset Rally
Michael Carbin and Stephen Thornton started their weekend off on the right foot on Friday evening with third place on the Sunset Rally. Organised by the Magherafelt and District Motorclub the event challenged crews to four forestry stages. The Monaghan crew made their intentions known on the first stage with second fastest time in their Evo IV just 2.8 seconds slower than Derek McGeehan in a Mini WRC. By the service halt Enda McNulty had taken second from him and then lost third to Martin Cairns. But the Monaghan pair managed to take the position back and rounded out the top three with a fantastic third place. Arthur Kierans had a great day navigating for Seamus O’Connell going from 12th on stage one to sixth and by the finish taking second in class 7. Martin McGarrity took second in class two navigating for Paul Britton while Emmett Sherry took the honours in class ten navigating for Tommy O’Connell. Mac Kierans navigated Alan Atcheson to second in class five and it was a solid day for Damian and Conor Hagan took third in class six.

Moffett and McKenna Take Third in Cork
Josh Moffett rounded of a fantastic weekend for the Moffett Combilift Rally team when he took third place in the Jim Walsh Cork Forestry Rally round four of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Rally Championship. With Jason McKenna on the notes, the Monaghan crew had a great scrap with Owen Murphy, Pat O’Connell and Derek McGeehan and their positions changed constantly between second and fourth. By the finish ramp Moffett and McKenna had settled for third place and finished 19.1 seconds behind rally winner Owen Murphy. Moffett maintained his lead in the championship heading into round five. Michael Carbin and Stephen Thornton completed a busy weekend by taking eight overall and third in class twenty. Derek Mackerel and Peter Deery brought their Nova home third in class nine. This was Derek’s first competitive stages rally and despite fuel problems on stage 3 they managed to set some good stage time’s throughout the day and used the event as a steep learning curve. Mickey Conlon made the trip to Cork also but unfortunately didn’t make the finish.

Mayo Autocross
Congratulations to Martin Tynan on winning the Mayo Motor Club Frank Harrington Challenge Cup at the Mayo Autocross last weekend in Harringtons quarry, Swinford. . The Clones driver finished second overall on the day just 0.19 seconds behind event winner Adrian Deane and won class 4 in his Evo 9. This 4 round championship was highly competitive and with an overall win, two second’s and a third Martin had done enough to lift the 2014 Mayo Autocross crown.

Night Navigation Classes
The Navigation Trial season is fast approaching and the Motor Club are gearing up for that all important kick off – the navigation classes! If you have a motor sport interest of any kind the Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct ‘foundation’ to this sport. The scheduled classes will cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations and pace notes for stages rallies.
The classes will start on Friday 29th August at 8pm sharp in the excellent facilities of the Sean Mac Diarmada complex in ThreemileHouse. All interested persons should contact Conor on 086 1677446 and register your position on the classes. Registration on the night will also include club membership, maps, roamer and all necessary paperwork to complete the 6 week course. Classes cost 25 euro
The first event after the summer break is the October Trial on Saturday 4th. COC for the event is Micheal McCloskey and Keith McConnon and we look forward to this. (more…)

Martin Tynan and Stephen Thornton were victorious in last weekend’s Monaghan Motor Club Endurance Trial based out of the Four Seasons Hotel.
The pair won the event in their Toyota Starlet by three seconds from Kieran Mc Carra and Gary Mc Crudden with Andrew Mackarel and Richard Cassidy a further sixteen seconds behind in their Opel Ascona.
The event attracted an entry of 23 cars of varying specification who set about tackling the 20 selective’s at 10 venues throughout north Monaghan as set out by CoC Ronnie Hawe and his team. First up was a quick blast around Monaghan Quarries, followed by a tight and slippy test around the combilift factory at Clontibret. Then it was onto a narrow and slippy forest track just outside Ballybay before a visit to Cavan Motor Clubs Hut Cross quarry track in Latton. Wrights Quarry in Swanns Cross was the venue for the 5th selective and all five were repeated before a well deserved dinner break back at the Four Seasons Hotel. The afternoon selective’s were in the North Monaghan regions with two passes over a grassy lane to the back of Niall Maguires house at Hollyrood, next up was the rally school and then onto Wattersons quarry in Carrickroe. Mc Aree Engineering’s Carrickroe factory was the venue for the ninth test followed by a quick blast through a tarmac surfaced lane known locally as McMeels. Endurance by name and endurance by nature as the first car’s arrived back to HQ around 7.30pm. It was a closely fought battle all day but it was Tynan and Thornton who came out on top. As only class 1 cars were eligible for overall honours it was Derek Mackarel and Peter Deery who were deemed 2nd overall with Graham O’Donaghoe and Damian Connolly 3rd overall.
Class one honours went to Karl O’Donoghoe and Evin Hughes in their Rover 200, followed by Enda McLoughlin and Declan Tynan 2nd in class 1 and Paul Gibbons/Mark Reilly 3rd. Class 2 was won by the ultra quick Kieran McCarra in a Mitsubishi Colt followed by Michael and Ciaran Tynan in the 998cc daihatsu cuore. 3rd in class went to Conor Meehan and Brendan Keenan in their starlet. Class 3 went to Peter and Shane Farrell in their Honda civic, followed by Darren McCague and Mark Sheridan in their rover which bore the scares of battle at the finish! Mark Hamill and Greg O’Reilly were 3rd in class 3. Andy Mackarel and Richard Cassidy topped class 5 in their 2 litre opel ascona with Eoghan Corr and Damian Treanor 2nd in class in the Mazda MX5, both crews using there rear wheel power to maximum effect throughout a thoroughly enjoyable day for all competitors.
That’s the endurance trial over for another year and CoC Ronnie Hawe would like to thank everyone who helped organise the event, The Four Seasons Hotel, marshals, land and property owners and anyone else who helped make this a successful event. Next up for Monaghan Motor Club is the first night navigation trial of the new season on Saturday 4th October.

1. Martin Tynan/Stephen Thornton 08:45
2. Kieran McCarra/Gary McCrudden +0.03
3. Andrew Mackarel/Richard Cassidy +0.19
4. Derek Mackarel/Peter Deery +0.55
5. Graham O’Donaghoe/Damien Connolly +1:15
6. Karl O’Donaghoe/Evin Hughes +1:15
7. Eoghan Corr/ Damien Treanor +1:35
8. Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan +1.50
9. Enda McLoughlin/Declan Tynan +2.13
10. Peter Farrell/Shane Farrell +2:36

MOFFETT SET FOR WRC DEBUT
Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly are set to make their World Rally Championship debut this weekend. The Monaghan pair will tackle the ADAC Rallye Deutschland in their Fiesta WRC. The Combilift Rallying team has secured the sponsorship of DSV for the event and will be looking forward to a massive learning curve on the German stages. The team have had a great year on the national scene so far.

NIGHT NAVIGATION CLASSES
Monaghan Motor Club will once again run their highly successful night navigation classes this year ahead of the upcoming night navigation season starting in October. These class’s are designed for beginners who would like to dip their feet into the world of motorsport, with night navigations being the grass roots of the sport and the first step on the ladder. So if your interested in learning about the sport and how to read maps and indeed pace notes for stages rally why not come along to the first of our classes which start on Friday 29th August. Time and venue to be confirmed next week and also keep an eye out on our Monaghan Motor club face book page as well as http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net Please text your details to Conor on 0861677446 to book a place on this course.

R.I.P. TIMOTHY CATHCART
Monaghan Motor Club would like to extend its sympathies and thoughts to the family and friends of Timothy Cathcart who tragically lost his life at the Ulster Rally yesterday. R.I.P. Also we extend our best wishes to Dai Roberts for a speedy recovery

It was a day to remember for Shane Maguire and Stephen Thornton as the pair led from start to finish to take an impressive Group N win at the Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally. With championship leader Josh Moffett not starting the event the Maguire International pair knew a good result could have great benefits to their championship ambitions.
It was a close fought battle over the first two tests with Maguire and Dublin’s Neil and Gerard Tohill separated by 4.6 seconds however after stage 3 Maguire had increased his advantage by 27.2 seconds with Gus Kearney and Eddie O’Neill just 6.4 seconds further back. Stage 4 saw Maguire extend his lead even further. The Monaghan man said he made the right decision by putting extra cuts into his tyres as he extended his lead to 42.6 seconds. After the second loop Maguire had extended his lead to 57.7 seconds while Kearney had taken second off Tohill. The final loop saw the Maguire International pair increase their lead yet again. The pair took victory by 1:28.5 from Gus Kearney and Eddie O’Neill while Neil and Gerard Tohill finishing a further 1:26.6 behind in third.
Mickey Conlon and Ciaran McPhillips had a great event in class 13 also. The pair took the lead from Cavan’s Gary Kiernan on stage 3 and from there were involved in a great battle with Killkenny’s James Coleman. Conlon and McPhillips led the class for the second loop but a road penalty left them 1.4 seconds behind Coleman after stage 7. It was all out attack to the end and the pair managed to snatch the class win on the last stage by just 2.1 seconds. The crew also got 5th overall and second in the modified section for their efforts. Barry Treanor and Michael Brennan had a great run to second in class 11R in their Mk2 Escort. Paul Sheridan was in the navigators seat for Tyrone’s Vivian Hamill but the pair only managed three stages before retiring. Barry McKenna and Mac Kierans were competing in class 13 but failed to complete stage 1.
The event was won overall by Darragh O Riordan in his fiesta WRC, followed by James Stafford in the infamous Darrian, with Welsh man Steve Wood 3rd overall in a WRC subaru.

Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally Top 10
1 Darragh O’Riordan/Tony McDaid (Fiesta WRC) 63m 43s,
2 James Stafford/Amy Ryan (Darrian T90 GTR) 64m 28s,
3 Steve Wood/Keith Moriarty (Impreza WRC) 65m 45s,
4 Kevin Barrett/Anthony Nestor (Impreza WRC) 65m 58s,
5 Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Escort) 67m 12s,
6 James Coleman/Liam Brennan (Escort) 67m 14s,
7 Pat Donegan/Alan Keena (Escort) 67m 32s,
8 Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne (Escort) 67m 41s,
9 David Condell/Eugene McGrath (Escort) 67m 54s,
10 Mickey Curran/Enda Gerety (Escort) 68m 15s.

Monaghan Motor Annual Endurance Trial
All roads lead to Monaghan this weekend for the Monaghan Motor Clubs annual endurance trial. The event which is based out of the Four Season’s Hotel promises a fantastic day’s motorsport. Entries are still being accepted and entry forms can be downloaded from the Monaghan Motor Club Website, http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net Any enquiries can be directed to CoC of the event, Ronnie Hawe on 0868277779. Scrutineering will take place in Sams Bridge (Across from the Four Seasons) at 7.30 a.m. with the event starting at 10.00 a.m. As always, marshals are in very short supply so please if anyone is interested or available please contact Ronnie as soon as possible and be at the Four Seasons before 8.30am Sunday morning.

McKenna And Wright All Set For Ulster
Daniel McKenna will start the Toddsleap Ulster Rally tomorrow knowing that a good result will bring him another step closer to his first British Rally Championship title victory. The Scotshouse driver goes into Round 4 of the BRC with a 20 point lead over his nearest rival Welshman Osian Pryce.
McKenna, who had a pre – event test in his Citroen DS3 last week says that despite his lead in the championship he will still be approaching the event in a sensible fashion. The BRC section of the event was won by Pryce last year but depite this McKenna is in a confident mood stating that he has more experience on this type of terrain.
Stephen Wright will also be tackling the event in his Peugeot 208 R2. The Newbliss man has been impressing in the Belgian Rally Championship this year and it will be his first Irish event since the Laois Heartland Rally back in June . Wright says the competition in the R2 category will be stiff and he’s relishing the challenge.
Despite his time away from Irish events he’s confident he has a good set up for the car ahead of the event. Emmett Sherry will be challenging him in the R2 category, navigating for Calvin Beattie.

It was announced last week that Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly are to make their World Rally Championship debut at Rally Germany next month. The pair will compete in their Combilift Rallying Fiesta WRC. The pair have had a successful year so far in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and the National Rally Championship and are seeded at 23 for their maiden WRC voyage.

Good Result for the Wrights in Luxembourg

Stephen and Suzanne Wright travelled abroad last weekend to attack Rally Luxembourg in their Peugeot 208 R2 and the Monaghan pair had a successful event. The Wrights finished a fantastic 13th overall and 5th in the R2 class. They also netted 2nd in the 208 class. There was a few hiccups along the way however. A difference in the local rules to Irish regulations resulted in Stephen suffering a big time loss after a stage cancellation. The pair also lost 10 seconds having to stop at an accident on Day 2. Apart from that it was a good run for the pair. The next outing for Stephen will be the Ulster Rally next month. This event will also see Daniel McKenna continue his bid for British Rally Championship glory. Since it was announced recently that the final round of the BRC has been cancelled, so the Ulster Rally will become the second last round of the championship. The Moffett brothers will also continue their attack on the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship at this event.

Stephen and Suzanne Wright will return to the Belgian Rally Championship at the Tour of Flanders on the 5th of September

Mayo Motor Club Autocross

Congratulations to Martin Tynan who took victory in his Mitsubishi Evo in last weekends Mayo and District Motorsport Club Loose Surface Autocross event. Martin finished just under half a second ahead of second placed John McGettrick with a fastest time of 03:57.66. This result leaves Martin joint championship leader with Derek Deane going into the final round in approximately 4 weeks time.

Elsewhere Michael Conlon had a good day in his buggy with fourth overall and third in class 6 with a best time of 04:00.09. Derek Mackarel also had a good event in his Nova. Derek posted a fastest time of 04:09.59 and finished 10th overall and took the win in class 2. Derek still leads the national loose surface autocross championship after this event.

Monaghan Motor Club Endurance Trial

Monaghan Motor Club’s annual Endurance Trial will now take place on Sunday the 17th of August. Please note the date change and also if your available to marshal please make yourselves available to any committee member as soon as possible. More details to follow next week.