Limerick Stages Rally

Last Sunday saw Limerick Motor Club host round four of the Dunlop National Rally Championship and as ever a number of Monaghan crews made the journey south. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly continued their fine run of form to claim another overall win in their Ford Fiesta WRC. They finished just 4.6 seconds in front of last year’s event winner Kevin Kelleher (Subaru WRC) with Welsh man Steve Wood rounding off the top 3, also in a subaru. Monaghan’s Paul Kelly navigated local Limerick native Paul Purtill to a fine eighth overall and 2nd in class 13 driving an escort. Josh Moffett and John Rowan scored another fine group N win with Shane Maguire and Martin McGarrity runners up in the production category.  Paul Sheridan guided Vivian Hamill to thirteenth overall and 2nd in class 14. Michael Carbin and Stephen Thorton also had a fine run to third in class however a stage 5 puncture robbed them of a much better result.

Monaghan Motor Club Rally Sprint

Monaghan Motor Club will run a Rallysprint in Rally School Ireland, Scotstown on Sunday 15th June. Clerk of Course John Kelly and his team are hard at work piecing together what is promised to be an enjoyable event with minimum 4 timed runs over the 2.2km track. Mc Aree Engineering Ltd. Ballinode are main sponsors of the event and regulations and entry forms are available on club website at http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net. All competitors doing the event are urged to please get your entries in early so that the organisers can make their final preparations knowing the extent of the entry list. A one day rally licence is available on the day for once off competitors, or anyone not holding a current licence but must be booked with the Motor Club in advance. More information next week.

Niall Maguire and Conor Foley came out on top last weekend on the 2014 Kilmore Hotel Cavan Stages Rally with just under two minutes to spare over Rodney Wilton and Conor McMahon. This event was the third counting round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship and this win is Nialls sixth outright win in Cavan whilst Conor finally got his hands on the overall cup after almost twenty years of trying. Ballyjamesduff man Rodney Wilton kept the pressure on the Ballinode pairing throughout the day but following overnight rain the slippy and greasy conditions left it almost impossible for Wilton/McMahon to maximise the potential of their escort against the four wheel drive advantage of Maguire/Foley. Donegal men Trevor Bustard and John McCafferty took 3rd overall in their group N Evo. Michael Carbin and Emmett McCooey stormed up the leader board throughout the day to finish an excellent 4th overall. Arguably the drive of the day must go to Paddy Boyle and Martin Sherlock. They brought their class 13 escort home to 5th overall with some top 3 stage times to boot. The Cavan men seemed at home on these stages and their times proved just that in tricky conditions.

            Wet and slippy was the order of the day for all competitors over the first two loops of the Cavan Stages Rally last Sunday. This years stages consisted of a compact loop surrounding the Bunnoe, Kill and Castletara areas. Its been over 15 years since the rally traversed the Kill area in its entirety taking in the famous lanes like the stoney trough, lung lane and Knobbies Jumps which just like old times claimed quite a few retirements along the way. Richard Moffett and Martin Connolly were on their usual good pace to finish in 8th overall and 2nd in class to the flying Cavan men, Paddy Boyle and Marty Sherlock. Other locals to fair well included Stephen Wright and Karl Atkinson who finished top front wheel drive car and 11th overall. Jack Maguire and Andy Hayes finished 2nd in class 14 behind Adrian Hetherington and Gary Nolan. Johnno and Padraig Doogan finished 15th overall in their hired class 13 escort. Brian Armstrong and Mark Tierney took the class 12 honours ahead of James Cassidy and Declan Smith. Arthur and Mac Kierans had a tough day at the office with fuel pressure problems before the opening stage, plug lead woes on stage 3 and a puncture on stage 7 meant the Aghabog men were happy to make the finish at all! David Moffett and Fintan Sherry came out on top in the highly competitive class 11R in the Moffett Engineering backed starlet. Martin McPhillips and Ciaran Tynan were counting their blessings to make the finish with 2nd in class after their twin cam developed driveshaft/gearbox issues on the final loop and nursed the McPhillips Engineering backed corolla to final control in 26th overall. Barry Treanor and Colm Connolly also had a testing day but managed to secure 3rd in class and 30th overall, making it a Monaghan top 3 in class 11R. Cootehill’s Darren O’Brien and John McCabe had been as high as 12th overall in their class 11F civic but a puncture on stage 8 dropped them back to 25th overall. 11F was won by Chris Snow with Adrian Cannon 3rd. Class 10 went the way of Carrickroe brothers John and Niall Kelly with Ballyhaise men Adrian and Anthony Foley in 2nd. Cathal Sheridan and Evin Hughes finished 3rd in class 10, after surviving a big moment at the chicane on Knobbies Cross Roads with the Nova bearing all the haul marks of good quality Cavan round bales!

            Class 9 was won by Gene Callan and Sean Brunton with Gene McDonald and Kevin Reilly in 2nd and Declan Connolly and Alison Hughes 3rd. Class 15 which is for Group N production cars out of homologation went to Martin and Declan Tynan in their EVO 8 and they too had a testing day with a puncture and a broken drive shaft but nevertheless they managed to finish and take the class win. South Monaghan men Martin Swinburn and Keith McConnon had an excellent debut in their 1600 twin cam to take the overall win on the Junior Rally. Martin only acquired the car last Tuesday from Donegal and it surely was a baptism of fire to take a 3second win from Adrian Sweeney and Gary Lockart.

            So that’s Cavan Stages finished for another year, well done to all locals who finished, never mind win crystal in what was easily one of the toughest events for years with the slippy conditions. Next up in the Sligo Pallets Border Championship is Sligo Stages Rally on 13th July.

1. Cavan MC Hotel Kilmore Stages Rally Top 10

1 Niall Maguire/Conor Foley (Impreza WRC) 80m 37s

2 Rodney Wilton/Conor McMahon (Escort) 82m 24s

3 Trevor Bustard/John McCafferty (Lancer Evo 9) 83m 08s

4 Mickey Carbin/Emmet McCooey (Lancer Evo 4) 83m 23s

5 Paddy Boyle/Marty Sherlock (Escort) 83m 26s

6 David Leonard/Darragh Mullen (Lancer) 83m 37s

7 Pat Kirk/John McElhinney (Lancer Evo 9) 83m 41s

8 Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly (Starlet) 83m 58s

9 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Escort) 84m 04s

10 Russell Woods/Gary Gallagher (Escort) 84m 11s

Locals to the Fore in Wicklow

ALMC Motor Club ran their maiden Forestry Rally event last Saturday in the picturesque surroundings of Glendalough in North Wicklow for the first time since 2006. A four stage compact event with a great entry of 79 starters left the Glendalough Hotel to tackle the 40 stage kilometres in “The Garden of Ireland”. Corks Owen Murphy and James O’Brien had a slender 7 second overall win from Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna. The Monaghan men kept the pressure on throughout the day but in the end Murphy made no mistakes to take the win. Paul Sheridan was navigating for Enda McNulty and they too had a great run on new terrain to take 3rd overall in the subaru. 

            Michael Carbin and Stephen Thornton had their best result to date with a fine 5th overall and a class 20 win to boot. Michael Conlon and Ciaran McPhillips brought the trusty MC Blinds escort back to the gravel and had a great run to 12th overall and 2nd in class. Mac Kierans was in the hotseat with Jason Roach to finish 16th overall and 3rd in class 5A in their escort. So all in all a great days rallying for the Monaghan crews in Wicklow.

Cavan Stages Rally

Best of luck to all competitors on this weekends upcoming Kilmore Hotel Cavan Stages Rally. A fine line-up of entries will take to the Cavan roads on Sunday morning with many Monaghan club members sure to be in the mix for overall and class honours. As always marshals are always in demand and anyone available should make themselves known to Kerry Stevenson or any committee member. Full report next week.

Carlow Stages Rally

Last weekend saw Carlow Car Club run their popular stages rally, the third counting round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship. This year was also the tenth anniversary of the highly acclaimed mk2 challenge. The event opened with several slippy stages and proved a real test for eventual winners Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank who were closely followed by Melvyn Evans/Mark Glennerster whilst Roy White/James O’Brien finalised the top three. Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird ran out winners of the Mk2 challenge from Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan. Top Monaghan finisher Paul Sheridan guided Vivian Hamill to third place closely followed by Stephen Thornton who was navigating for Enda McNulty, finishing in fourth place Escort and 12th overall. In class 4, Danny Barry/Gordon Noble were victorious and fellow class runners Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity took their Mitsubishi to 2nd in group N. Breen McGovern/Michael Sherdian took their Citroen Saxo to 6^th in class 6. Barry Treanor had a less fortunate event retiring on stage 6 whilst holding a fine 2nd in class 11.

Mayo Autocross

Well done to all local competitors who made the long journey West to compete in the ever popular Harringtons quarry Mayo loose surface Autocross. Local man Derek Deane won the event in a buggy, closely followed by Martin Tynan who was only 2.5 seconds adrift in his EVO 8. Mervin Deane rounded off the top 3, also in a buggy. Michael Conlon also made the trip to take 8th overall in his buggy. Andy and Derek Mackarel were double driving the Mackarel Garden Products backed EVO 4 but hit trouble with differential woes but despite this Andy managed 14th overall

Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly have popped the Champaign corks for a second weekend in succession following an emphatic win on last weekends Cartell.ie Killarney Rally of the Lakes. The Combilift backed duo claimed the outright win after two tough days through the Kerry countryside, traversing some of Irelands best known rally stages such as Moll’s Gap, Healy’s Pass and Cod’s Head. Declan and Brian Boyle had been leading the event through the Saturday stages but they crashed out in the WRC Subaru. Then it was Donagh Kelly who took over the mantle but he too crashed out on the penultimate stage leaving the travelling Monaghan men to take over the reigns at the helm and guide the Fiesta WRC home to yet another famous victory, following on from their success on their home event, the Hill grove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally the weekend before hand.

            Alan Ring and Adrian Deasy were second overall, almost two minutes and forty seconds adrift of the Combilift Fiesta. Josh Moffett and John Rowan also made it the the podium, finishing a fantastic 3rd overall in their EVO 9. They too were coming off the back of a great result on their home stages, swapping the Group N win for 3rd overall in Killarney, amongst some stiff opposition. Eugene Meegan and Sarah Whelan rounded off a perfect weekend for the travelling Monaghan crews in the International Rally with 4th overall and the Group N win, also in an EVO 9.

            The National category was won by Roy White and James O’Brien in the MG ZR Rover S2000, with Wesley Patterson and Johnny Baird second overall. Donegal’s Declan Gallagher and Ryan Moore thrilled the thousands of spectators with there sideways style to come home in 3rd overall. Clones man Raymond Conlon with Nicola McKenna on the notes had been lying in 10th overall and second in class 13 in the twin-cam corolla before their gearbox let go and forcing their retirement whilst setting some great stage times.

Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally

Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans dropped the chequered flag on their British Rally Championship campaign last weekend with a wonderful 2nd overall result on the Pirelli Rally, based in Carlisle. After 10 demanding gravel stages over the course of Saturday and Sunday the Monaghan duo were only 46seconds adrift of Oisan Pryce and Dale Furniss in a similar Citreon DS3 R3T. This was Daniels first competitive stage mileage on a gravel surface, running on the new Pirelli gravel tyres and an excellent result with the tarmac roads of the Jim Clarke Rally in Scotshouse awaiting the Scotshouse/Aghabog men on 30/31st May.

            Tydavnet man Emmett Sherry also made the trip to Wales to navigate for Calvin Beattie in a Ford Fiesta and they too had a great drive through the Welsh forests to claim 5th overall and 2nd in class 2.

Wright’s April Adventures

Stephen Wright has reached the end of his hectic April schedule that saw him tackle 3 rallies in 3 weekends in Ireland and Belgium behind the wheel of his Peugeot 208 R2. Stephen’s first event of the month saw him travel to the TAC Rally in Belgium, which is based around the town of Tielt. Despite challenging roads and foggy conditions on some of the stages, Stephen with elder sister Susanne on the pacenotes, finished a brilliant 16^th overall and 2^nd among the Peugeot 208 Rally Trophy runners. As an added bonus, Stephen also won the junior driver of the rally award.

            From the roads of West Flanders the Wright Rally cavalcade then travelled all the way back home to take part in the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally. The event was a counting round of the Junior European Championship and after a troublesome opening day, Stephen and Susanne eventually climbed to 4^th place, narrowly missing out on a podium among a truly international field of drivers from Norway, Britain, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland and Belgium.

            Finally, it was back to Belgium to compete in the Rallye de Wallonie where Stephen faced a massive challenge with 25 cars entered in his class. Due to work commitments Susanne sat out the rally but a replacement was found in the form of experienced navigator Karl Atkinson and he guided Stephen to 8^th in class and 5^th among the Peugeot Trophy winners. With every mile on the Belgian roads Stephen is continually learning and is looking forward to the remainder of the season.

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving

All roads lead to the Squealing Pig in Monaghan this Friday night for the annual border navigation prize giving awards. Dinner will be at 8.30 sharp with prize giving afterwards. This years overall winners were midlands men Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston with a host of local navigation men receiving awards also. Please check out results and award winners on Monaghan Motor Clubs facebook page and come along to the championship sponsor, the Squealing Pig on this Friday night, 9th May for a guaranteed night of craic and banter. Tickets need to be booked ASAP so call or text Andy on 0872558957 to reserve some.

Club Notes/PRO Details

Monaghan Motor Club have set up a new e-mail account solely for the purpose of receiving information from competitors and club members on their exploits throughout the year in all forms of motorsport competition. All competitors are urged to e-mail action photos (no watermarks) and a short note on how they got on in any event throughout the year. We need these details for weekly reports and Facebook news. The e-mail address is rallynews1@gmail.com Obviously we cannot guarantee everything will be published but your input would be greatly appreciated to try and cover all members and their endeavours.