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Local Cork crew Owen Murphy and James O’Brien took top honours in their local Cork Forest Stages Rally on Saturday last. This was the fourth round of the Valvoline Irish Forest Championship and attracted almost 50 entries to this popular forest complex on the outskirts of Mallow. Murphy and O Brien were pushed all the way by the hard charging Colin Britton, navigated by our very own Arthur Kierans who were only 6 seconds in arrears after six tough stages. This result leaves Britton and Kierans leading the Irish Forest Championship with three rounds remaining. Third over-all were Pat O Connell and Mark Wiley with only 7 seconds separating the top three crews. Incidentally the top three were all in similar spec EVO 9’s. Fourth over-all went to Martin Cairns who had Patrick Brides on the notes. Patrick making the switch from the back wheel drive starlets of the Moffatt’s to sample the gravel in a four-wheel drive Impreza. Next up were Enda Mc Nulty and Paul Sheridan in the trusty Impreza. Following some teething problems in the new Mc Nulty escort this crew returned to the forest in the group A impreza to good effect and won their class and 5th over-all. Next up was the Mc Aree Evo of Vincent and JP Mc Aree.

 The Ballinode/Carrickmacross cousins had mixed fortunes in Cork as they dropped over 30 seconds on the opening test with an overshoot and stalled engine which refused to re-start. Once they got going they quickly climbed the leader board, setting fastest stage time on the last stage to eventually finish in 6th. A great resulted considering they were 19th after stage 1. This result leaves the Mc Arees in 4th over-all in the forest championship with three rounds remaining so still very much in the hunt. Swann’s Cross brother and sister team of Stephen and Suzanne Wright finished in 8th over-all and gained some valuable points towards their forest championship campaign. The Wrights’ consistency is paying dividends as they are currently second in the Valvoline championship with 3 rounds remaining.

The two wheel drive battle was hard fought with Fivemiletown’s Shane McGirr and Jackie Elliott taking class 5 honours in the McGirr Oils backed starlet and 9th over-all to boot. The MC Blinds backed escort of Michael Conlon with new navigator Damien Fleming were second two-wheel drive car across the line and 11th over-all after an enjoyable day in the sticks. David Smith and Austin Hamill took a step into the unknown as they were competing in an EVO, a small step up from Davids trusty 106! However they quickly came to grips with the driving style of the four-wheel drive and set some good times throughout the day to finish a creditable 24th over-all and 6th in class. So with 3 rounds remaining in Tipperary, the Dogleap and the bushwhacker,

 Monaghan have 3 crews in the top 4 over-all positions so best of luck to all over the remaining rounds.

CORK MC JIM WALSH CORK FOREST RALLY TOP 10

 1/ Owen Murphy/James O’Brien (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 33m 10s 2/ Colin Britton/Arthur Kierans (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 33m 16s 3/ Pat O’Connell/Mark Wiley (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 33m 17s 4/ Martin Cairns/Patrick Brides (Impreza) 33m 43s 5/ Enda McNulty/Paul Sheridan (Impreza) 33m 47s 6/ Vincent McAree/J P McAree (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 33m 58s 7/ Gerard Lucey/James Lucey (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 34m 00s 8/ Stephen Wright/Suzanne Wright (Lancer Evo 6) 34m 16s 9/ Shane McGirr/Jackie Elliott (Starlet) 34m 46s 10/ Niall Henry/John Rowan (Impreza Gp N) 34m 52s

Co. Cavan Motor Club Stages Rally

All roads lead to Baileboro this weekend for Cavan Motor Clubs annual stages rally. This is the 3rd round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally championship and is sure to attract a bumper entry. With the weather looking promising it is sure to be a great days entertainment as many crews battle it out for border championship points heading to the half way stage. Once again the day will not proceed without the help of hundreds of marshals. Monaghan Motor Club is committed to providing as many as possible and would ask all members to make themselves available if possible. Please contact 086 3627000 or e-mail the club website on monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com should you be available to marshal and participate in the safe running of our neighbouring motor clubs annual stages rally.

Carlow Motor Club hosted their ever-popular stages rally and Mark II challenge on Sunday last. A bumper entry in the main field took to the roads around the East Carlow town of Tullow for nine stages. It was number 3 seeds Brian O Mahoney and John Higgins who took over the lead after stage 2 and went on to take a 14 second winning margin from championship leader Thomas Fitzmaurice in 2^nd. Ballinode men Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry were 3^rd over-all and only 3 seconds further adrift after overcoming a number of small mechanical issues in the early stages. This result for the Monaghan men ensures they keep the pressure on Fitzmaurice and O’Mahoney for the Dunlop national title at the half way stage. Incidentally all three are in similar spec WRC S11 Impreza’s.

            Just behind the top 3 was the battle for two wheel drive honours and the title of Mark II challenge winner. On the opening test it was Wesley Patterson who got the upper hand with a slender 1 second lead from Daniel Mc Kenna and Andrew Grennan with Frank Kelly on the pace in 3^rd. Gary Mc Phillips had Donal Barrett on the notes for this event (Donal is regular navigator for Donegal’s Manus Kelly) but they were struggling with suspension woes through the opening loop and doing well to stay in contention with the top 3. Stage two saw the demise of Patterson, which left Daniel and Andrew in control at the head of the mk2 challenge. By first service they were 17 seconds ahead of Frank Kelly with Mc Phillips 14 seconds further adrift. The middle loop would shake things up again as the Scanbitz escort experienced oil pressure problems as well as an engine miss-fire which saw them drop 21 seconds to the hard charging Kelly through these three stages. McPhillips/Barrett were now very much on the pace and trading times with Frank although a 23 second gap would be hard to pull back. The decision was taken at second service to retire the scanbitz escort of McKenna/Grennan to avoid any terminal damage. Placing’s remained the same over the final loop as Kelly/Brennan went on to lift the mk2 challenge trophy ahead of Gary Mc Phillips and Donal Barrett who finished 5^th o/a in the main field. Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle were 3^rd two-wheel drive car home in 7^th over-all.

            The group N category was equally as competitive in Carlow as Colm Murphy returned to winning ways in his Impreza ahead of Monaghan’s Josh Moffatt and Domhall Lennon who finished in 9^th over-all. The second Maguire International Impreza of Shane Maguire and Martin McGarrity had been 3^rd group N throughout the day but mechanical trouble forced their retirement on ss7, big disappointment for Shane following his first group N win in Monaghan three weeks prior.

            Ryan Lougheran and James McCarville were in contention in class 11 once again and finished 21^st over-all and 2^nd in class 11 behind the civic of Neil pierce and Jason Ollerenshaw. This result leaves Ryan and James in a strong position for class 11 honours in the Dunlop national championship. Damien Connolly teamed up with Ardee man Liam Bowhan for this event and had a steady run all day to finish 9^th in the highly competitive class 13. Stephen Rushe and Threemilehouses’ Conor Hagan put in a strong performance all day to finish 2^nd in class 10 in their Mk2 escort.

            Unfortunately the success of the Monaghan Stages deserted Seamus Connolly and Gary Mc Crudden on this occasion as their day ended on the opening test with engine trouble. Enda Mc Nulty and Paul Sheridan’s misfortunes in the new class 13 escort continued in Carlow as their day was also cut short with mechanical problems.   

 CARLOW CC MOUNT WOLSELEY HOTEL STAGES RALLY TOP 10

1 Brian O’Mahony/John Higgins (Impreza WRC) 67m 38s

2 Thomas Fitzmaurice/Fionn Foley (Impreza WRC) 67m 52s

3 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 67m 55s

4 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Escort) 69m 00s

5 Gary McPhillips/Donal Barrett (Escort) 69m 28s

6 Colm Murphy/Don Montgomery (Impreza Gp N) 69m 55s

7 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Escort) 70m 05s

8 Sam Smyth/Alan Smyth (Escort) 70m 57s

9 Josh Moffett/Domhnall Lennon (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 71m 01s

10 Tom Cave/Craig Parry (Citroen DS3) 71m 23s

 

Motorsport Safety Team Group N Production class:

1 Colm Murphy/Don Montgomery

2 Josh Moffett/Domhnall Lennon

3 Paddy McVeigh/Stephen O’Hanlon (Impreza) 73m 59s.

 

Rally.ie Two wheel drive class:

1 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan

2 Gary McPhillips/Donal Barrett

3 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle

 

Historics:

1 Denis Collins/Tommy Commane (Escort) 55m 21s

2 Dick Mauger/Steve McNulty (Escort) 57m 07s

3 Philip McKibbin/Padraig Brick (Cortina) 58m 23s

 

Juniors:

1 Chris Snow/Sean Brunton (Civic) 49m 15s

2 Damien Boyle/Joseph Boyle (Civic) 50m 20s

3 James Bradley/Maria Kehoe (Civic) 50m 21s

 

Co. Cavan Motor Club Stages Rally

Co. Cavan Motor Club will host their annual stages rally on Sunday 27^th May 2012. This year the event moves in a slightly different direction with the Bailie Hotel, Bailieboro being the main sponsor and HQ for this popular event. As always Monaghan Motor Club must return the favour of supplying up to 60 marshals for this event and this year is no exception. All club members (and friends) are asked to make themselves available if possible to marshal. Please contact any committee member to register your name.

 Monaghan’s Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes were crowned National Navigation Champions on Saturday night last at the annual prize giving ceremony in Portlaoise. The Smithborough/Ballybay crew claimed their first ever-National title after an intense battle throughout the winter. Last year’s Beginners class champions Darren Quinn/Nigel McCloughry from Longford were the surprise of the season as they mixed it with the experts throughout the series and duly finished as deserving runners-up.

 The Semi-Expert crew of Chris Kelly/Sam Johnston, also from Longford, finished 3^rd overall for the 2^nd successive year.

The championship consisted of 8 rounds featuring three events in Co. Cork, one each in Co Tipperary and Co Leitrim as well as three in Counties Cavan and Monaghan. A trio of Midland Motor Club crews and two Cork crews pushed the Monaghan pair all the way in what proved to be one of the more dramatic seasons in the championship. Victories on the Monaghan Drumlin and Skibbereen 100 Isles as well as three other top four finishes were the telling factor come season end.

Indeed, the prospects for the eventual champions were not good with 3 rounds remaining. Mechanical problems resulted in two consecutive non-finishes when well placed in both rounds 4 and 5. The win in Skibbereen turned the tables around and strong finishes on the final three rounds clinched it. Their achievement is well deserved having been runners-up on two previous occasions. Evin’s win follows that of his father Paul who also won the navigators title in 1996, the first time a father and son have won the same title.

Other Monaghan award winners were Richard Cassidy who was 2^nd placed driver in the expert class, while in the semi-expert class, Sean McKenna/Gary Farrelly were 2^nd ahead of Kevin Keenan/Barry Garvey in 3^rd.

 

Motorsport Ireland National Navigation Trial Championship 2011/2012

Overall

1^st        Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes

2^nd        Darren Quinn/Nigel McCloughrey

3^rd        Chris Kelly/Sam Johnson

 

Expert

1^st        Alan Shinnors/George Shinnors

2^nd        Richard Cassidy/Daire Hayes

3^rd        Joe Shinnors/Paul Phelan

 

Semi Expert

1^st        Pakie Duffy/Colin Duffy

2^nd        Sean McKenna/Gary Farrelly

3^rd        Kevin Keenan/Barry Garvey

 

Novice

1^st        Ciaran McElroy/Muireann Hayes

2^nd        Alwyn White/Damien McCabe

3^rd        David Beamish/Adrian Tobin

 

Beginner

1^st        Shane Dalton/Sean Henehan

2^nd        Matt Shinnors/Michael Reilly

3^rd        David Forde/Catherine Levis

It was a day of high drama on the narrow roads of North Monaghan as Daniel Mc Kenna and Andrew Grennan won the 2012 Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally on Sunday last. This was the second counting round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship which drew a full entry of 131 cars, the first full entry of this years rally calendar. An action packed event that saw only 5 of the top 10 making the finish ramp including non-finishes form all three WRC cars, which started. This event had it all and certainly lived up to its pre-event billing of “Finland on tarmac”. Mc Kenna/Grennan eventually took the rally win from Sam Moffatt and James O’Reilly in their EVO 9 with Maurice Moffatt and Jason McKenna just edged back to third on the final 30km stage in their Starlet.

            But that is only the tip of the iceberg! With only 67 finishers from 131 starters this was most definitely a finisher’s rally as most of those who were lucky enough to cross the finish ramp had their own good luck stories to tell. CoC Dessie Keenan and his team provided three action packed stages, which had it all. Stage 1 was a fast flowing stage with many flat crests on open roads. The first half of stage 2 ran through the famous Bragan mountain and then descended down towards Scotstown finishing with the infamous tight and twisty Aghnameena lane. Stage 3 simply had all the ingredients of the perfect stage, narrow sections to start with, straddling the border along Roslea, then opening out to fast flowing sections towards Bellanode village. The spectacle of two flat crest/jumps then up to a chicane and a hair pin right has to be the talking point of the rally as thousands of spectators descended on this usually quiet north Monaghan village. One could be forgiven for thinking they were actually in Finland such was the commitment of all drivers over these jumps, much to the delight of onlookers.

            Top seeds for the event were indeed local Bellanode man Niall Maguire and his regular navigator, Enda Sherry. They had led the event up until stage 7 when their gearbox packed it in while holding a one-minute lead. Earlier in the day number 2 seeds Seamus Leonard retired his Subaru WRC on ss1 while Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan slid their newly acquired WRC impreza off the road on ss3. These miss-haps only meant one thing, a titanic battle to the end between two of Irelands top escort men and locals, Daniel McKenna/Andrew Grennan and Gary McPhillips/Mark Tierney. By Gary’s own admission they were caught sleeping on the opening loop, dropping 32 seconds to Mc Kenna after three stages. Not to be outdone Gary and Mark put the “shoulder to the wheel” on the middle loop, recording fastest times on all three stages over McKenna. Indeed on ss6 running water after heavy rainfall made conditions treacherous and Daniel/Andrew nearly threw it all away with a big overshoot on the hairpin at Greenfield eggs, which resulted in the back of the escort being extensively damaged. Gary and Mark were also caught out on the surface water here and ended up alongside Daniel who had got out to access the damage. Both crews got back on track and its was a side by side battle to stage end. Going into the final stage the scene was set for a battle royale as Mc Phillips led by one second with the now infamous 30km Bellanode stage to run. Unfortunately though it was not going to live up to it’s billing as Mc Kenna passed the stricken red escort which suffered suspension failure and Gary and Mark were forced to limp to stage finish and drop back to 14^th o/a. A cruel end after a titanic battle with Daniel Mc Kenna and Andrew Grennan coming out on top on this occasion to be crowned 2012 Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally winners.

            With Sam Moffatt and uncle Maurice 2^nd and 3^rd respectively it was Shane Maguire and Marty McGarrity who came home in 4^th o/a to take a splendid group N class win. Shane was locked in a battle with young local rival Josh Moffatt with regular navigator Domhall Lennon on the notes and eventually came out with a 17 second winning margin over the Combilift and PQE backed EVO. Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle had to settle for 6^th o/a but did enough to take the class win as Mc Kenna and Moffatt were in the top 3, this despite a puncture early on. Camillus Bradley was next up in 7^th o/a and 2^nd in class 14 ahead of John Mc Quaid and Seamus O’ Connor in 9^th o/a and 3^rd class 14. Not taking away from the tremendous drives from the front-runners, Kieran “Bilko” McCarra and Colm Murphy could surely be singled out for a drive of the day award also. 5^th fastest stage time on the opening stage reflecting Bilko’s intentions for the day and indeed he remained inside the top 6 up until stage 7, eventually dropping back to 8^th o/a and taking a class win by almost two and a half minutes. Oldcastle’s Mickey Curran rounded off the top 10 with Mickey Conlon and Darren Mc Cague 11^th and 2^nd class 13. Emyvale’s New Holland Agri. man Barry McKenna had Clones busman Raymond Conlon on the notes and they had much better luck on their home rally compared to recent events with a 17^th o/a finish and 3^rd in class 13. Jim Mc Kenna and Thomas Treanor finished 12^th o/a as Arthur and Mac Kierans made it two wins from two starts in class 12. Eamonn Mc Guigan was 2^nd in class 12 ahead of Hugh Mc Quaid and Chris Melly in 3^rd. Gerard Mc Quaid and Gary Quinlan finished 18^th o/a and 4^th in class 13. Class 11 saw no fewer than 13 non-finishers out of a starting 25 as Carrickmacross brother’s Johno and Padraig Doogan had a testing day which paid off with a class 11 win. Indeed they were contemplated retiring in first service with alternator belt problems but eventually their persistence paid dividends. David Moffatt and Andrew Spears also had their problems as they limped to the end of stage 3 with a broken alternator bracket, coupled with a slight off towards the end of the day but were also rewarded for their efforts with 2^nd in class 11. Seamus Doherty and Peter Byrne rounded off the top three in class 11. Class 10 was another to suffer many casualties but it was Patrick Kiernan and Darren O’Brien who kept it together to take the class win. Aaron Mc Quaid and Aidan Coyle had led class 10 through the early stages to eventually finish 2^nd and 31^st over-all. Father and son team of Sean and Fintan Sherry rounded off the top 3 in class 10 in their Pizza D’or and Mc Aree Eng. backed escort.

            Donegal’s Barry Mc Gill with last minute replacement Paul Clarke on the notes also made it two wins from two starts in this years border championship with a class 9 victory. Cavan’s Brendan O Reilly with Mark Hamill on the notes were 2^nd class 9 ahead of Aaron Duffy and Michael Donnellan. The only finisher’s in class 8 were Ciaran Marron and Damian Connolly. Rodger Kennedy and Wendy Blackledge were the sole finishers in class 7. Donegal natives Joe Mc Gonigle and Ciaran Geaney had a blistering drive to a class 6 win and 15^th overall in the citreon C2R2 ahead of the similar car of John Lynch with Liam Branley 3^rd. Sligo Pallets crew Andrew Mullan and Elaine Doherty finish 3^rd in class 4 and 13^th o/a behind the hard charging youngsters Maguire and Moffatt. Mark Ewing won class 3 ahead of Longford men Packie Duffy and Micheal Reilly in the type R civic with Johnny Leonard 3^rd in a fiesta. Adrian Cannon brought his civic across the finish ramp with a class 2 win ahead of Stephen Bradley in 2^nd and Trevor Mc Connell 3^rd, also in civics’. Class 15 which caters for group A and N cars out of homologation was won by Scotland’s Jim Sharp in a group A subaru (who incidentally is currently leading the Scottish rally championship) with local man Stephen Hagan on the notes. Andy Mackarel and Richard Cassidy were consistent as always and it paid off with 2^nd in class 15 in the EVO 4. David Leonard rounded off the top 3 in a Lancer.

            Other local men who can count themselves lucky to even make the finish after a demanding day include David Smith/Adrian Flynn who were 4^th in class 11 with Damien Sherry/Weazel Currie 5^th class 11. Colin Currid and Ballyhaise man Adrian Foley were 4^th class 9 in a nova while Cavan’s Phillip Smith and Warren Carleton were 5^th class 2. Seamus Connolly and Gary Mc Crudden were in the scenery on a few occasions but managed to make the end nevertheless. Indeed it has been suggested that this crew were the unofficial entertainers of the rally, putting on a show at every opportunity and winning the Sligo Pallets Drive of the Day award for their efforts on ss5.

            Unfortunately that’s where the good luck stories end as a plethora of locals failed to finish this demanding rally for one reason or another. Niall and Enda were out on ss7 with gearbox issues while leading. Next big casualties were Rodney Wilton and Conor Mc Mahon who crashed their brand new escort out in spectacular fashion at the first junction of the event. Mac McKenna and John Loughran had an uncharacteristic off on ss4 while Shane Mc Girr and Jack Maguire also failed to make it home. Enda Mc Nulty and Paul Sheridan had the all new class 13 escort on show but mechanical gremlins were never too far away throughout the weekend. Darren and Nicola Mc Kenna were forced into retirement, as their twin cam was not firing on all cylinders throughout the day. Ryan Loughran and James Mc Carville ended their rally with a slight off as something broke in the front suspension while leading class 11. Martin Mc Phillips and Ciaran Tynan also failed to make the finish as they encountered electrical problems on ss5 and their clutch gave up on ss6. James Cassidy and Karen Kelly were the first crew to throw in the towel as their alternator packed in before the start of the first stage. Cathal Mc Glone and Damien Doherty also failed to make the finish, as did Martin Tynan and Fintan Clerkin when their gearbox cried enough. Donal Crossan and Damien Mc Cabe were also on the non-finishers list as were Michael and Declan Tynan with back differential woes.

Michael Carroll and Martin Connolly were also non-finishers in their class 3 fiesta. Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes’ hopes of a good finish on their local event were dashed as the head gasket went on the 205. John and Niall Kelly were back out in a white twin cam and getting back up to speed but were forced to retire on ss6 with mechanical problems. Barry Treanor and Colm Connolly didn’t make the end, nor did Cathal Sheridan with Donegal woman Loretta Kelly on the notes as the gearbox in the nova gave up. David Smith and Austin Hamill failed to take the 106 home while Justin Smith and Gregory Mc Quillan were also heading home early while leading class 9 in their escort. Cootehill’s Gerry and Aaron Mc Intyre retired at second service with clutch failure while Tullyvin man Adam Kinkade and Dominic “Bart” Mc Ardle also retired their civic making it a bad day all round for the Cavan men. Ballybay’s David Dixon and Darren Gilliland made a welcomed return to the stages but there hopes of a finish were short lived as they failed to make first service. Tommy Boylan and Mark Deery didn’t make it round the final loop of three stages in their G3 escort.

            So that’s the gist of an eventful 2012 Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally which has threw up many a talking point for all the right reasons. Well done to Daniel and Andrew on an epic win, reportedly the first escort to win in Monaghan for 24 years. Hard luck to Gary and Mark and no doubt their day is hopefully not too far away. Well done to CoC Dessie Keenan and his hard working team on running a fabulous event on perfect stages. Not too many competitors can say they have done 30km stages’ and by all accounts their experience of it was fantastic. A special word of thanks to our main sponsors, Colm and Audrey Herron of the Hillgrove Hotel and Spa for their continued support. Thanks to all the marshal’s, medical and rescue services and anybody who contributed in any way to keep the Monaghan Stages Rally at the fore in the Irish Rally calendar.

 

 

 

Monaghan MC Stages Rally Top 10:

1/ Daniel McKenna/Andrew Grennan (Escort) 109m 23s

2/ Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 111m 45s

3/ Maurice Moffett/Jason McKenna (Starlet) 111m 50s

4/ Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity (Impreza Gp N) 112m 38s

5/ Josh Moffett/Domhnall Lennon (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 112m 57s

6/ Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Escort) 113m 19s

7/ Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson (Escort) 113m 38s

8/ Kieran McCarra/Colm Murphy (Civic) 113m 45s

9/ John McQuaid/Seamus O’Connor (Escort) 114m 00s

10/ Michael Curran/Sean Hayde (Escort) 115m 00s

 

Group N Production class:

1 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly

2 Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity

3 Josh Moffett/Domhnall Lennon.

 

Motorsport Ireland National Night Navigation Prize Giving

National night navigation prize giving for the 11/12 season past will take place on Saturday 28^th April at 8.00pm sharp in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise. All award winners are asked to be present or send a representative. There will also be an open forum meeting prior to prize giving, this is important as it is a chance for competitors to voice their opinions on all aspects of the sport with a view to improving it for the future.

 

The climax of Monaghan Motor Club’s rally calendar takes place over the coming weekend with the Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally on Sunday next. Many months of meticulous planning will come together over the coming weekend. A bumper entry of 131 crews will descend on Monaghan town and the neighbouring North Monaghan villages like, Balinode, Scotstown, Tydavnet, Bragan and Carrickroe. Saturday will be taken up with recce of each of the three stages where crews will make their pace notes and familiarise themselves with the stages at hand. Mc Elvaney Motors on the Dublin road will be the main hub of activity on Saturday evening where mechanical scrutiny of each car takes place and then its back to the Hillgrove where all cars will be parked over night and ready for Sundays stages. First competing car is due to leave Rally HQ on Sunday morning at 9.25am with Stage 1 starting at 10.00am. CoC for the event is Dessie Keenan and along with his many helpers has laid on a fantastic route of just over 200 stage kilometres. The third stage of each loop is probably the longest (30km) and most challenging stage of the Irish Rally calendar thus far. Centralised service after each of the three stages is once again in the main town car park beside Saint Peters lake (behind fleming’s). The event is estimated to attract up on 20,000 spectators and rally fans over the course of the weekend making it one of the largest sporting events of the year in the county.

            Local Balinode men Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry will lead the field away from the Hillgrove as number 1 seed in their WRC Impreza, followed by Seamus Leonard and Donagh Kelly also in WRC subaru’s. Scothouse man Daniel McKenna with Andrew Grennan back on the notes will start at 4 and head an amazing group of escorts with Gary Mc Phillips and Mark Tierney in hot pursuit at 5. Donegal cousin’s Declan and Brian Boyle are at 6 in a similar escort and sure to be on the pace. Billy Coleman winner Sam Moffatt with James Reilly on the notes are the only class 4 entrant in the top 10 in their EVO 9, starting at 7. Camillus Bradley and Brian Brogan are next at 8^th and 9^th respectively, both in class 14 escorts while Maurice Moffatt gets reacquainted with navigator Jason McKenna to complete the top 10 in the infamous starlet. Others sure to feature in the top 10 results throughout the day include are Shane Maguire, Trevor Bustard, Josh Moffatt and Conor Harvey, all in class 4 machines. Rodney Wilton is also down to compete in his brand new class 14 escort.

            Looking further down the field Mickey Conlon and Darren Mc Cague head the local entries in class 13, with Kieran ‘Bilko’ Mc Carra, Mac Mc Kenna, Jack Maguire, Barry Mc Kenna and Gerard Mc Quaid to name but a few amongst a group of 24 entrants in class 13. Border champions Arthur and Mac Kierans lead of the class 12 brigade at number 37 with James Cassidy and James at 47 and Eamonn Mc Guigan at 48. Class 11 could also be dubbed “the battle of the locals” with the top 8 from the surrounding areas. Darren and Nicola McKenna lead off at 40, followed by Anthony Hand/Emett Sherry at 41, Ryan Lougheran/James Mc Carville at 42, Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden at 43, David Moffatt /Andrew Spears at 44, Martin McPhillips/Ciaran Tynan at 45, Johno and Padraig Doogan at 46 with Damien Sherry starting at 58 in his twin cam. Class 10 will also be ultra competitive with Parick Kiernan starting at 72 in his escort, followed by the ever reliable Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes in the 205 with Aaron McQuaid, John Kelly, Barry Treanor, Cathal Sheridan and Sean Sherry all in hot pursuit.

            Class 9 see’s Justin Smyth and Gregory Mc Quillan lead off ahead of Donegal’s Barry McGill with Cavan’s Brendan O’Reilly 3^rd class 9 off the start ramp. David Smith and Austin Hamill are sure to be in contention in class 6, which features the C2R2 of Donegal’s Joseph McGonigle and the puma of Roger Donnan. Sean Agnew and Peter Deery will be hoping for better luck than the circuit in class 6 also. Martin Tynan will have regular night navigation navigator Fintan Clerkin on the notes for the very first time on tarmac in his class 4 EVO 8. Class 15, which is for group N cars out of homologation, will also feature a few locals as Cathal Mc Glone and Damien Doherty lead off the locals. Andy Mackarel and Richard Cassidy are next up at 50 with Michael and Declan Tynan just behind in the EVO 5.

            So Monaghan town is the place to be this coming weekend where the cream of Irish Rallying will pit their wits against one another. Monaghan Motor Club wish all starting crews the very best of luck and hope to see everyone back at the Hillgrove Hotel on Sunday night for prize giving. Any marshal’s available for the day please contact a committee member.  

 

Mc Aree’s Third o/a on Moonraker

Vincent and Jp Mc Aree brought their EVO 9 home to an impressive 3^rd over-all on last weekends Carrick-on-Suir Moonraker forestry Rally. This was the third round of the Irish Valvoline Forestry Championship and the Ballinode crew punched in some excellent times throughout the day. The event was won by last years champion Owen Murphy with Gary Jennings in 2^nd. But things could have been a lot different had Jennings not rolled his Subaru while leading the event, remarkably they only lost about half a minute and set fastest stages times thereafter to finish in 2^nd, only 12 seconds off Murphy. Vincent and Jp were only 13 seconds off the over-all winner after 9 stages. Colin Britton and Arthur Kierans were in 5^th over-all as only 21 seconds separated the top 5 finishers. Stephen and Suzanne Wright finished up in 6^th over-all, another good points haul for the championship. Emmet Sherry was sitting with John McLaughlin in their EVO and had a good run to 8^th over-all and 4^th in class. Mickey Conlon and Damien McCabe had been lying in 12^th over-all and leading class 5 after the 7^th stage but failed to make the finish as his gear box cried enough.

 

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving

Friday night last saw a hub of activity around championship sponsor the Squealing Pig Bar and Restaurant for this years annual prize giving. After a long year with seven events hosted by the four clubs of Monaghan, Cavan, Midlands and Donegal it was time to let the hair down as many a story was remimised of the year gone past. The Squealing Pig laid on a fabulous meal, which was followed by prize giving, and plenty of banter among the 60 strong who attended. MC for the night was our very own Sean McCaffery and along with Andy Mackarel and Paul Fitzpatrick they organised a very successful night. Well done to all award winners and to the 2011/12 Squealing Pig border navigation champions Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins. 

 

Open Navigation Meeting

Monaghan Motor Club is holding an open Navigation Trial meeting on Wednesday 25^th April at 8pm sharp in the Hillgrove Hotel. The function of the meeting is to discuss all aspects of the sport and determine if any suggestions or amendments would improve the full spectrum of the sport. This is an important open meeting so we would ask all competitors and event organisers to attend.

 

Motorsport Ireland National Night Navigation Prize Giving

National night navigation prize giving for the 11/12 season past will take place on Saturday 28^th April at 8.00pm sharp in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise. All award winners are asked to be present or send a representative. Full list of award winners will be available shortly. There will also be an open forum meeting prior to prize giving, this is important as it is a chance for competitors to voice their opinions on all aspects of the sport with a view to improving it for the future.