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IRC Drivers to the fore on Circuit Easter weekend has become synonymous with the running of the Circuit of Ireland Stages Rally. This year there was the added bonus of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge using this Irish event as the 3rd round of this competitive championship. Indeed it was these pocket rocket S2000 cars, which dominated the circuit from start to finish. Juho Hanninen and Mikko Markkula from Finland had a memorable first visit to Irish tarmac with a 44 second win from Norwegians Andreas Mikkelson and Ola Floene. All the way from the Chez Republic were Jan Kopecky and Pavel Drester to finish 3rd, making it a Skoda top 3 after 15 stages. The Armagh City Hotel was HQ for this high profile event, which had a somewhat party atmosphere as it co-incided with the Titanic anniversary celebrations in Belfast. Indeed stage one of the event was a spectator stage around the newly opened Titanic quarters with the backdrop of the Harland and Wolff cranes providing a spectacular showpiece. There were high expectations of Irelands young guns being able to match the IRC regulars but unfortunately it was a weekend to forget for most of them. First victims were Alastair Fisher and Rory Kennedy who were on a good pace but a small mistake on a fast series of bends on ss6 saw them burst an oil cooler after a spin to end their challenge. Waterfords Craig Breen encountered fuel pump problems, which saw him pick up a minute and a half road penalties to relegate him to 5th o/a at the end. Next up was Robert Barrable and Monaghan’s Damian Connolly, also in an S2000 Skoda in 6th o/a. Robert and Damian set some good times as the weekend progressed but lack of stage mileage probably put them at a distinct disadvantage over the IRC front runners. Sam Moffatt and James O’Reilly were in contention in group N and eventually finished 3rd, just under a minute behind the ever flying Gary Jennings with Donagh Kelly 2nd, just 4 seconds ahead of Sam and James. Josh Moffatt and Domhall Lennon were also punching in good times in the 2nd Combi-lift EVO 9 and finished 4th in class and 13th o/a. Peter Deery was navigating for Armagh’s Sean Agnew in the competitive Citreon C2R2 but they failed to make the finish after featuring in the class placing’s through the first few stages. The Circuit of Ireland was also a counting round of the Irish tarmac Championship, which saw over 60 entrants. Galway winners Darren Gass and Enda Sherry made it another win with a measured drive to finish almost a minute and a half ahead of Eugene Donnelly and Paddy Toner. Eugene was showcasing his familiar WRC Corolla on this event having been 2nd to Gass and Sherry in the Mini WRC in Galway. Derek McGarrity rounded off the top 3 in his Mini WRC. Adrian Hetherinton won the two-wheel-drive category ahead of Drew Stewart with Wesley Patterson 3rd. Early leader, Frank Kelly relieved himself of a wheel on stage 6 to end his rally. Raymond Conlon, with Galway’s Sarah Wheelan on the notes climbed the leader board throughout the weekend to finish 11th o/a in the twin cam. Raymond disappointed that the last of the night stages had to cancelled on Friday night as his night navigation experience gave him great confidence in the dark. Brendan and JP McAree made the short trip North in the immaculate Porche and enjoyed their run to 37th o/a and after a steady run in the historic section. Cootehill father and son team, Gerry and Aaron McIntyre slid their starlet round the Northern stages to 45th over-all. Well done to all finishers and thanks to all the local marshal’s who helped out over the course of the weekend. ULSTER AC DONNELLY GROUP CIRCUIT OF IRELAND RALLY (ROUND 3 OF INTERCONTINENTAL RALLY CHALLENGE): 1 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1h 58m 21.8s 2 Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1h 59m 06.0s 3 Jan Kopecky/Pavel Dresler (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 00m 01.3s 4 Mathieu Arzeno/Renoul Jamoul (Peugeot 207 S2000) 2h 02m 23.4s 5 Craig Breen/Gareth Roberts (Peugeot 207 S2000) 2h 03m 15.6s 6 Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 03m 36.3s 7 Sepp Wiegand/Timo Gottschalk (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 04m 37.7s 8 Garry Jennings/Barry McNulty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 2h 06m 49.7s 9 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 2h 07m 33.2s 10 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 2h 07m 37.8s 11 Martin McCormack/David Moynihan (Citroen DS3) 2h 10m 16.6s 12 Tommy Doyle/Liam Moynihan (Renault Clio R3) 2h 10m 37.1s NATIONAL RALLY (ROUND 2 OF IRISH TARMAC CHAMPIONSHIP): 1 Darren Gass/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 01m 59.5s 2 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Toyota Corolla WRC) 2h 03m 27s 3 Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Mini Countryman WRC) 2h 06m 30.2s 4 Steve Perez/Paul Spooner (Ford Focus WRC) 2h 09m 12.9s 5 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Escort) 2h 12m 19.8s 6 Wesley Patterson/Martin McGarrity (Ford Escort) 2h 13m 22.7s

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving This Friday 13th April marks the annual Squealing Pig Bar & Restaurant Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving. Proceedings will kick off at 8.00pm sharp in the Squealing Pig with meal followed by prizegiving. Final border championship points are available on Monaghan motor club website so check them out; you may just be a winner. If not come along anyway to support this popular championship with a guaranteed night of banter and reminisce about the season gone past. To book tickets please call or text Andy on 087 2558957 Motorsport Ireland National Night Navigation Prize Giving National night navigation prize giving for the 11/12 season past will take place on Saturday 28th 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.

Open Navigation Meeting Monaghan Motor Club is holding an open Navigation Trial meeting on Wednesday 25th 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.

Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally – almost here!! One of the most popular events across Ireland in the rallying colander – the Monaghan Stages Rally, is fast approaching. With only 2 weeks to go, we are yet again in for something special in Monaghan when the cream of Irish rallying will visit the county in their droves. The attraction for man and machine in Monaghan is now well known as the place to come, where real competition takes place. The naturally challenging terrain of our countryside is ideal to test all levels of competitor with their various grades of rally cars and in 2012, we will yet again see some great battles on our door steps. New COC for the event is Dessie Keenan, who has taken on the task of setting out some excellent stages for the drivers and spectators. In 2012, Dessie has brought the event back to north Monaghan and will cover areas such as Tydavnet, Carrickroe, Bragan, Scotstown and Bellanode. Once again, our long-standing sponsor – the Hillgrove Hotel, has welcomed our club and event back to their excellent facilities and throughout the rally weekend the Hotel will be the main hub of all activity. Paper scrutiny will take place here on Saturday 21st April along with Parc Ferme for the rally cars. Mechanical Car Scrutiny also takes place on Saturday at McElvaney Motors on the Dublin Road from 3pm. Official start as usual will be at the front of the Hotel on Sunday morning where an expected 130 rally cars will pass through on their way to the stages. Dessie has kept with the format of 3 stages run 3 times which suits this region and allows for central servicing in the town car park at the back of Fleming’s Super Market. New to this year, is a very challenging 30Klm stage, which will test the stamina of the teams, and indeed tyre choices will become a tactical issue during the day. So keep Sunday 22nd April free for this event, as it is surely an event not to miss!

Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans teamed up last weekend to win the Midlands Motor Club Moto Stages Rally. With Daniels regular navigator Andrew Grennan sidelined for a few weeks, Arthur jumped at the chance of navigating and they pulled off the win by a narrow margin of only 2 seconds after 9 stages. Donegal’s Declan and Brian Boyle were also on a serious pace throughout the day and any minor mistake would have been enough for either crew to relinquish the lead.

Daniel and Arthur started with a blistering time on the first stage, 6 seconds ahead of the Boyles with  Donagh Kelly 3^rd in an EVO 9, but Donagh would later retire with gearbox problems. By first service their lead was cut to 3 seconds after three stages and on the middle loop despite their best efforts the Scotshouse/Aghabog pairing could only stretch the lead to 4 seconds as the Boyle brothers piled on the pressure. Just behind the top two there was an even more personal battle going on between Maurice Moffett/Patrick Brides and son Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly. Richard was quickest of the Moffett’s through the first loop in the infamous starlet but the threat of being beaten by his son spurred Maurice and Patrick on to eventually take 3^rd overall, albeit in a more powerful class 14 starlet. Back in front, Daniel stretched his lead to 6 seconds through stages 7 and 8 but on the last stage of the day the Boyle brothers threw caution to the wind and pulled 4 seconds back but this wasn’t enough. Back at the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon Daniel Mc Kenna and Arthur Kierans were crowned 2012 Midlands Stages winners. Incidentally this is the second year running Daniel has won this event.

To quote the wise words of a local “hero” there were two Kierans’ navigating for two Mc Kenna’s in two Millington powered escorts! Young Mac Kierans got the call up late in the week to sit with Jim McKenna but their day wasn’t quite as straightforward. Jim’s immaculate class 14 escort bared all the hallmarks of a high-speed spin but nevertheless they got away with only cosmetic damage and finished 12^th over-all and 3^rd in class 14. Cavan’s Paddy Boyle and Marty Sherlock made a return to the stages after a lengthy 3 year sabbatical but refound their form and set some great times as the day progressed to finish 14^th o/a. Next of the locals was Jack Maguire and Stephen McElroy in 15^th o/a. Mickey Conlon had Darren McCague on the notes and they too had a troubled day, picking up a puncture and dropping at least two minutes to finish in 17^th over-all. Maudabawn men Mervin Wedlock and Damien McCabe were next up in 18^th o/a in their class 13 escort. Martin McPhillips and Ciaran Tynan had a steady run in the McPhillips Engineering backed twin cam to win class 11 and finish 20^th over-all. Martin and Ciaran had been involved in a great class battle with Carrickmacross men Johno Doogan and JP McAree but unfortunately the South Monaghan crew encountered alternator belt problems through the middle loop which ultimately forced them into retirement.

Local midlands crew and regular night navigation contenders Packie Duffy and Michael Reilly had a good run on their home event to win class 3 in  their Type R Honda. Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston would usually be rivals on the night navigation scene but teamed up for their local stages event. Unfortunately their challenge came to a sudden stop on stage 2 after setting a great time on the opening test. Cavan’s Brendan O’Reilly had Mark Hamill on the notes and they had an enjoyable run through the narrow Roscommon roads to take 2^nd in class 9 behind Pa Bellew and Andres Reid.

Not to be outdone by the Moffett battle at the head of the main field, David Moffett and Andrew Spears, in the 3^rd of the Moffett starlets, took stage wins on all 6 stages of the Junior Rally to take a convincing win. Not only this but David’s time on the opening stage was a 5^th fastest time in the main field with brother Richard setting 4^th fastest, such was the pace of these youngsters. Longford’s Barry and Sean Brady were 2^nd in the junior rally in their civic ahead of another local crew John Collum and Caitriona Spollen also in a civic.

So another win for the Scanbitz escort and an almost perfect day in the Moffett stable. Best of luck to all travelling local crews for this weekends circuit of Kerry Stages.

 

MIDLAND MC STAGES RALLY TOP 10

1/ Daniel McKenna/Arthur Kierans (Escort) 56m 48s

2/ Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Escort) 56m 50s

3/ Maurice Moffett/Patrick Brides (Starlet) 59m 37s

4/ Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly (Starlet) 59m 50s

5/ Neil Tohill/Gerard Tohill (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 60m 41s

6/ Michael Curran/Sean Hayde (Escort) 60m 49s

7/ Alan Sheridan/Gerry Conlon (Escort) 61m 05s

8/ Andrew Mullen/Elaine Doherty (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 61m 35s

9/ Daniel Conaghan/Terence Magee (Escort) 62m 06s

10/ Marc McDermott/Damian Flanagan (Civic) 62m 19s

 

Juniors:

1/ David Moffett/Andrew Speares (Starlet) 41m 06s

2/ Barry Brady/Sean Brady (Civic) 43m 53s

3/ John Collum/Catriona Spollen (Civic) 44m 57s

 

Bulldog Rally

Club member Emmet Sherry made the trip to Wales at the weekend to contest the Bulldog Rally as navigator for upcoming Fermanagh driver Jon Armstrong in a LHD ST Fiesta. This was only Jon’s second ever pacenote event and following a 13^th overall result on the recent Omagh Spring Rally confidence was high in the Armstrong camp. Jon and Emmet started well, just 7 tenths of a second off the fastest overall BRC Challenge competitor after taking it reasonable steady through the first stage. On stage 2 Jon and Emmet had a good charge through the 8-mile stage and were 12 seconds faster than the nearest Challenge competitor. Unfortunately stage 3 was to be their last, unaware that they had picked up a puncture on a rough cut up hairpin Jon entered a tight right hand corner following a series of fast flowing corners and soon realised they were in trouble. The car just would not turn in at all and the result was slipping the car off a drop and rolling 2 times. The accident ended Jon and Emmet’s event, as the car was too far off the road and had a fair amount of damage, a disappointing end after a great start. Jon and Emmet plan to continue their assault on the BRC challenge and hope to have their car ready for the Jim Clarke Rally.

 

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving

Keep free Friday 13^th April for the annual Squealing Pig Bar & Restaurant Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving. Proceedings will kick off at 8.00pm sharp in the Squealing Pig with meal followed by prizegiving. Final border championship points will be available shortly so keep an eye out; you may just be a winner. If not come along anyway to support this popular championship with a guaranteed night of banter and reminisce about the season gone past. To book tickets please call or text Andy on 087 2558957

 

Marshals Required

Monaghan MC are urgently looking for marshals for the Circuit of Ireland on Easter weekend, particularly Easter Saturday. Anybody available and willing to help please contact 047-81139 after 7pm or e-mail Monaghan Motor Club at monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com

Monaghan Motor Club hosted the final rounds of both the National and Squealing Pig Border navigation championships on Friday night last. New Coc for this event was Barry Garvey and with his driver Kevin Keenan as assistant, this was sure to be a test of navigation skills around the north Monaghan countryside. Local man Damien Connolly used his knowledge of the area to full effect and recorded a 14-penalty win along with his Donegal driver Gary McElhinney. Prior to the event Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins were marginally in front for the over-all border championship honours and duly obliged by finishing 2^nd here to lift the 2011/12 Squealing Pig Border navigation championship. Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes’ persistence paid off when their 3^rd over-all result here ensured they were crowned 2011/12 National Night navigation champions. The Smithboro/Ballybay pairing put a bad start to the campaign behind them and knuckled down with a string of top three finishes’ to lift this years national title.

With 49 starters and an 11pm start hopes were high for all competitors of a good end to the season. From the off it was apparent that this event was going to be tricky as the leading crews departed into the unknown from time point 1, a maze of lanes behind McAree engineering in Ballinode! All but two crews drop time here as the event then headed towards Tydavnet and then back west towards Scotstown and the first of two visits to the farm lanes known locally as “yankees” with four time points here throughout the night. Early leaders Bob Moyna and Shane Maguire miss time point 8 altogether but results sheets suggest this local crew only drop one time penalty right up to time point 25. Bob obviously getting into the swing of handling the ex-Carbin Legacy! Carbin and Hughes took over as leaders from tp 8 where they remained until tp31 when a dropped minute relegated them to 2^nd behind Andy and Liam.

Moving North to the very tip of Monaghan the lanes came thick and fast around the Glaslough area, another visit into Mac McKennas with every make of car, van and lorry making the exit very difficult to spot. Then it was south again nearer to Ballinode with 3 slots into time points around Kevin Keenan’s parish. The narrowest of turns into a slatted shed and twist left and right around girders then out around the machinery to a time point, almost impossible to make these times. Even the calves in Keenan’s farm were trying to make their escape! Noel Hall drops time like everyone else but had he not stopped to put two nice wee calves in the boot he may have avoided having to skip time points later on! The final four time points saw most crews forced to skip some, if not all of them in a bid to make the finish before going over maximum. Time point 43 and Control C were once again back in the maze of lanes around Moyna’s behind McAree Engineering in Ballinode. A serious test of man and machine and with final control outside “maggies” in Ballinode it was a welcomed sigh of relief from everyone. A great event to finish off the year and yet again many more new lanes to remember for the years ahead.

With Andy and Liam forced to skip tp 42 and take a wrong approach to 43 along with approximately 34 others as time simply evaded them it was Damien Connolly and Gary McElhinney who had just enough time to visit everything and claim the over-all win. The Connolly/McElhinney win promoted Mackarel and Higgins to expert class winners ahead of the newly crowned national champions Carbin and Hughes. Michael and Ciaran Tynan managed a better run this time out to take 3^rd expert and 6^th over-all. Competition was fierce once again in the semi-expert class but Sean McKenna and Gary Farrelly managed a slender 3-penalty win and 4^th over-all ahead of Midland’s men Chris Kelly and Sam Johnston. Both these crews forced to miss tp 41 and 43 as they were over their maximum 15 minutes. Bob Moyna and Shane Maguire kept the pressure on throughout the night but they too were forced to skip but nevertheless 3^rd in semi and 13^th over-all a good run for these guys. Novice class winners Niall McKenna and Adrian Treanor had a tremendous run considering they only contest selected events and 8^th over-all and the novice class win is a great return on this tricky event. Fintan Clerkin with Martin Tynan driving are moving up the leader board with every event and take 2^nd novice and 10^th over-all on this event. 3^rd novice went to Arthur and Mac Kierans. On a tough night for any beginner it was Corks Matt Shinnors with Catherine Levis on the maps who took a 14 penalty win from Conor Meehan and Brendan Keenan. Aaron Duffy and Michael McCluskey topped off a good season with 3^rd beginner.

So that’s it, another navigation season over and with many a story to be told from the past six months, the poti-lamps and romers are back in the cupboards until October at least. Well done to Barry and Kevin on an excellent testing event, thanks to all the marshals who turned out, not only on Friday night but also throughout the course of the season. Keep an eye on club web site and papers for updates on upcoming prizegiving nights for both championships. Well done to our new national navigation champions, Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes as well as new border champions Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins.

Monaghan MC March Navigation Top 12

1/ Gary McElhinney/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza) 35 marks

2/ Andy Mackarel/Liam Higgins (Subaru Impreza) 49m

3/ Michael Carbin/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 58m

4/ Sean McKenna/Garry Farrelly (Subaru Impreza) 63m

5/ Chris Kelly/Sam Johnston (Subaru Impreza) 66m

6/ Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 76m

7/ Daniel McKenna/Stephen Hagan (Subaru Impreza) 77m

8/ Niall Kelly/Adrian Treanor (Toyota Celica) 82m

9/ Karl Reid/Aidan Friel (Subaru Impreza) 91m

10/ Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin (Subaru Impreza) 92m

11/ Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall (Subaru Impreza) 98m

12/ Darren Quinn/Nigel McCloughry (Subaru Legacy) 99m.

Semi-experts:

1/ Sean McKenna/Garry Farrelly

2/ Chris Kelly/Sam Johnston

3/ Bob Moyna/Shane Maguire 101m

Novices:

1/ Niall Kelly/Adrian Treanor

2/ Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin

3/ Darren Quinn/Nigel McCloughry

Beginners:

1/ Shane Dalton/Michael Reilly (Subaru Impreza) 202m

2/ Matt Shinnors/Catherine Levis (Opel Kadett) 216m

3/ Conor Meehan/Brendan Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 230m

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Prize Giving

Keep free Friday 13^th April for the annual Squealing Pig Bar & Restaurant Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving. Proceedings will kick off at 8.00pm sharp in the Squealing Pig with meal followed by prizegiving. Final border championship points will be available shortly so keep an eye out; you may just be a winner. If not come along anyway to support this popular championship with a guaranteed night of banter and reminisce about the season gone past.

 

Marshals Required

Monaghan MC are urgently looking for marshals for Midland Stages Rally on this Sunday 25th March & for the Circuit of Ireland on Easter weekend, particularly Easter Saturday. Anybody available and willing to help please contact 047-81139 after 7pm or e-mail Monaghan Motor Club at monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com

 

In an exciting finish to the 2012 Mayo Stages Rally, Monaghans Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry (Subaru WRC) got back to winning ways with a nine second advantage over good rivals Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally in a similar spec car. The Mitsubishi of Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan was a further 44 seconds behind in third. Pre-event Dunlop series leaders, Thomas Fitzmaurice/Fionn Foley (Subaru WRC) made a great recovery, 85th after the opening stage to finish fifth behind Roy White and James O’Brien in their unique MG ZR Rover S2000. The two-wheel drive battle was won by Camillus Bradley in a class 14 escort.

            On this the opening round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship it was last year’s winner, Barrett who led after the opening test. Seamus Leonard posted a time five seconds quicker but he was late at the stage arrival control as he tried to solve a misfire on the road section, incurring a three minute penalty. Pre-event Dunlop series leader, Thomas Fitzmaurice (Subaru WRC) spun and lost almost two minutes and ended the first stage down in 85^th place. Brian O’Mahony who started the event at number 3 lost some ten seconds at the stage start when his Subaru stalled twice and lost even more time when he encountered the stricken Subaru of Fitzmaurice. With all these events unfolding around them it was Maguire/Sherry and Barrett/Mullally who kept their noses clean and were in a great battle for the over-all lead. Level on time going into the final loop of three it was Barrett who drew first blood with a two second advantage but Niall and Enda responded with a faster time on the final two tests to take a deserved win, much to the delight of the Maguire camp. Kevin and Sean did have a scare late on as a puncture threatened to drop them out of the leader board but thankfully they managed to make the end of stage 8 with only a small time loss of around 5seconds. This win moves Niall and Enda into the over-all lead in the Dunlop National Rally Championship after 2 rounds. Well done lads and hopefully the start of a good season ahead.

            Not to be outdone by Rally winners there were many other local crews giving a good account of them selves in their respective class battles. Cavan’s Jonathan Pringle and Martin Byrne were on the limit throughout the day to win the competitive class 13and 10^th overall. Drive of the day could be awarded to Anthony Hand and Emmet Sherry. This crew have not been out much over the last eighteen months but this wasn’t apparent as they set some great times all day to take the class 11 honours and an excellent 12^th overall in their immaculate escort. Defending border champions Arthur and Mac Kierans showed they mean business again this year with a convincing class 12 win and 14^th over-all. Next up were Jack Maguire and Stephen McElroy who finished in 19^th overall and 4^th in the highly competitive class 13. Mickey Conlon and Paddy McCague got off to a slow start by his own admission but set some good times on the final loop of stages to finish 5^th in class 13 and 22^nd over-all. Mickey’s rally prep team were under the cosh over this past fortnight as this car was a mere bare shell without even a roof skin only a week prior to the event! Young Ryan Loughran with James Mc Carville on the notes were setting top times all day in class 11 but eventually had to settle for second behind Hand/Sherry. Justin Smyth and Gregory McQuillan had a good start to their season by finishing 2^nd in class 9 behind Donegal’s Barry Mc Gill and Derek Henna. No doubt this Lisnalong crew will be aiming to go one better next time out.

            Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes continued their good run of late in their Peugeot 205 to take the class 10 win and finished 33^rd overall. Seamus Connolly and Gary Mc Crudden had a number of problems to overcome throughout the day and eventually finished 4^th in class 11. David Smith and Austin Hamill also battled with mechanical issues during the day but finished 4^th in class six in their Peugeot 106.

Barry McKenna and Raymond Conlon teamed up for the first time but unfortunately their efforts weren’t fruitful on this occasion as they had a number of mechanical issues during the day but got their class 13 escort to the finish. Shane Maguire and Martin Mc Garrity’s bad run of luck continued as they had mechanical trouble and incurred time penalties. Their problems hit after a fifth fastest time on the opening stage. 

            Unfortunately, as always not every crew that cross the start ramp make it through unscathed as Josh Moffett and James O’Reilly found out the hard way with a small off on the opening test. Kieran (Bilko) McCarra and Darren McCague were on a serious run in their newly built Honda, lying in 12^th over-all after seven stages but they too visited the scenery on the penultimate stage to end their assault on the class victory. Laurence Sherry and Jonathan Treanor were in trouble as early as scrutiny on the Saturday evening as they lost 5^th gear but managed to get the box out, gear fixed and back in only to loose 2^nd and 5^th gear on the second stage. If this wasn’t enough they got a new gearbox in at service only to encounter even more mechanical issues over the final loop. Only thing this crew can take away from Mayo is a broken box and the fact that when things were going well they were matching and beating the best in class 9! David Smyth and Gareth Quinlan also had their share of troubles in Mayo as their twin cam retired on ss5 as mechanical gremlins set in.

 

Mayo Stages 2012 Top 10

1 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 71m 30s

2 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 71m 39s

3 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 72m 23s

4 Roy White/James O’Brien (MG ZR S2000) 73m 08s

5 Thomas Fitzmaurice/Fionn Foley (Impreza WRC) 73m 26s

6 Trevor Bustard/Kenny Bustard (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 73m 57s

7 Seamus Leonard/John McCafferty (Impreza WRC) 74m 06s

8 Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson (Escort) 74m 40s

9 Paul Barrett/Peter Ward (Escort) 75m 13s

10 Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne (Escort) 75m 20s

 

Motorsport Safety Team Group N Production class:

1 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan

2 Trevor Bustard/Kenny Bustard

3 Paddy McVeigh/Stephen O’Hanlon

 

Rally.ie Two wheel drive class:

1 Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson

2 Paul Barrett/Peter Ward

3 Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne

 

Monaghan MC Navigation Trial

This Friday night 16^th March see’s Monaghan Motor Club host the final round of this years National and Squealing Pig Border navigation championships. Coc’s Barry Garvey and Kevin Keenan are sure to have a challenging route in store for competitors with plotting in Urbleshanney Hall, Scotstown starting at 8.30pm. All marshals available for a time point are asked to be at HQ by 9pm latest, all help is needed!

 

Marshals Required

Monaghan MC are looking for marshals for Midland Stages Rally on 25th March & for the Circuit of Ireland on Easter weekend, particularly Easter Saturday. Anybody available and willing to help please contact 047-81139 after 7pm or e-mail Monaghan Motor Club at monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com