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McNulty secures Dunlop National Title

Tim McNulty and co driver Paul Kiely took top honours on last weekends Clare stages rally. They finished 53s ahead of Niall Maguire/Barry Goodman in a similar Impreza and critically McNulty’s closest rivals Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally were 3rd in their Subaru over 2m back. McNulty’s win clinches the Dunlop National Rally Championship for the first time, even with 2 rounds still remaining. Tricky conditions greeted competitors, as the drying roads were still wet and greasy in sheltered areas, thus accounting for a lot of the 36 non-finishers in the main field.

            Despite the distance eleven Monaghan crews made the journey south with very mixed fortunes. As mentioned Niall Maguire had a steady run and kept the pressure on McNulty throughout the day. Maguire/Goodman briefly held the lead after stage 4 but encountered brake trouble through stage 6 forcing him to use the handbrake on a number of occasions just to get slowed up. Nonetheless 2^nd over-all a good result for the Balinode man. Sam Moffett and James O Reilly were next up with another group N win and 6^th over-all. They had a good run all day with no troubles to report. Shane Maguire and Conor Foley had to settle for 2^nd in group N in Clare. They got off to a poor start losing a minute on stage 1 & 2 with tyre trouble as Shane used this event to experiment with new tyres. Shane is currently joint first in the West Coast Rally Championship with 1 round remaining after this event. 

            Gerard McQuaid and Gareth Quinlan had a good run through the Banner county to finish 5^th in class 11. Seamus Connolly once again teamed up with Sean Agnew in the Citroen C2R2 and had a steady run to 2nd in class 6. Josh Moffett with Donegal’s Ciaran Geaney on the notes were on a serious pace through the early stages and were leading group N and 5^th over-all. Unfortunately all their hard work became undone over a series of jumps as the car got out of sorts and they spun off the road on stage 5.  Hopefully we will see this crew out again soon. John McQuaid/ Seamus O Connor was another crew off to a flying start and were 12^th over-all after the first 2 stages. Unfortunately the greasy conditions caught them out on ss3 and they slid off the road and into retirement, thankfully no real harm done. Aaron McQuaid and Aidan Coyle’s mixed season continued when their rally came to an end on stage 2 with engine failure. Ryan Loughran with James Mc Carville on the notes were up to 4^th in class 11 until a slight off put an end to their day on ss4.

            In the junior rally Cork’s Cal McCarthy and Eamonn Dullea took the over-all win. Johno & Padraig Doogan had to settle for 2^nd over-all as a puncture on the penultimate stage cruelly cost them the rally win. David Moffett and Patrick Brides were 3^rd over-all after the first stage but mechanical gremlins set in and forced their retirement on ss2. JP McAree was once again in the hot seat with Ashbourne’s Jack Newman but they too fell foul of the conditions and became beached on a wall. No real damage done but they were unable to get back on the road. This coupled with intercom problems mean’t a day to forget for this quick crew.

 

Clare Motor Club Stages Rally Top 10

1 Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely (Impreza WRC) 71m 38s

2 Niall Maguire/Barry Goodman (Impreza WRC) 72m 31s

3 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 74m 05s

4 Wesley Patterson/Martin McGarrity (Escort) 74m 27s

5 Mike Quinn/Grainne McEnery (Escort) 74m 47s

6 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 74m 58s

7 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Escort) 75m 15s

8 Anthony O’Halloran/Charlie McEnery (Manta 400) 76m 00s

9 Declan Gallagher/Ryan Moore (Starlet) 76m 03s

10 Shane Maguire/Conor Foley (Impreza Gp N) 76m 49s.

 

Monaghan Motor Club Night Navigation Trial

Winter must surely be upon us as Saturday week next 1^st October see’s Monaghan Motor club open the night navigation season. Coc for the event is Francis Keenan, ably assisted by Darren Babbington and their eager team. The event will be based around the Corduff area of South Monaghan and anybody available to marshall on the night please come along. More information in next weeks edition.

Night Navigation Classes

 

Everybody attending this years night navigation classes are asked to take note that the final class will be held on this Friday night, 23^rd September at 8pm in Sean MacDermotts centre, Threemilehouse. No class tonight (Thursday 29). The final class will incorporate a re-cap of all topics covered, analysis of the trial run and also take in a quick summary of stages rallying from a navigators perspective. Anybody who missed out on these classes or would like an overview of stages rallying are welcome to attend also.

Veterans Kenny McKinstry and Kenny Hull won Enniskillen Motor Clubs annual Fisher Engineering Lakelands forestry stages rally on Saturday last. Based in the forests surrounding Enniskillen, the Group N Mitsubishi Lancer crew of Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan equalled McKinstry over the opening two stages. They then took the lead after the third stage but McKinstry fired back and his experience shone through over the closing 5 stages taking an 11 second win from Kelly with the WRC Subaru of Dennis Biggerstaff and Anthony Nestor 3^rd over-all.

            A host of Monaghan men made the short trip north and indeed showed great pace amongst the regular northern forestry competitors. A trio of monaghan crews were inside the top ten as Vincent and JP McAree took 5^th over-all in their EVO 9. Indeed they were just pipped for 4^th by a mere 2 seconds despite posting 2^nd fastest stage times on the final two stages. Next up was Paul Sheridan navigating for Enda McNulty who finished in 6^th over-all, just 2 seconds off the McArees who edged in front through the final stage. The spanwright EVO 6 of Stephen and Suzanne Wright came home to a superb 7^th over-all. Worth noting that Stephen posted a fastest stage time on the penultimate stage, 2 seconds ahead of the field. This was probably Stephens first stage win so once again this crew making progress in the forest. Martin Connolly was in the hot seat with Michael McCarroll in a fiesta and took 2^nd in class 1.

            Unfortunately that’s where the Monaghan luck ran out. Emmet Sherry resumed his partnership with the super quick Amy Cox in her G3 escort but a rare mistake from Amy on ss4 ended there day while leading their class and inside the top 20. Andy Mackarel and Raymond Conlon once again made it to the sticks in his unusual RWD 3litre V6 vauxhall calibre. They too had an early shower as the powerful engine in the calibre cried enough on the opening test.

 

Enniskillen Lakeland Stages Rally Top 10

1 Kenny McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Subaru Impreza WRC) 40m30s
2 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 40m41s
3 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza WRC) 40m59s
4 Vivian Hamill/Paul Hamill (Toyota Corolla WRC) 41m42s
5 Vincent McAree/J.P. McAree (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 41m44s
6 Enda McNulty/Paul Sheridan (Subaru Impreza WRX) 41m46s
7 Stephen Wright/Suzanne Wright (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) 42m00s
8 Liam Regan/Damien Duffin (Peugeot 206 4WD) 42m21s
9 Ian Cochrane/Thomas Nugent (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 43m06s
10 Shane McGirr/Niall Connolly (Toyota Starlet 1.6 16V) 43m06s

 

Wexford Dick Bailey Stages Rally

The MC Blinds escort of Mickey Conlon and Martin Byrne was on the road once again last weekend and made the long journey South to Wexford to compete in the two day Dick Bailey Stages Rally. Prior to this event trojan work was undertaken by Mickey’s rally prep team to get the car ready following a roll two weeks previous in Galway. From the off Mickey and Martin set about posting some great stage times and were consistent throughout the weekend, inside the top 10 on all twelve stages. There persistence paid off and eventually they finished a fabulous 5^th over-all. Indeed a one-minute penalty cost them fourth spot but nevertheless they took a class 13 win.

            The rally was won by Damian Cole and James Morgan in a focus WRC with Sebastian Ling 2^nd in an EVO 9 and the super quick Adrian Hetherington 3^rd in a class 14 escort. Thomas Treanor also made the journey south to sit with Graham Kelly in a class 13 G4 escort. They also had a consistent run over the twelve challenging stages to finish 42^nd over-all. Carrickmacross men Ciaran and Aidan Marron didn’t fair out as well however and results sheets suggest they were forced into retirement on the final stage of this 2-day event.

 

Wexford Dick Bailey Stages Rally Top 10

1 Damian Cole/James Morgan (Ford Focus WRC) 120m 45s
2 Sebastian Ling/Aled Rees (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 122m 24s
3 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Escort Mk II) 123m 53s
4 Daniel Barry/Gordon Noble (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 Gp N) 126m 01s
5 Michael Conlon/Martin Byrne (Ford Escort Mk II) 126m 07s
6 Paddy O’Dwyer/David Byrne (Nova 1.6 16V) 126m 21s
7 James Coleman/Kaye Shanahan (Ford Escort Mk II) 127m 10s
8 Shay Power/Johnny Rafter (Ford Escort MK II) 127m 51s
9 Scott McElhinney/Karl Reid (Citroen C2R2 Max) 128m 41s
10 Peter Barrable/Paddy Robinson (Citroen C2R2 Max) 129m 01s

Castle Automobile club held their annual Castle Hellfire Stages Rally on Sunday last based in the Co. Meath town of Oldcastle. With 82 starters and the weather conditions nothing short of monsoon for most of the day it was sure to be a finishers event. Fermanagh’s Gary Jennings with Barry McNulty on the notes were first car on the road and justified their seeding, winning the event by 39 seconds in their EVO 9. Despite a last stage puncture they had done enough over the first 5 stages to remain ahead of Cavan’s Rodney Wilton with regular Roslea navigator Conor McMahon. Rodney and Conor having an excellent run in their class 14 escort and finished 20 seconds ahead of a hard charging Russell Woods who finished 3^rd overall.

            Road conditions were very slippy with a combination of shiny wet tar and oil spills leaving braking points a lottery resulting in many spins, over-shoots and visits to the scenery. Clones man Raymond Conlon with navigator Darren McCague made a big mends for some recent disappointing results taking an excellent 4^th over-all and class 13 win. Raymond held this position throughout the day and traded stage times with the top three. It was a case of bad day at the office for the Moffatt stable as Maurice and Jason McKenna were forced to retire on ss3 with puncture woes. Richard Moffatt with Martin Connolly alongside in their class 13 starlet succumbed to the conditions and were caught out on a shiny tar section to a chicane, where they slid off the road. Unfortunately for these guys they were after setting 5^th fastest time on ss1 and were on a great pace. Arthur and Macartan Kierans once again proved that they are a force to be reckoned with and took 10^th over-all and a class 12 win to boot. Arthur reveling in the slippy conditions ahead of the navigation season!

Martin and Ciaran Tynan were 3^rd Monaghan crew home in 14^th over-all and 4^th in-group N in their EVO 8. Martin still coming to terms with the workings of his new car and they had their difficulties also with two spin’s and a loose manifold reducing power. Justin Smyth and Gregory McQuillan had a superb day through the Meath stages to finish 15^th over-all and take a class 9 victory. Justin punching in some great results this past few events although they had their troubles throughout the day with intercom and wiper issues, also loosing gears on the road section from the final stage. Cootehills Barney Greenan with Ciaran McPhillips on the notes also had a fine drive to 2^nd in class 9 and 22^nd over-all. South Monaghan men Ciaran and Aidan Marron were also a late entrant and had a good run to 26^th over-all in their EVO 8. Disaster struck for Rockcorry’s Cathal Sheridan and Darren O’Brien on the final stage while holding 3^rd in class 10 when they had to complete the most of the stage with just 1^st and 5^th gear. They were relegated to 4^th in class by a mere 2 seconds. Francie McKenna and Sean Craig brought their 205 home to 40^th over-all and 5^th in class ten, 13 seconds off 3^rd. Laurence Sherry and Jonathan Treanor also fought with the elements throughout the day and their car bared a few battle scares, being in the scenery on more than one occasion. They eventually finished 52^nd over-all and post event Laurence is now considering a new career in landscaping and decorative fencing!

Some other Monaghan men who made the trip but left their luck at home were JP McAree who was navigating for Ashbourne’s Jack Newman. They dislodged a wheel within 2 mile of the finish line while lying in 6^th over-all in a Honda civic. Rockcorry’s Kevin Cleere and Michael Donnellan also got caught out in the treacherous conditions and re-arranged the exterior of their escort.

There were 3 starters in the junior category and indeed the seedings were reversed with the J3 corolla of Ferlin Taylor and Sean Harte winning from Daniel Ryan and Colin Fitzgerald in 2^nd with Bobby Cooper and Michelle Silke 3^rd. 33seconds separated these three cars. Massive thanks to all the Monaghan marshals who turned up on the day. Your support was greatly appreciated and indeed needed! 

 

Castle Hellfire Stages Rally Top 10 Results:-

1 Gary Jennings/Barry McNulty Evo 9 53:03

2 Rodney Wilton/Conor McMahon Escort 53:42

3 Russell Woods/Gary Gallagher Escort 54:02

4 Raymond Conlon/Darren McCague Corolla 54:40

5 Peter Wilson/Karen Kelly Civic 54:54

6 William McVitty/John Rowan Evo 4 55:03

7 Paul McEnroe/Gary McNamee Impreza 55:28

8 Jack Maguire/Martin Byrne Escort 55:33

9 Chris Snow Jnr/ Colin DuffyCivic 55:44

10 Arthur Kierans/Mac Kierans Escort 56:03

 

Night Navigation Classes

Classes continue tonight (Thursday) in Sean McDermott’s GAA center, Threemilehouse.  These classes cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing and car regulations. To register, please contact Damien on 086 8095113

 Tim mc Nulty and Paul Kiely have this years Dunlop National Rally Championship within their grasp after another impressive win on Sunday last in Galway. After opting out of the last two events Tim showed why he has a clean sweep of wins this year with a 3-minute victory over Kevin Barrett and Sean Mullaley with Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly 3rd. A number of club members made the trip West to Loughrea with mixed fortunes. Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry were Mc Nulty’s only real opposition on the day but were forced into retirement on stage 5 with transmission failure. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly continued their recent good form, taking 3rd place on the podium despite a spin on ss5 nearly ending their day. They had a great battle with Shane Maguire all day and just edged by over the final loop of stages. Shane, with Conor Foley on the notes had a puncture on ss4 and were as high as 3rd over-all after the first loop of 3 stages but gearbox gremlins set in towards the end of the day and they slipped back to 5th over-all. Shane and Conor did do enough to take the group N class. Michael Conlon and Aidan Boyle’s luck ran out on ss3 when they slid off the road but were really on the pace over the first two stages and were a brilliant 5th over-all. John McQuaid and Seamus O’Connor had a fine drive in Galway and finished 7th over-all, and 3rd in the highly competitive class 14. Josh Moffatt and Domhall Lennon are surely coming to grips with their new EVO 9 and finished an excellent 8th over-all and 2nd in group N. Aghabog’s Arthur and Macartan Kierans also had a good spin round the stone walled roads of Galway, finishing 21st over all and 1st in class 12. Richard Moffatt and Martin Connolly battled with mechanical woes throughout the day and were as high as 14th over-all but slipped back over the final loop to 19th over-all. Gerard Mc Quaid and Gareth Quinlan were having a steady run but retired after stage 6. Laurence Sherry and Jonathan Treanor also retired with clutch trouble. Barry Treanor and Colm Connolly retired their 205 after the first stage with engine trouble. Sean Agnew and Seamus Connolly had a steady run in their Citroen to finish 2nd in class 6 and 42nd over-all. In the junior category Richard Moffatt and Patrick Brides were up to 3rd but a small off ended their day. Johno and Padraig Duggan had better luck in the juniors and finished 2nd over-all. Galway Summer Stages Rally Top 10 Results:- 1 Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely Subaru S12B 1:18:24 2 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally Subaru Impreza 1:21:16 3 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly Mitsubishi Lancer 1:21:29 4 James Stafford/Amy Ryan Darrian T90 GTR 1 1:21:51 5 Shane Maguire/Conor Foley Subaru Impreza 1 1:22:18 6 Wesley Patterson/Martin McGarrity Ford Escort 1:22:42 7 John McQuaid/Seamus O’Connor Ford Escort 1:22:57 8 Josh Moffett/Domhnall Lennon Mitsubishi Lancer 2 1:23:31 9 Tom Flaherty/Patrick Curley Ford Escort 1:23:37 10 Mike Quinn/Grainne McEnery Ford Escort 1:23:58

Night Navigation Classes Classes continue tonight (Thursday) in Sean McDermott’s GAA center, Threemilehouse. These classes cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing and car regulations. To register, please contact Damien on 086 8095113

FIA Institute Academy

 Motorsport Ireland (MI) is requesting applications from young Irish race and rally drivers seeking a place on the second intake of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.The primary goals of the Academy are to increase skills in the area of driver and road safety, to actively promote the principles of safety, fairness and responsibility both on and off the track and to prepare young drivers to compete at the pinnacle of the sport.Participants will benefit from the expert tutelage of Alex Wurz, former Formula One driver and two-time Le Mans winner, alongside Robert Reid, former World Rally Champion. Led by these two hugely experienced motor sport stars, the Academy’s training programme will take place as a series of workshops and events across Europe and beyond. As a national governing body (ASN), Motorsport Ireland is required to nominate two competitors from the applications it receives to the FIA Institute, which will select 30 finalists to attend a selection event in Austria in November, after which 18 will be chosen to join the programme. Candidates should meet the following criteria: 1. Be aged 17 to 23 on 1 October 2011 2. Have consistently achieved outstanding results in their career so far 3. Be in either: a. At least their first year of circuit racing in 2011, without having completed more than four years of competition (including the 2011 season) b. At least their second year of rallying in 2011, without having completed more than five years of competition (including the 2011 season) 4. Be planning to compete in a national or international championship in 2012 5. Hold a valid MI Competition Licence 6. Be able to demonstrate higher than average levels of personal fitness The full selection criteria and the application form are available from the FIA Institute website at http://www.fiainstitute.com. A web page containing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), is also available to assist with completing applications. Completed application forms should be sent to Motorsport Ireland, 34 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 or info@motorsportireland.com to arrive by close of business on Friday 9 September 2011.

The Mc Elvaney Pitwood Quarry on the outskirts of Baileboro was the scene for Monaghan Motor Clubs annual gravel surface autocross on Sunday last. With the trader’s club championship narrowed to a three horse race and 3 rounds remaining, competition was sure to be fierce. Once again it was the motorbike-engined buggy’s which dominated proceedings, albeit not by as much as previous years. Karl Moen in a buggy set a great time on the first run, 4 seconds up on Andy Mackarel in his EVO 4 with Martin Tynan 3rd. Indeed these top three remained the same throughout the course of the day. Andy took a fastest time on the second loop with Martin fastest on the third loop.
Michael Tynan, double driving with Martin in the EVO 5 kept his championship hopes alive with 4th over-all while Cootehills Damian Reilly took 5th over-all and a class win. Worth noting that only 11 seconds separated the top 6 at the end so even the smallest of slip up’s was guaranteed to cost a few places. Michael Carbin is also in the thick of the club championship race and was 4th registered on the day and 8th over-all in his peugeot. Richard Cassidy in the white astra was 9th and 2nd in class, despite not doing the last run due to mechanical trouble.
An enjoyable days rallying was had by all who attended. Coc for the day was Enda Sherry, ably assisted by Gary McPhillips and they would like to extend their sincere thanks to all the competitors who turned up, Mc Elvaneys for the venue, the small number of marshals who offered their help, and anybody else who helped out in any way in the lead up and on the day of the event.
With two rounds remaining in the trader’s club championship this event only managed to bring the top three even closer together! Michael Tynan now leads by the narrowest of margins on 81 points with Andy Mackarel & Michael Carbin tied for 2nd on 80 points. All three men are considered night navigation experts and the final two rounds are the October and November Drumlin night navigation trials. This year’s trader’s club championship is surely going down to the wire!

Monaghan Loose Surface Autocross Top 10 Results:-
1/ Karl Moen (Buggy Special) 11:25.86
2/ Andy Mackarel (EVO 4) 11:28.20
3/ Martin Tynan (EVO 5) 11:32.01
4/ Michael Tynan (EVO 5) 11:35.17
5/ Damian O’Reilly (Escort) 11:36.17
6/ Dominic McCaffery (Buggy Special) 11:36.34
7/ Anthony Masterson (Civic) 11:39.82
8/ Michael Carbin (Peugeot) 11:41.61
9/ Richard Cassidy (Astra) 11:43.97
10/ Gerry Reilly (Civic) 11:53.79

Jim Walsh Cork Forestry Rally

Vincent and JP McAree resumed their challenge on the Valvoline Irish Forestry championship on Saturday last in Cork. They were joint leaders of the series prior to this event but unfortunately the God’s weren’t with them in Cork. They picked up a puncture which in turn damaged the wiring loom, forcing them into retirement on the 7th stage. The rally was won by Tipperary’s Pat O’Connell and Mark Wiley in an EVO 9. McAree’s title challenger, Owen Murphy was interested in collecting championship points and settled for 2nd overall early on with the super quick Frank Kelly 3rd in his infamous escort. Frank commenting at the end that it was the best forest event he has done for a long time, possibly ever.
This year’s format was slightly different in that the lesser-powered cars were first on the road with the top crews joining in after approximately 20 cars. There were three Monaghan crews who made the long trip South. With the McAree’s demise its was the Spanwright EVO 6 of Stephen and Suzanne Wright who flew the Monaghan flag highest, another superb run to 6th over-all. Stephen and Suzanne set top five stage times on 5 of the days 8 stages and collected a class win to boot. Paul Sheridan was navigating for Tyrone’s Enda McNulty and they too had a great days rallying, finishing 8th overall in their impreza. The MC Blinds backed escort also made it to Cork but their luck ran out 3 corners from the end of the penultimate 16km stage with a broken half shaft. Although they did make it back to service and despite the best efforts of their service crew, they just couldn’t release the broken shaft which forced Michael Conlon and Aidan Boyle into retirement. These guys were also on a charge up to their demise, holding 3rd two-wheel drive and 10th over-all. Nevertheless Michael and Aidan reported a very enjoyable day. Well done to all who made the trip.

Night Navigation Classes

In preparation of the navigation season ahead, the club will once again host a series of Navigation classes for anyone interested. If you have a motor sport interest of any kind, then the Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct foundation and introduction to this sport. The classes will cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing and car regulations. Starting next Thursday 25th August in the Sean McDermott’s GAA centre, Threemilehouse, the classes will take place over 6 weeks and will be presented by experienced competitor and club member Damien Connolly. To register, please contact Damien on 086 8095113