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Scotshouse driver Daniel McKenna, partnered as ever by Andrew Grennan made an unfamiliar trip to England last weekend to contest the infamous Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire, the final round of the British Rally Championship. Following a sterling drive, the pair finished a superb 4th overall on what was their first ever time to compete on a British Championship round.

Based in the seaside town of Scarborough on the North East coast, this gravel rally takes competitors through the best forest stages England has to offer. Daniel surely threw himself in at the deep end for this event, competing in a hired left hand drive Mitsubishi Evo 9 from Clarke Motorsport in Scotland but this was also his first time to compete on a gravel surface. To make matters even more difficult the first stage of the event on Friday night was the epic sixteen-mile Langdale stage ran in total darkness. The lads threw caution to the wind and emerged a creditable 9th overall, albeit with intercom problems.

At the front Waterford man Craig Breen in his S2000 Fiesta held the overnight lead from Gwyndaf Evans with Cork man Keith Cronin holding third. Keith was driving conservatively as a top six finish was all he needed to retain the British Rally Championship. Monaghan navigator Damian Connolly was in his regular seat with Dubliner Robert Barrable as they held 14th overall and more importantly were leading the Citroen C2R2 category.

Saturday brought a further seven stages through the Yorkshire forests as Daniel and Andrew set about closing the gap to the leaders. Indeed his stage 2 time was 6th fastest and it was evident that Daniel was finding his comfort zone as through each stage he became a little more confident and climbed up the leader board. Rally leader Craig Breen ended his chances of a win on stage 4 as a long right hand corner caught out the Waterford man when he slid wide and rolled his Fiesta. Indeed had it not been for the travelling Monaghan fans Craig would have been there for the day and eventually recovered to finish 9th overall. This paved the way for Welshman Gwyndaf Evans to take the rally lead, where he would remain to the finish. Barrable & Connolly were out on their own throughout the day in the Citroen Trophy category and a finish was all they needed to take the title.

Daniel continued to turn heads throughout the afternoon stages, as his times came within a few seconds of the experienced leaders. It was evident from spectating that Daniel had mastered the driving style of this car within six stages as he slid the Evo through junctions as if he were in his familiar Scanbitz Escort. His stage 4 time was 3rd fastest and stage 6 time was 2nd fastest, a true reflection of the pace he had found.

Cronin Crowned British Champion

Scotshouse driver Daniel McKenna, partnered as usual by Andrew Grennan from Annaghmakerrig continued their impressive recent form with overall victory on the Castle Hellfire Stages Rally based in Oldcastle on Sunday last. At the completion of the rally’s sixth and final stage, this exciting young  Monaghan crew were 1 minute and 40 seconds clear of local crew Alan Sheridan/Gerard Conlon, both crews competing in Mk2 Escorts. 3^rd place overall went to the Subaru Impreza driven by Stephen Cullen with navigator Seamus O’Grady.

Returning to the Scanbitz Escort after their outing in a Mitsubishi Lancer on the Ulster Rally, Daniel & Andrew set the pace from the word go, pulling 12 seconds out of the opposition on the opening stage. Trevor Mulligan/Paul Clarke and Michael Curran/Stephen Curran weren’t too far away but just couldn’t get on terms with the leaders. Daniel & Andrew dominated the event setting fastest time on each of the six stages to finish with a huge margin over their nearest rivals.

Mulligan/Clarke, who had held 2^nd for most of the day retired late on promoting Alan Sheridan/Gerard Conlon into 2^nd place. Group N winners, Stephen Cullen/Seamus O’Grady completed the top three finishers. Gordon Rogers/Philip McEntee just lost on 3^rd place on a tie-break, but secured victory in class 13. James Cassidy/John Norris finished 5^th overall and took 1^st in class 12. Other Monaghan finishers were Andrew Lang/Niall Monaghan in 39^th overall and 1^st in class 9. Retirements included: Donal Crossan/Damien McCabe, Martin Tynan/Ciaran Tynan and Francie McKenna/Sean Craig.

Monaghan duo Gary McPhillips and Mark Tierney took an impressive overall win on the Galway Summer Rally last weekend. Gary & Mark have scored multiple successes in class 14 over the last few years but on this occasion they stepped up to challenge for overall honours. At the end of the nine stages, the Monaghan crew finished some 16 seconds clear of the WRC Focus of Dubliner Robert Barrable and Monaghan’s Damien Connolly. This was the Monaghan crew’s first ever overall win on a Multi-Stages Rally.

An added incentive in this year’s rally was the “King of the Mk2” challenge which gave prizes to the top finishing crews in Mk2 Escorts. This led to a strong field of Escorts with the likes of Manus Kelly, Camillus Bradley, Trevor Mulligan and Russell Woods also bidding for honours. After the opening stage, the WRC Impreza of PJ McDermott was leading the rally from Robert Barrable and Gary McPhillips. 

3rd placed McPhillips had a good second stage which moved him into the lead of the rally.  After stage 3, McPhillips led from Barrable with McDermott having dropped to 3rd. Gary & Mark had also pulled 30 seconds clear of their nearest rival in the ‘King of the MK2’ challenge, Manus Kelly/Donal Barrett. Despite the disadvantage of 2wd, Gary & Mark comfortably held the overall lead until stage 6 when a cracked manifold slowed them. This would be fixed at the next service and the Monaghan duo could now go about rebuilding their lead over Robert Barrable and his Monaghan navigator Damien Connolly.

PJ McDermott’s retirement promoted Manus Kelly into 3rd place. Out front, Gary & Mark extended their lead to 20 seconds with two stages to go. By the finish their advantage had been trimmed to 16 seconds but it was more than enough to claim a superb victory. Adding to their delight, their performance also saw them win ‘The King of the MK 2’ challenge by 1 min 30secs. Gary would like to thank his service crew Francis, Paul, Emmett, John, Cathal and Jason.

Damien Connolly guided young Robert Barrable to 2nd place on Robert’s first stages event behind the wheel of the WRC Focus. Manus Kelly/Donal Barrrett took 3rd overall. Shane Maguire/Enda Sherry put in a storming drive to win Group N and finish a fine 5th overall. Martin McPhillips/Nicola McKenna took their Toyota Corolla to 29th overall and 5th in class 11.

Open Meeting, Friday 3rd September

An Open Meeting for all Monaghan Motor Club members will be held at 8.30pm this Friday, 3rd September in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan. The main item on the agenda will be The Way Forward proposal from Motorsport Ireland. This document can be accessed from the club website: www.monaghanmotorclub.net.

Castleshane’s Eamonn McElvaney driving a motorbike-engined autocross special was the star of the day as he scored a runaway victory in the autocross held at Hollywood, Ballinode on Sunday last. McElvaney, who has switched from rallying to autocrosing, was faster than anyone on each of his 4 timed runs to take overall victory by 15.26 seconds from 2nd placed Dominic McCaffrey with Karl Moen in 3rd, a further 4.84 seconds in arrears. The top three were all driving autocross specials.
Best of the non-specials was Lauris Zdanovics (Integra) followed by Jonathan McKenna (Peugeot 106), Anthony Masterson (Integra) and David Moffett (Starlet). The top placed Traders Trophy-registered competitor was Michael Carbin, followed by Dessie Keenan and Paul Sheridan, all three driving Peugeot 205s.
The event was notable for the emergence of new young driving talent. The Junior class for 14-16 year olds was won by Derek Mackarel (Corsa) with Aidan Lang (Fiesta) in 2nd place. Derek made it an especially memorable day by beating his father Andy in the overall standings. Paul Barrett, son of leading rally driver Kevin, won the 16-18 year old category in his Vauxhall from Gavin McGivney (Escort), son of Carrickmacross rally driver Gerry.
In class 2B, David Moffett (Starlet) won the battle of the Moffett brothers with Richard 2nd followed by Enda Sherry and Conor Maguire (Escort Mk1). Michael Conlon (Escort) and Andy Mackarel (Mitsubishi Evo) won their respective classes, while Gerry Cassidy (Peugeot 205) managed to finish despite mechanical problems.
It was a landmark day for Monaghan Motor Club as this was the first grass surface autocross event organised by the club in 27 years! Scotshouse man Eamonn McKenna provided an excellent commentary on Sunday and he recalled being in attendance at that last autocross. Niall Maguire’s site proved to be an excellent venue and the event was superbly organised by youthful Clerk of the Course Shane Maguire, assisted by Pauric McCarra and the team. The Tydavnet Millennium Club is the charity that will benefit from the proceeds of the event.

Commencing 19th August Threemilehouse GAA Complex 8 PM