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Gary Cassidy and Conor Mohan were the winners of Monaghan Motor Club’s 2024 Drumlin Navigation Trial, organised by Clerk of Course Ciaran Tynan and ACOC Michael Tynan. The Expert crew finished the Newbliss-based event on just three penalties. 

The Drumlin has a reputation of being a challenging event, and two consecutive plot and bashes after TP1 set the tone for the night. Only five crews would make it to TP4 in Analore with a clean sheet, with the majority of crews dropping a minute or two at one or both plot and bashes. 

The first road-goes of the night was used to drop off the main road and get a correct approach to TP5 at Gaelscoil Eois, where an overshoot could have meant a wrong approach. 

TP6 and TP7 brought the event towards Stonebridge and Gransha, where familiar territory of old railway, farm tracks and narrow lanes meant both driver and navigator had to be switched on to find the correct slots. This was also evident on TP8 where as crews left along narrow lanes for Aghabog, no one would make it without dropping at least a minute, even though the route was pre-plotted.

A relaxed section in Aghabog at TP12 gave some breathing space before the next plot and bash section. Leaving TP13, a route card with the plots to Via1 and Via2 was handed out, but attention had to be paid to the approach and departures, as well as remembering to visit pre-plotted TP14 and TP15 in between. Only one pairing, Arthur Kierans/Shane Maguire, would clean this section. Kierans showing that competing on the Galway International the same weekend was taking nothing out of him.

The route went along some more traditional navigation lanes south to Dartry, west towards Scotshouse and then east again to Doohat for the start of the ITC. The regularity section was short, but at 27mph, trickier than usual. It wasn’t long before the event got back up to speed however because the end of the ITC also marked a plot and bash section to find TP28. Via5 had to be avoided on the way, and then two wind farm lanes awaited crews to get to TP30. One final box tulip took in a usual farm in Corlougharoo before the last controls and back to Newbliss. 

By the end of the night, Derek Mackarel and Conor Boylan were close behind Cassidy/Mohan on five penalties, with Martin Tynan and David McCrudden third, a further point back. 

At the Acorn Centre, all marshals, timekeepers, officials, landowners and other volunteers. A special word of thanks was given to the Cavan results team who had the mastersheet published in record time, given the duration of the event. 

The event was a counting round of the National Navigation Trial Championship, the Squealing Pig Border Navigation Trial Championship and Monaghan Motor Club’s navigation and overall championships. 

The next round of the national championship is the 100 Isles navigation organised by Skibbereen & District Car Club on 10/11 February. 

Drumlin Navigation Trial class results.

1st Beginner: Shane and Eoghan Farrell (138 pens)

2nd Beginner: Ciaran Duffy and Ben Mohan (145 pens)

3rd Beginner: Pauric Duffy and Fintan Duffy (155 pens)

1st Novice: Ciaran and Aaron McGorman (12 pens)

2nd Novice: Shane and Molly Maguire (25 pens)

3rd Novice: Martin and Gretchen Swinburne (34 pens)

1st Semi-Expert: Declan Tynan and Aaron McElroy (11 pens)

2nd Semi-Expert: Damien Treanor and Christopher McMahon (33 pens)

3rd Semi-Expert: James Fitzgerald and Patrick Corcoran (34 pens)

1st Expert: Derek Mackarel and Conor Boylan (5 pens)

2nd Expert: Martin Tynan and David McCrudden (6 pens)

3rd Expert: Andy Mackarel and Greg Shinnors (9 pens)

1st Overall: Gary Cassidy and Conor Mohan (3 pens)

On a frozen lake on the outskirts of Dagali in Norway, a blue flash weaves through the snowbanks as a Nissan Almera GTi scrabbles for grip. Behind the wheel is 2023 Sligo Pallets Forest Championship Junior 1000 Champion Tommy Moffett, and he is here as part of a Prize Package funded by Craig Breen and the Foundation named in his honour.

For the young star, the trip is one of learning and development, with two days spent under the guidance of rally legend John Haugland at his world-famous Winter Rally School. Over his 50-year career, the Norwegian ace has seen countless stars of the sport pass through his Rally School, and Tommy Moffett can now proudly add himself to the illustrious list of pupils. 

One of the most famous recent stars who spent time at Haugland’s winter playground was Craig Breen, and it was through the prize package that he self-funded at the start of the 2023 season. Determined to make a real impact on the development of future Rally stars from a young age, Breen put together a €10,000 fund that would see every competitor benefit by way of vouchers throughout the season, and ultimately a driver development trip for the series champion. 

The Craig Breen Foundation aims to continue and build on the good work started by the Waterford driver in developing the path into top level rallying for young Irish competitors, while honouring his memory. With the support of Hyundai Motorsport, Sports&You, Hyundai Portugal, Hyundai Spain, Motorsport Ireland and the FIA, the foundation has committed to support the J1000 Championship for a minimum 5-year period from 2024 onwards. 

The foundation will initially see a total prize fund valued at over €35,000 made available for the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship J1000s. 

This year’s winner, Moffett, was joined on the trip by his championship winning navigator Domhnall Lennon, as well as Tommy’s Brother and twice Irish Forest Rally Champion Josh. With the guidance of John Haugland, Domhnall & Josh, the trip was an incredible opportunity for Tommy to adapt to a more powerful FWD car as he prepares to make the step into a new machine this year, as well as to an all new surface. 

From the reports received back, the trip was a huge success with incredible amounts of seat time and practice put down, some great tuition from the legendary John Haugland and the only reported damage being from the elder Moffett leaving a Mitsibushi rear bumper in a snow bank (allegedly)! 

The 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship kicks off on February 18th with the Castleisland, Co. Kerry based Killarney Forest Rally.

 

The 2024 National Endurance Trial Championship got under way with the ALMC Winter Endurance Trial being the first round of the series. Held at the familiar Luttrellstown Castle Resort, 33 crews tackled 16 selectives across Meath, Kildare and Dublin. 

Seeded first on the road as the 2023 event winners, Robert Howard and Claire Murtagh would go on to take another victory, but it would be a three-way race for the win right up until the end of the day. 

Graham O’Donoghue and William Kelly would eventually settle for 3rd OA, 16 seconds off top spot having led the event for five tests. Karl O’Donoghue and Evin Hughes had a slower start but quickly pulled back time and went into the final two selectives with a one second advantage. However they couldn’t hold Howard/Murtagh back. The final gap between first and second was just five seconds. 

Shane and Ciaran Maguire were the first non-Starlet finisher. They took 5th OA and 1st in the A2S Class in their Mitsubishi Colt. 

Andy Mackarel and Richard Cassidy took Class E honours in the Opel Ascona, just ahead of the Ford Focus of Class C winners Cathal McGlone and Michael Sheridan. Robert Graham and Caolan Treanor were second in that class in their navigation-spec Subaru.

The next round of the championship is the Galway Endurance Trial on 14 April.

Drumlin Navigation Trial 

Monaghan Motor Club’s Drumlin Navigation Trial takes place this weekend, 3/4 February. Clerk of Course Ciaran Tynan and Assistant COC Michael Tynan have an 85 mile route set out for competitors. Venue is the Acorn Centre in Newbliss. The event is a counting round of the club navigation and overall championships, the Squealing Pig Border Navigation Trial Championship and the National Navigation Trial Championship. Marshals are required and anyone available on the night is asked to contact COC Ciaran Tynan directly on 087-7827918.

Countdown to ITRC opener in Galway

The 2024 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is buckled up for a thrilling opening round – the Galway International Rally. 

New contenders, returning champions, and familiar foes make up a blockbuster entry for the notoriously difficult two-day rally. 

Over 30 Rally2 cars are set to start the Samdec Security supported international series’ curtain raiser with reigning Irish Tarmac champions Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan opening the road as top seeds. 

Devine is yet to win in Galway and will have second seed and 2022 victor Josh Moffett breathing down his neck with Andy Hayes on the notes. Josh’s brother Sam, co-driven this weekend by James O’Reilly, made a solid start to his Irish Tarmac campaign 12 months ago with a third-place finish in Galway.

There could well be another Moffett duel in this latest edition of Irish Tarmac drama. The event will also mark the unveiling of the newly acquired Combilift Rallying Citroen C3 Rally2. 

Jonathan Greer, Desi Henry, and two-time Galway winner Garry Jennings are consistently competitive and will be bidding for top positions on round one. 

There will be two Ford Fiesta Rally2s, however, that Irish rally fans will be eager to see in action on the slippery Connacht stages. 

2016 Irish Tarmac and four-time British Champion Keith Cronin returns to Galway for the first time in eight years. Seeded third, there are fewer more talented than Cronin and one can be confident he will waste no time in getting up to speed. 

Seeded sixth, Wales’ Matt Edwards makes his first-ever Irish Tarmac bid after two years fighting for Donegal International honours. The three-time British Champion’s entry adds extra intrigue to what is a fascinating top ten. 

The grueling two-day event demands a balance of speed, bravery, and caution for crews as they thread their way through the stone wall-lined stages. 

Monaghan Motor Club will be represented throughout both the main field and modified sections of the rally.

Cork Motor Club hosted the 1,000 Shakes Navigation Trial, with COC Nial Murphy and team lining out a 110-mile route based north of Macroom at Aghinagh GAA. 

With the event being a counting round of the National Navigation Championship and Munster Navigation Trial Championship, there was local interest and much to play for. 

Expert crew James Fitzgerald and Ken Carmody were first on the road and after tallying the first two time cards, they were ahead of the rest of the pack on eight penalties. Pakie Duffy and Evin Hughes were the nearest challenger on ten penalties with Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston and Patsy McDonagh/Patrick Corcoran just further back on 14 penalties. 

Fitzgerald and Carmody would only drop a further two penalties on Card 3 leaving them on ten penalties. The Semi-Expert crew of Owen Murphy and Shane Maguire would be best of the rest on that card, dropping just 3 penalties going from 5th to 3rd overall before the final card. McDonagh/Corcoran had a strong sheet too, dropping four to move to 2nd Overall. Duffy/Hughes would drop 43 on Card 3 to put them out of contention for the overall win. 

Three crews –  Fitzgerald/Carmody, Murphy/Maguire and Alan Shinnors/Denis O’Donovan – would clean the final sheet, handing Fitzgerald/Carmody the win. 

McDonagh/Corcoran dropped six but had just enough to retain 2nd Overall and 1st Semi-Expert crew, finishing a single penalty ahead of Murphy/Maguire.

Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston went into the event provisionally leading the national series and left with 4th OA and 1st Expert. Duffy/Hughes recovered to take 5th OA and 2nd in Class. Ryan Farrell also made the trip down, sitting with Mark Phelan. They would take 7th OA and 3rd Semi-Expert. 

James and Ciaran French were top Novice and 9th OA, with David Beamish and Gary Kelleher rounding out the top ten as 1st Beginner. 

Monaghan Motor Club’s Drumlin Navigation Trial

Next on the calendar and takes place on 3 February.

It is a counting round of the National, Border and Club championships.

There was a deserved round of applause in the Sliabh Beagh Hotel when brother and sister Shane and Molly Maguire were announced as overall winners of Monaghan Motor Club’s January Navigation Trial.

The Novice pairing finished the 80-mile event on seven penalties, well clear of the rest of the field by the final control.

The event, the first navigation trial of 2024 and the first round of the Monaghan Motor Club championships, was headed by COC Killian McArdle and Assistant COC Gary Cassidy and had a little bit of everything with lanes, farmyards and forests.

Martin Tynan and David McCrudden were the first crew on the road at 9.01pm and there was little time for crews to settle in as it was straight into a forestry loop.

Timepoints two, three and four required repetition of the same forest track with different departures eventually leading crews out to the familiar deer farm, which marked the return to sealed surfaces for a time.

TP5 to TP8 brought competitors across some familiar roads used on navigation and stage rallies, with the odd slippy lane thrown in for good measure. From there the event went towards Selloo for the first relaxed section of the night and the ITC section.

The ITC ended with a stretch of the main Monaghan/Roslea road. Timepoints 13, 14 and 15 took in Drumslavog and Athaboy, with TP16 just off the Scotstown-Knockatallon road being the point where many positions would be won or lost. The plot and bash began at the end of, what was on the map as, a grey lane leading to nowhere. From there three herringbone tulip diagrams would be required to reach timepoints 17, 18 and 19. The three checks were all located on one farm and were placed on farm tracks and between sheds. Eight crews left TP16 on a clean sheet. Three crews, Maguire/Maguire, Derek Mackarel/Conor Boylan and Packie Duffy/Evin Hughes would leave the plot and bash section joint leaders having all dropped just four marks over the three timepoints.

A much needed relaxed section at TP20 gave crews some breathing space but that only lasted the length of Aghanameena Lane where a snake-shaped herringbone would lead crews to TP22 and from there another herringbone would direct them on to TP23. The two timepoints were located in opposite directions on a farm track at Feebaghbane. Where the vast majority of crews would drop chunks of time and/or get wrong approaches or departures if they were lucky to get them at all, the Maguire siblings cleaned the section to put fresh air between them and the rest of the field.

The route required a circuit of Esh forest to capture TP25 and TP27. The relaxed section between TP28 and TP29 was again welcomed by competitors. A lot of miles had been travelled since the last plot and bash and many were riding close to their 15 minutes of maximum lateness.

TP30, Via 3 and TP31 took in one and a half loops of the Bragan mountain road. A late frost meant there was no time to be switching off so close to the end. A final lane to Control C at Barratitoppy and straight to the hot food, sandwiches and tea provided by the Sliabh Beagh Hotel staff.

In the end, Molly and Shane Maguire had done enough to take their first overall win together, with the Semi-Expert pairing of Declan Tynan and Aaron McElroy finishing 2nd Overall on 34 penalties. Martin Tynan and David McCrudden were one penalty further back taking 3rd OA and 1st Expert.

Despite a wrong approach to the last via Mackarel/Boylan had done enough for 4th OA and 2nd Expert crew. With the Maguires forgoing their class victory, Martin and Gretchen Swinburne were 1st Novice, just ahead of the Expert crew of Andy Mackarel and Greg Shinnors. Michael Carbin and Ben Mohan took 1st Beginner and 10th OA.

The next round of the National Navigation Championship is the 1000 Shakes this weekend, hosted by Cork Motor Club. Monaghan Motor Club’s Drumlin Navigation Trial takes place on 3 February and is a counting round of the National, Border and Club championships.

Kelly and Mohan gain snow experience

In preparation for their second year in the JWRC, which opens with Rally Sweden. Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan took part in the Riihimäki-ralli in Finland for some testing and confidence building. The Fiesta Rally3 crew finished 5th in Class as they closed the gap to the leaders with every kilometre. WRC Rally Sweden takes place from 15-18 February.

Rallysport Association Winter Series

Many local drivers have used the Rallysport Association series to cut their teeth in motorsport, and at the weekend 12-year-old Jack Treanor was out for his second ever event in a Nissan Micra prepared by his father Damien. If past Monaghan Motor Club successes are anything to go by, it’ll be another name to remember for the future.