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Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes scored their fourth Tarmac Rally Championship win of the season at last weekend’s Cork 20 International Rally.

The pair finished the fifteen stage event with just 8.4 seconds to spare over Callum Devine/Noel O’Sullivan. Welsh man Meirion Evans with Jonathan Jackson on the notes finished in 3^rd place overall.

The rally got underway Saturday morning, and on the opening stage Josh was the man to beat as he set the fastest time by 0.7s from Circuit of Ireland winners Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble. Devine finished third fastest, just 1.5s adrift and commented that he left a bit of time in the stage. On SS2, Fisher took the rally lead thanks to a stage winning performance, he finished the stage 2.7s quicker than Moffett to take a 2s overall lead. Devine went third fastest again and mentioned at the stage end that he clipped something and though he had a puncture. On the final stage of the morning loop, Moffett reduced the gap to Fisher to 1.3s after finishing fastest on the stage despite clipping a bale and causing some cosmetic damage to the front of his Hyundai i20 R5. Devine set the second fastest time but still complained of handling problems aboard his VW Polo GTI R5 and looked forward to a change of setup in service. Fisher was third fastest, but still only 0.7s down on the stage winning pace, showing just how hard the top three competitors were pushing.

On the middle loop, only SS4 and SS6 took place due to an earlier crash on SS2 that hadn’t been cleared yet. There was no drama on SS4 for the rally leaders as they all maintained their positions, however this was to change on SS6 when Devine went fastest by 4.9s to close the gap to 2^nd to just 1.8s. Moffett went second fastest to take the lead of the rally by a slender 0.2s. Fisher had to settle for fourth fastest after Evans got his first top three stage time of the weekend.

SS7 was first up after second service, and it was an action packed stage with numerous overshoots and spins due to torrential rain that fell after crews had already departed for the final three stages of the day. Amazingly, the top four competitors all spun at the exact same corner due to being caught out on hard compound slick tyres. The biggest looser here would be Devine as he stalled the car after his spin and dropped considerably more time than both Moffett and Fisher. Despite his big spin, Fisher still managed a stage win by a full 6s to regain the lead of the rally that he surrendered in the previous stage. Moffett dropped back to 2^nd OA, 5.8s in arrears. Fisher would score two more stage wins on the final two stages of day one to hold an overnight lead of 12.4s over Moffett. Josh had a tough closing loop as he struggled with commitment on SS8 and a small overshoot on SS9. Devine still held 3^rd OA even with a drop off in pace following big spin and stall on SS7.

Day two consisted of six more stages in three loops of two. Unfortunately, Fisher crashed out on the opener ending what was a fantastic battle with Josh and Callum. Both Moffett and Devine slowed at the scene to make sure they were okay, before being instructed that they were indeed okay and continued. Moffett received that same stage time as Devine due to being delayed longer at the accident. With Fisher out, Moffett inherited the lead, with Devine up to 2^nd and Evans up to 3^rd.

Over the last five stages the leader board stayed the same despite a late charge from Devine, where he had Moffett’s lead down to 3.1s at one point, before Moffett eventually came out on top by 8.4s on what was one of, if not the most toughest rally of the year to date.

Jason McConnon/James McEneaney had a weekend to forget after an accident early on in the event, they got the car repaired before retiring completely after SS10.

Navigation Trial Classes

Monaghan Motor Club will once again be holding their popular Navigation Trial Class’s. This six week course is for any aspiring navigators or drivers who wish to learn how to compete in Navigation Trails, as the new season kicks off on October 1^st. While the class’s are mainly for Navigations, Endurance Trials and Stage Rallying will be discussed on the final night. The course begins on Friday August 26^th. A time and venue will be released soon. Anyone interested should contact the club PRO or any committee member.

PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com

Josh Moffett and Keith Moriarty have clinched the Triton Showers National Rally Championship thanks to their overall win at last weekend’s Stonethrowers Stages Rally which was Round 6 of the championship, based in Clonmel Co. Tipperary. Having won the previous five rounds, Moffett/Moriarty can not be beaten even if they don’t take part in the last two rounds in Galway and Donegal.
On the opening loop, Josh set the fastest time on each of the three stages to hold a lead of 16.6s over Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley. Gareth MacHale/Ger Conway were in 3rd, a further 13.8s back. Darren Gass had been in 2nd place but unfortunately damaged their Citroen on SS3 and had to retire.
On the middle loop, once again Josh recorded fastest times on each stage. To extend his lead out to 55.1s. Cronin retired on SS5 after he too damaged his car and couldn’t continue. Cronin’s retirement promoted MacHale into 2nd and David Guest/Jonathan McGrath into 3rd.
On the final loop, Josh set two more fastest times plus a joint fastest time on the last stage to seal a comfortable win of 1:09.6s from MacHale. Guest maintained his 3rd place and finished 1:49.1s down on Moffett.
Chris Armstrong/Gavin Doherty were the winners of the modifieds, they ended the day with a 35s advantage over 2n place Patrick McHugh/Pauric O’Donnell.
Brendan Cumiskey/Martin Connolly finished the day in 4th OA, Martin McPhillips/Ciaran Tynan finished 2nd in class 11R and 37th OA. Michael Carbin/Dean O’Sullivan had a tough day and finished 56th OA and 2nd class 20. Gary McCrudden navigated Sam Johnston to 82 OA and 8 class 11F after returning under Rally2.
Kaine Treanor navigating for Ed O’Callaghan retired on the final stage from mechanical trouble while 14th OA and 5th class 14. Paul McPhillips navigating for Eugene Meegan unfortunately crashed out on SS2. Ryan Farrell navigating for Seán Brogan retired on SS6 and Jack McKenna/Emmet Sherry competing in the Junior section retired with engine trouble on SS4 while 2nd OA.
PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com

Conor Mohan navigated his way to another Junior British Rally Championship round win at last weekend’s Nicky Grist Stages in Builth Wells in Wales. Conor along with regular driver Eamonn Kelly finished the eight stage event with 3.5 seconds to spare over another Irish crew of Kyle White/Sean Topping. Mac Kierans finished off his UK and Irish tour alongside Max McRae with 3rd place overall in the Junior section.
On the opening stage, McRae and Kierans got off to a flyer setting the stage winning time by 2.4s from White/Topping. Kelly/Mohan were slow out of the blocks and had to settle for a fourth fastest time, some 6.1s down on McRae. On SS2 Kelly/Mohan were back up to speed and duly set a stage winning time by just 0.1s from White/Topping. Second fastest on this stage was enough to promote White/Topping to 1st OA after McRae/Kierans finished the stage fourth fastest, dropping them to 2nd OA.
On SS3, Kelly/Mohan once again set the stage winning time by another 0.1s from White/Topping. Unfortunately, McRae/Kierans would have a spin on the stage and dropped 8.9s, demoting them from 2nd to 4th. McRae’s spin was good news for Kelly/Mohan as it promoted them to 2nd and just 3.5s off the lead.
White/Topping were on a stormer on SS4 and went fastest by 6.4s. Kelly/Mohan finished second fastest to maintain their 2nd position OA. McRae/Kierans were credited with third fastest, but there was some confusion with their stage time as it didn’t correspond with the time Mac set on his stopwatch. The crew maintain they were 11s faster than the time they received. At the halfway point White/Topping held a 9.9s advantage over 2nd place Kelly/Mohan who in turn held a 10.9s advantage over McRae/Kierans in 3rd place OA. Johnnie Mulholland/Eoin Tracy another Irish crew taking part were 4th OA, some 40.9s down on McRae/Kierans.
SS5 began the second half of the event and White/Topping continued where they finished off by setting the fastest stage time by 1.1s from Kelly Mohan. McRae/Kierans were third fastest yet again, but still only 1.9s down on White’s stage winning pace. White/Topping got their third stage win in a row on SS6 by a mere 0.6 of a second from Kelly/Mohan. McRae/Kierans finished the stage fourth fastest. McRae/Kierans would score their second stage win of the day on the penultimate stage. They went 1.2s quicker than second fastest Ioan Lloyd/Sion Williams. Mulholland/Treacy went third fastest with Kelly/Mohan and White/Topping finishing the stage in fourth and fifth respectively. Kelly was hindered by power steering trouble, a worrying occurrence with only one stage to go. Going into the final stage the top three were the same as they were at the half way mark, with White/Topping holding 9.7s advantage over Kelly/Mohan with McRae/Kierans 7.4s further back.
On the final stage, Kelly/Mohan with their power steering problem sorted, went for the win and blitzed everyone by going fastest by 13.2s and more importantly jumped to 1st OA by just 3.5s at the expense of White/Topping who dropped the 2nd OA. McRae/Kierans also went for a big push on the last stage, but this didn’t work out as well as they had hoped as they suffered a spin followed by an overshoot, but still managed to hold onto their 3rd place OA. Mulholland/Treacy finished the day in 4th place to leave it seven Irish competitors in the top four places, an excellent showing from the Motorsport Ireland Crews.
Not only was Mac on the podium in the Junior section, his father Arthur, won the National section navigating for Alan Carmichael. The rally itself was won by Osian Pryce/Noel O’Sullivan with Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin finishing 2nd.

McRae Ss7 9.7 down
PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@monaghanmotorclu

Derek Mackarel along with Co. Cork navigator Eamonn Creedon finished an excellent 5th overall and 1st in class 20 in their Mitsubishi Evo IX at last weekend’s Moonraker Forestry Rally based in Ballyvourney, Co. Cork. The pair finished the eight stage event with 2:25.2s to spare over 2nd in class Pete McCullagh/Brian Quinlan. The rally itself was won by Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin.
Mickey Conlon/Paul McPhillips finished 1st 2wd and 1st in class 14 with 13.6s to spare over 2nd place Ryan Caldwell/Grace O’Brien. Brendan Cumiskey/ Dylan Doonan finished 10th OA and 2nd class 2. Ryan Farrell navigated Damien McGauran to 19th OA and 3rd class 13. Tommy Moffett/Gary McCrudden finished 2nd OA in the J1000 section. Conor Boylan navigating for Adam Semple retired after SS6.

Loughgall Country Park Rally
There was keen interest in this years Loughgall rally as Josh Moffett took a day off from driving to navigate older brother Sam to 7th OA and 3 class in Sam’s Toyota Starlet. Shane Farrell navigated JT Warnock to 18th OA. The rally was won by Aaron McLaughlin/William Neill in their Ford Fiesta R5.
PRO: Oisín Sherlock oisinsherlock97@gmail.com

Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes emerged victorious after a highly entertaining weekends rallying in the hills of Donegal at the 50^th edition of the Donegal International Rally, sponsored by Joule. The pair finished the twenty stage event with 46.7 seconds to spare over older brother Sam navigated by Keith Moriarty. The Welsh crew of Meirion Evans/ Jonathan Jackson rounded off the podium positions just 2.4s further back.

The action pack weekend began around noon on Friday with six stages, starting with the 15.7km of Dooish Hill between Manor and Newtown Cunningham. Callum Devine/Noel O’Sullivan set the pace on the opener blitzing the competition by 7.5s. Matt Edwards/David Moynihan finished second fastest despite saying at the stage end that the car keeps crashing out over the bumpy sections. Josh finished third, 14s down on Devine after going out on full wet tyres. Sam also went out on full wets and he finished down in fifth, 17.3s off the pace.

A short road section brought crews to SS2 ‘An Grianan’ and once again Devine was the fastest of all. Edwards set the second fastest time, just 0.6s slower. Both the Moffett brothers continued to struggle on the wrong tyres and Josh dropped to 4th OA and Sam to 7th OA. Mouldy Hill, south of Buncrana was the location of stage three. And once again Devine extended his lead by taking his third stage win. Edwards finished just 0.3s slower to leave the gap between himself and Devine at 8.4s going into first service. Tyre problems still hampered Josh and Sam with Josh dropping to 5th and Sam 8th OA.

On SS4 Edwards got his first stage win of the weekend beating Devine by 0.1, Devine himself survived a huge moment when he drifted his car within inches of a wall not long into the stage. Josh now with the dry tyres on was back up to speed and overhauled Evans to go into 4th. Sam also was in better form and he went from 8th to 6th. On SS5 Devine hit back at Edwards with a stage win. Josh set the third fastest time to close the gap to 3rd to just 4.9s. On the final stage of day one, Edwards took his second stage win to leave just 5.8s seconds between himself and Devine. Josh once again set the third fastest stage time to leave himself just 4s off Alister Fisher/Gordon Noble in 3rd. Sam rounded the day off holding onto his 6th place and just 10.3s of Evans/Jackson in 5th.

Eight stages lay ahead on day two, with three passes of Carnhill, three of Fanad Head and two passes of the much loved Knockalla. The top of the leader board stayed the same throughout the day and by end Devine held a comfortable 17.7s lead over Edwards. Fisher still held 3rd OA, 26.1s off Edwards and just 5.1s in front of Josh. On the final stage of the day Sam Moffett overtook Evans to hold 5th place overnight.

Day three consisted of six more stages, two runs each on Gartan, High Glen and Atlantic Drive. The day got off to a crazy start when rally leader Devine crashed into a chicane at location two on SS15 Gartan. The high speed impact broke the radiator and put Devine/O’Sullivan out of the race. With the retirement of Devine, Edwards/Moynihan inherited a 19.2 lead over Josh after Josh set the stage winning time and moved ahead of Fisher by 1s. SS16 High Glen was cancelled due to a funeral taking place so next up was SS17 Atlantic Drive, amazingly the lead of the rally would change once again as Edwards would crash out just after the start which resulted in the stage being immediately cancelled. The cancelation left Josh with a 1s lead going into final service with only three stages remaining.

On the repeat run of Gartan, Josh scored another stage win to extend his lead out to 3.8 seconds. Sam, who had inherited 3rd OA at the expense of Devine and Edwards continued to increase his lead over Evans in 4th place. On the penultimate stage more drama lay ahead as Fisher would suffer a puncture just before Glen village and would eventually be caught and passed by Josh ending what would have been a fabulous battle for the win. By stage end Moffett held a 51.1s advantage over Fisher, leaving just one last run over Atlantic Drive between himself and victory. Sam didn’t take any big risks over stage and Evans closed the gap to 9.7s.

On the final stage Josh cruised to the end and took victory by 46.7s, not from Fisher, but his older brother Sam. Sam took 2nd place after Fisher struggled with a break issue sustained in the previous stage. Fisher eventually finished in 5th place. Evans finished in 3rdplace, and just 2.4s down on Sam. Meirion commented after that he didn’t try to catch Sam as he was more concerned in not getting caught by Declan Boyle/James O’Reilly who were just 11.3s behind.

Richard Moffett/Darragh Kelly finished 17th OA and 6th class 14. Michael Carbin/Paul McGee survived tough weekend, which included an impact with a chicane and a high speed spin to finish 23rd OA and 2nd class 20. Niall Maguire/Conor Foley finished 25th OA and 3rd class 24. Piaras O’Ceallachain guided Brian Lavelle to 38th OA and 4th class 13. David Moffett/Martin Connolly survived brake problems on day one to finish 45th OA. Mac Kierans made the long trip home from Australia to guide the late great Colin McRae’s nephew Max McRae to 56th OA and 3rd class RC4. Justin Smith/Gregory McQuillan finished 57th OA and 1st class 12. Gary McKenna/Calum Maguire finished 77th OA and 5th class 11R. Conor Mohan guided Eamonn Kelly to 82nd OA after making a return under Rally2. Shane Farrell guided JT Warnock 84th OA. Kaine Treanor navigated Chris O’Callaghan to 91st OA after making a return under Rally2. Damien McKenna guided Shaun Murphy to 97th OA after also making a return under Rally2. John McQuaid/Thomas Treanor also made a return under Rally2 to finish 99th OA.

Daniel McKenna/Andrew Grennan survived a huge moment on SS7 (which can be seen on social media) but unfortunately retired just before the start of SS15. Gary McPhilips/Liam Brennan retired after SS17 while sitting 22nd OA. Paul Sheridan navigating for Jonathan Pringle retired after SS13. Paul McPhillips navigating for Eugene Meegan retired after SS14. Ryan Farrell navigating for Sean Brogan also retired after SS14 and Brendan McAree/Peter Farrell, competing in the Historic section retired after SS10. In the Junior section, Gary Cassidy/Killian McArdle finished an excellent 4th OA in their Honda Civic and Mark Fox/Bradley Maguire finished 17th OA.

Monaghan Endurance Trial

The Monaghan Endurance Trial is taking place this weekend, COC Oisín Sherlock and ACOC Ryan Treanor have laid out 22 selectives all based in the north Monaghan area with the first car leaving the Four Seasons Hotel at 10am. As ever marshals are required for the running of the event. If available to marshal please make contact with any committee or club member.

PRO: Oisín Sherlock           oisinsherlock97@gmail.com