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Monaghan’s Damien Connolly navigated Desi Henry to victory on the Lakeland Forestry Stages rally on Saturday last 7^th October, which was the final round of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship.

The pair had a comfortable 22 seconds to spare over Clontibret driver Sam Moffett and James Fulton, with both crews in Fiesta WRCs. Moffett had challenged for the lead for much of the event but mechanical problems forced him to conserve the car to get to the finish. Cathan McCourt put in a late charge to catch Moffett but fell short by just 11 seconds on his way to third place.

Third placed Cathan McCourt had already secured the championship title on the previous round in Cork. Sam Moffett, who was the champion in 2017, secured 3^rd in the 2019 championship on a tie break.

Monaghan competitors featured in six of the top ten cars. Andrew Grennan navigated Vivian Hamill to 4^th overall in a Fiesta R5, just 5 seconds ahead of 5^th placed Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley in a Fabia R5. Stephen Wright/Arthur Kierans (Fiesta R5) were 8^th overall with Mickey Carbin/Conor Mohan (Lancer Evo 8) completing the top ten on the day. This was enough for the Smithborough/Ballinode pair to secure their position as runners-up in the championship.

Lakeland Stages Top Ten

1 Desi Henry/Damien Connolly (Fiesta WRC) 34m 17s,

2 Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Fiesta WRC) 34m 39s,

3 Cathan McCourt/Barry McNulty (Fiesta R5) 34m 50s,

4 Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan (Fiesta R5) 35m 11s,

5 Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley (Fabia R5) 35m 16s,

6 Patrick O’Brien/Thomas Nugent (Lancer Evo) 35m 20s,

7 Niall McCullagh/Ryan McCloskey (Fiesta R5) 35m 41s,

8 Stephen Wright/Arthur Kierans (Fiesta R5) 35m 44s,

9 Conor McCourt/Brian Hoy (Fiesta) 35m 48s,

10 Mickey Carbin/Conor Mohan (Lancer Evo 8) 36m 00s.

Smyth & McEneaney Shine in Wexford

Lisnalong’s Justin Smyth and navigator James McEneaney finished in a superb 8^th overall position and were the class 12 winners on the 2-day Wexford Stages Rally, run over Saturday and Sunday last.

The pair had 7 seconds to spare over 9^th placed James Bradley/David Byrne following the 15 stage event. Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Escort) were 12th overall and 3^rd in class 14. Shane Farrell navigated Quentin Park (Escort) to 6^th in class 12, while Ryan and Nigel Brennan were 2nd in class 1 in their Honda Civic. Richard Moffett and Martin Connolly had started strongly and were 3^rd overall after stage 5, but retired their Starlet thereafter.

Navigation Classes

The Monaghan Motor Club Navigation Trial classes continue each Friday starting at 8pm in the Sean McDermotts GFC complex in Threemilehouse. If you have an interest in Motorsport, then Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct ‘foundation’ for this sport. The classes cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations for both Navigation and Endurance Trials and will also include a session on pace notes for stages rallies. It’s not too late yet to join. Contact Shane on 086 2616120 to book your place.

Clontibret’s Josh Moffett and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes in a Ford Fiesta WRC won the Triton Showers National Rally Championship courtesy of their start to finish victory in the Galway Summer Rally, the penultimate round of the series that was based in Gort on Sunday last 25th August.

They finished 37.2 seconds ahead of the Fiesta R5 of Tyrone’s Cathan McCourt and his Cork co-driver Grace O’Brien with Maynooth’s Ian Barrett and co-driver Paul McGee (Subaru WRC) 49.8 seconds further behind in third.

Moffett was quickest through the opening stage where his one and only rival for the Triton title, Roy White retired his Ford Fiesta WRC at the stage finish with a broken transfer box. Moffett was also quickest through the remaining two stages of the first loop and arrived at the Gort service with a lead of 30.6 seconds. Ballinode’s Niall Maguire (Subaru WRC), with James O’Reilly on board, was untroubled in 5th place, while Shane Maguire (Mitsubishi) remained on course to win the Motorsport Safety Group N award.

Moffett powered his way through the second loop and even though Barrett was quickest on S.S. 6, Moffett stretched his overall lead over McCourt to 39.1 seconds with Barrett 33.1 seconds further adrift in third. Niall Maguire and Shane Maguire remained trouble free within the top ten.

Moffett went on to secure victory, his sixth win from the seven rounds to date and that was more than enough to clinch the Triton title and the Vard Memorial Trophy. His victory in the Triton series completed a notable treble as he has previously won the Irish Tarmac and Irish Forestry Championships.

Ballinode’s Shane Maguire/Conor Foley (Mitsubishi), finished eighth overall and won Group N and clinched the Motorsport Safety Team Group N award. Other Monaghan finishers were Sean McCaul/Frank Clerkin 5th in class 12 and Peter and Shane Farrell who were the class 10 winners in their Corolla.

Galway Summer Rally Top Ten

1. Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1h. 03m. 17.9s.
2. Cathan McCourt/Grace O’Brien (Ford Fiesta R5) 1h. 03m. 55.1s.
3. Ian Barrett/Paul McGee (Subaru WRC) 1h. 04m. 44.9s.
4. Gary Kiernan/Ryan Moore (Ford Escort) 1h. 05m. 11.8s.
5. Hugh Hunter/Rob Fagg (Ford Focus WRC) 1h. 05m. 21.9s.
6. Niall Maguire/James O’Reilly (Subaru WRC) 1h. 05m. 29.1s.
7. Steve Wood/Keith Moriarty (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1h. 06m.25.4s.
8. Shane Maguire/Conor Foley (Mitsubishi EvoIX) 1h. 07m. 26.9s.
9. Frank Kelly/Sean Hayde (Ford Escort) 1h. 07m. 28.9s.
10. JF Shovelin/Emmet Brosnan (Ford Escort) 1h. 07m. 32.1s.

McKenna Continues to Shine
New York-based Monaghan driver Barry McKenna continued to ‘set the roads alight’ in Minnesota last weekend on the Ojibwe Forests rally. Navigated by James Fulton, the pair finished a splendid 2nd Overall, beaten only by David Higgins in a works Subaru.
Navigation Classes
Monaghan Motor Club will start its Navigation Trial classes this Friday 30th August. If you have an interest in Motorsport, then Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct ‘foundation’ for this sport. The scheduled classes will cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations for both Navigation and Endurance Trials and will also include a session on pace notes for stages rallies.

The classes will start at 8pm in the Sean McDermotts GFC complex in Threemilehouse. Registration will also include club membership, maps, romer, and all necessary paperwork to complete the 6 week course.

All those interested should contact Shane on 0862616120 to book your place.

Kieran McCarra and Ciaran Tynan were the outright winners of the annual Monaghan Motor Club Endurance Trial, which was based at the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday last 18th August.

After 19 selectives, the pair had 20 seconds to spare over Derek Mackarel/Kieran Deery, with Jack McKenna/Christopher McMahon completing the podium, all driving Starlets.

The event was a counting round of the Coffee Perfection Irish Endurance Championship and attracted an excellent entry of 60 crews, featuring the top Irish contenders.

Notably six of the top ten places were secured by Monaghan drivers who enjoyed some top quality tests around the Monaghan/Emyvale areas in the morning and in the Ballybay/Latton areas in the afternoon. Class winners were Ryan Brennan/Mac Kierans, Martin Tynan/Declan Tynan, Peter Barrable/Kevin Fagan, Thomas Wedlock/Darren Curran and Damien Hagan/Ryan Farrell.

At the conclusion, Clerk of the Course Fintan Keenan thanked all who helped to ensure the event was a success. He had particular mention for the landowners who agreed to provide the venues for the tests and for the marshals who volunteered their time.

Monaghan Endurance Trial Top 10

1 Kieran McCarra/Ciaran Tynan (Toyota Starlet) 7:57
2 Derek Mackeral/Kieran Deery (Toyota Starlet) 8:17
3 Jack McKenna/Christopher McMahon (Starlet) 8:35
4 Ryan Brennan/Mac Kierans (Mitsubishi Colt) 8:37
5 Martin Tynan/Declan Tynan (Toyota Starlet) 8:47
6 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Toyota Starlet) 8:48
7 Craig O’Rourke/Darren Buttle (Toyota Starlet) 8:53
8 Peter Barrable/Kevin Fagan (Toyota Starlet) 9:06
9 Robert Howard/Claire Murtagh (Toyota Starlet) 9:08
10 Derek Butler/Oisin Sherlock (Toyota Starlet) 9:08
Breen/Nagle Crowned Tarmac Champions

Craig Breen & Paul Nagle (Hyundai i20) secured the 2019 Irish Tarmac Rally titles after taking a start to finish victory in the Newry-based Ulster Rally on Saturday last 17th August. This was Breen’s fifth win of the season in the series which leaves him in an unassailable position in the points table with one round still to go. The winning margin was 20.5 seconds over Welsh driver Matt Edwards who was in a Ford Fiesta R5. Callum Devine & Brian Hoy were just over 20 seconds further back to take the final podium place in another Ford Fiesta R5.

Best of the Monaghan competitors was Paul Kelly who navigated Dave Condell to a close 2nd in the modified category and 9th overall. William Mavitty/Martin Connolly finished 22nd overall, Quentin Park/Shane Farrell were 40th overall, while Stephen Armstrong/Conor Boylan were 47th. There was no luck for Josh Moffett, Damien Connolly, Arthur Kierans and Conor Mohan who all retired at various satges.

 

The 2019 Monaghan Endurance Trial takes place this Sunday based out of the Four Seasons Hotel in Monaghan town.

The event is running for the 8^th time and has steadily increased in popularity over the years and now attracts over 50 entries a year. Fintan Keenan once again takes on the mantle of COC and has chosen some classic selectives in the North and Mid-Monaghan areas.

The action gets underway at 10.00am with crews heading off to the selectives with the first car not back until 7pm that evening.

Anyone interested in taking part are asked to submit their entries ASAP. Regulations are available on the club website.

In preparation for this year’s event, the club are organising a training evening for competitors and marshals to familiarise themselves with aspects of the events such as selective set up, timing, stop boxes, penalty infringements etc.

Competitors will learn more about the event, the rules and ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’ in Endurance Trials.

The evening gets underway on Thursday 15^th at 8.30pm in the Four Seasons Hotel in Monaghan. All welcome.

 

Navigation Classes

As the evenings are getting shorter, it’s soon time for navigators to dust off their potty lamps, get their clipboards at the ready and maps organised as its time for the new Night Navigation season. The club’s first event takes place on Saturday 28^th September.

Monaghan Motor Club will start their Navigation Trial classes on Friday 30^th August which will run through until Friday 27^th September.

If you have an interest in Motorsports, then Navigation Trials are the form of obtaining the correct ‘foundations’ of the sport. The scheduled classes will cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations for both Navigation & Endurance Trials and will also include a session on pace notes for stage rallies.

Further details will be released in the coming weeks.

 

A number of Monaghan Club Members made the long trip to Cork for last weekend’s Regie Tilson Endurance Trial. The event was Round 5 of the Coffee Perfection Irish Endurance Trial Championship and attracted most of the series regulars.

Oisin Sherlock guided local man Derek Butler to overall victory on the event, claiming their second win of the year.

Overall honours looked set to be contested by three crew each with a Monaghan man in the navigator’s seat. Top seeds were Dublin’s Peter Barrable and Ballinode’s Conor Mohan. At No.2 were another Dublin/Monaghan team of Karl O’Donoghue and Evin Hughes. Derek Butler/Oisin Sherlock were seeded at 4 but were leading the Endurance Championship into this event.

O’Donoghue/Hughes & Butler/Sherlock exchanged the lead over the opening four selectives with Butler/Sherlock leading after selective 4. The local crew of Sean Daly/Darren O’Mahony were in 2^nd. O’Donoghue/Hughes held 3^rd after losing 20 seconds sliding through the finish box. The all Monaghan team of Jack McKenna/Craig McPhillips held 3^rd on equal times with O’Donoghue/Hughes with Peter Barrable/Conor Mohan in 5^th.

Butler/Sherlock were setting some stunning times to amass an impressive 27 second by lunchtime. O’Donoghue/Hughes were a strong 2^nd. Selective 9 proved dramatic as Butler/Sherlock got stuck and incurred a test maximum costing them over 30 seconds and the lead to O’Donoghue/Hughes. Amazingly, O’Donoghue/Hughes did the exact same thing on Selective 11 but as that selective was longer they dropped a minute and a half to the leaders.

This left Butler/Sherlock in an unassailable lead and they eventually finished 35 seconds clear of the nearest rivals to extend their Championship lead. Daly/O’Mahony were 2^nd with Barrable/Mohan in 3^rd. O’Donoghue/Hughes recovered to 5^th. Mac Kierans/Muireann Hayes finished 7^th overall while Aaron McElroy guided Circuit Racer Nicole Drought to 8^th overall and victory in class A1. Jack McKenna/Craig McPhillips had been running in 3^rd overall but missed the final loop of selectives due to mechanical problems.

The Endurance Trial Championship continues with the Monaghan Endurance Trial on Sunday August 18^th. COC Fintan Keenan had been working hard on this event which will feature selectives in North and Mid-Monaghan. The event is expected to attract a capacity entry as the Sport continues to develop and grow