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Josh Moffett is just one event away from the 2019 Triton National Rally Championship after taking overall victory in last weekend’s Sligo Stages Rally.

Moffett and co-driver Andy Hayes led the event from start to finish. Their nearest pursuers were once again Roy White & James O’Brien who finished 23 seconds in arrears. Northern Ireland’s Johnny Greer & Kirsty Riddick took 3rd place.

Moffett was fastest on the opening stage at Glencar, five seconds up on White and the pair were already well ahead of the chasing pack. Moffett increased his advantage to 10 seconds by first service. Greer held 3rd from Cork’s Keith Cronin both in R5 Fiestas. Kevin Eves was the leading two wheel drive car in 5th place.

Moffett continued to gradually increase his lead with another trio of fastest stage times. White remained 16.7 seconds adrift in a solid 2nd. White shaded Moffett by 0.6 of a second on stage seven, the only stage in which Moffett was bested all day. The Monaghan-Wexford team were delighted to notch their fifth win in six events and now only require a top eight finish in Galway to secure the title. The top five was completed by Greer, Eves and the flying David Moffett & Martin Connolly. The Monaghan pair also won class 13 and the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship Drive of the Day.

Shane Maguire & Darragh Kelly took another convincing Group N win and 8th overall in their Lancer. Conor Mohan guided Eamon Kelly to 10th overall in their R2 Fiesta. Martin McPhillips/Paul Kelly finished 21st overall and 2nd in class 11R. Aisling McArdle guided Des Lyons to 33rd overall and 2nd in class 11F. Cathal Sheridan & Peter Deery won class 10 and were 46th overall. Peter & Shane Farrell were 66th overall and 2nd in class 10. Nigel & Ryan Brennan finished a fine 2nd in class 16 (Junior class).

The National Rally Championship resumes with the Galway Summer Rally in August where Josh Moffett hopes to seal the coveted National title completing his grand slam of Irish Rally Championships.

O’Donoghue & Hughes take Endurance Honours

Karl O’Donoghue & Evin Hughes won last weekend’s Wexford Endurance Trial based in Ballynboola, Co. Wexford. The Dublin-Monaghan duo emerged 15 seconds clear of Derek Butler & Oisin Sherlock after a gripping battle between the pair during the day.

Reigning Champion Peter Barrable & Kevin Fagan led after the opening loop but suspension damage and missed code boards would drop them back. O’Donoghue/Hughes & Butler/Sherlock were dead equal after 6 selectives and after Butler/Sherlock dropped 10 seconds on Test 7, only 1 second slip them over the next three selectives.

O’Donoghue/Hughes made good progress on the next loop to increase their advantage to 14 seconds. Butler/Sherlock put in a storming through the Quarry to trim 4 seconds back but a canceled selective worked against the crew and O’Donoghue/Hughes were able to increase their advantage on the final test to take a 15 second win.

Aaron McElroy guided Circuit Racer Nicole Drought to an impressive 5th overall in their 1 litre Micra, comfortably taking class honours. Emmet Sherry & Ben Kellett had a difficult day at the office with Jack McKenna suffering a hugely disappointing exit before the first selective with mechanical woes. James Kelly/Craig McPhillips & Aiden Sherry/James Sherry enjoyed their day in the Wexford Sunshine.

The Irish Endurance Championship heads next to Munster for the first time with the Regie Tilson Endurance Trial in Cork on Sunday August 4th.

Monaghan’s own Endurance event takes place two weeks later on August 18th.

Josh Moffett & Andy Hayes secured overall victory on the Ravens Rock Rally, Round 5 of the Triton National Rally Championship.

Moffett continued his pursuit of the Triton title with a fourth win from five events and is odds on favourite for the championship.

The 9 stage Waterford based event attracted a smaller than usual National contingent. Moffett & Hayes emerged 18.3 seconds clear of Roy White/James O’Brien to increase their championship lead. 

Moffett was fastest on the opening stage but it was White who moved in front on stages 2 and 3 and arrived at first service with a 2.4 second advantage. The pair were well ahead of the chasing pack led by John Dalton in a Darrian. White hit problems on the second loop with a broken handbrake and losing 5th gear. Moffett surged in front to lead by 24 seconds after six stages. He maintained his advantage on the final loop to secure overall victory.

White took 2nd place with the Escort of Richard Moore in 3rd.
Shane Maguire/Anthony Nestor won the Group N category and finished 10th overall. Aisling McArdle guided Des Lyons to 27th overall and 2nd in class 11F. Michael Conlon/Damien Fleming finished 32nd overall after a troubled event.
Round 6 of the National Rally Championship is the Sligo Stages Rally on Sunday July 14th.
Top 10:
1st Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1hr.06m.39.2s
2nd Roy White/James O’Brien (Ford Fiesta WRC) 1h.06.57.5s
3rd Richard Moore/John McGrath (Ford Escort) 1h.09m.53.1s
4th John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrian T90) 1hr.09.54.4s
5th David Guest/Jonathan McGrath (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1h.10m.34.6s
6th Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell (Mini WRC) 1h.11m.31.6s
7th Keith Power/Tommy Cuddihy (Mitsubishi Evo9) 1h.11m.50.9s
8th Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies (Ford Escort) 1h.12m.02.4s
9th Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Mitsubishi Evo9) 1h.12m.12.9s
10th Shane Maguire/Anthony Nestor (Mitsubishi Evo9) 1h.12m.52.4s

McCarra Tops in Autotest

The annual Monaghan Motor Club Autotest was held in ideal conditions on Sunday 30th June in the Maguire Transport Yard in Ballinode. As a counting round of the Traders Trophy club championship, it attracted the usual championship regulars. With this in mind, Clerk of the Course Brendan Flynn designed the tests to suit the limitations of the cars being used.
Oisin Sherlock got proceedings underway in his green Ford Fiesta followed by Craig McPhillips in his Toyota Starlet, the only two drivers competing in the saloon class. However, it was Kieran McCarra in his Starlet who topped the time charts with fastest time on 5 of the 8 tests to take overall victory on the day. Ciaran Tynan, sharing the same car, was runner-up following a consistent performance throughout the 8 tests.
At the conclusion, COC Brendan Flynn thanked Maguire International for the use of their premises, the Northern Standard for its support and the marshals and officials who worked to ensure a well-run event.
Top Six:
1st Kieran McCarra (Starlet) 326.8 seconds.
2nd Ciaran Tynan (Starlet) 338.6 secs,
3rd Martin Tynan (Starlet) 351.1 secs,
4th David McCrudden (Starlet) 382
5th Oisin Sherlock (Fiesta) 452.6
6th Craig McPhillips (Starlet) 471.6

The Motorsport Community was left shocked and stunned after the tragic death of Manus Kelly at the Donegal International Rally last weekend. Manus was widely regarded as a gentleman and an extremely popular and talented driver. He had won the event for the previous three years and was impressing again as he accustomed to R5 machinery in 2019. Unfortunately Manus sustained fatal injuries in an accident on Stage 15 of the event. His co-driver Donal Barrett was brought to hospital with minor injuries. The event was immediately cancelled as a mark of respect. The members of Monaghan Motor Club would like to extend their condolences to the Kelly family and friends at this time.

It was a sad end to what had been a classic event over the first two days. Sam Moffett & James Fulton were sensationally leading former WRC star Craig Breen in an identical Fiesta WRC. Josh Moffett/Keith Moriarty debuted an R5 Hyundai for the first time and held 2nd place in the R5 class. Niall Maguire/James O’Reilly also secured a top 10 finish in their Subaru. Paul Kelly guided David Condell to 9th overall in the National rally. Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly also won their class.
Autotest

The annual Monaghan Motor Club Autotest is scheduled to take place on Sunday next 30th June. This will be a counting round of the Traders Trophy club championship but will not be a round of the Hewison championship. Clerk of the Course Brendan Flynn has designed a set of tests with the clubman in mind. The venue is the Maguire Transport yard in Ballinode. Competitors must attend at 12.30 for paper scrutiny, with the action getting underway at 1.30pm. Regulations are available on the club website http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net.

Moffett’s Munster Magic

Josh Moffett moved a step closer to the 2019 Triton National Rally Championship thanks to overall victory on Round 4, the Circuit of Munster Rally.

The Limerick based event consisted of nine stages in the East Limerick area. Moffett and co-driver Andy Hayes faced the challenge of the regular National contingent as well as Monaghan winners, Donagh Kelly & Conor Foley.
It proved to be another titanic battle between Kelly and Moffett. It was Kelly & Foley who set the initial pace but a stunning time from Moffett & Hayes on Stage 3 saw them slice 11 seconds off Kelly/Foley to take the lead. Declan & Brian Boyle weren’t far off the pace in 3rd. Boyle upped his pace to score a trio of fastest times and after 6 stages just 4 seconds separated the top three crews.

Moffett/Hayes still had their noses in front but Kelly/Foley and the Boyle’s were tied to the tenth of a second. Stage 7 ended the three way tussle as Kelly/Foley retired with a broken throttle. Moffett/Hayes dug deep to edge out Boyle on stages 7 & 8 and took a huge 15 seconds on the final stage to cement his 3rd win in 4 round of the series. Roy White/James O’Brien completed the podium.
Stephen Wright/Liam Moynihan were a late entry and the pair built their pace throughout the day to finish 6th overall and 1st in class 5. Mac Kierans guided Niall Devine to 10th overall and 1st in Group N. Des Moore & Arthur Kierans drove their unusual 1600T Escort Mk2 to 28th overall. Conor Mohan guided Donagh Kelly’s son, Eamon, to 31st overall and 1st in class 2. Kaine Treaor guided Christopher O’Callaghan to 38th overall and 2nd in class. Aisling McArdle guided Des Lyons to 42nd overall and 2nd in class.
The National Rally Championship looks to be heading back to the Moffett family but the championship is only the halfway mark and a lot can happen yet. The next round is the Waterford based Raven’s Rock Rally at the end of June.

Sam Moffett & James Fulton claimed overall honours on last weekend’s Cavan Stages Rally. The Monaghan-Cavan duo led the event from start to finish in their Fiesta WRC taking the win by 44 seconds from Declan & Brian Boyle’s similar car. 3^rd overall went to Desi Henry/Paddy Robinson who were debuting another Fiesta WRC,

Moffett/Fulton immediately set the pace on the opening stage despite having not been behind the wheel of the WRC spec Fiesta since 2017. Boyle did trim a few second back on stage three but by first service Moffett/Fulton held a 9.3 second lead. Another front runner Gary Jennings retired his Subaru WRC leaving Henry/Robinson in 3^rd as they got used to their new machine. Forestry front runner Cathan McCourt/Barry McNulty switched surface and car for this event and they held 4^th in a Subaru while another new car was being piloted by Joseph McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney who held 5^th. Scotland’s David Bogie/John Rowan led the two wheel drive category.

After Boyle shaved another few seconds off Moffett on stage four, Moffett turned the tide on stage five by going a full 12 seconds faster and added another two seconds on stage six. His lead was further increased after Boyle picked up a 30 second road penalty. Henry, McCourt and McGonigle maintained places while local man Gary Kieran moved into the two wheel drive lead.

The final loop saw Moffett ease home to victory giving his navigator Fulton a win on his home event. The only change in the top five saw McGonigle pass McCourt for 4^th on the final stage after the latter hit problems. Gary Kiernan was the two wheel drive category winner in 6^th place while Aiden Wray won Group N.

Monaghan crews featured throughout the leaderboard. Johno Doogan/Ciaran Marron finished 9^th overall and 2^nd in class 14. They pipped Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips by just 0.3 of a second. Australian based Pauric Duffy & Kevin Glynn finished 12^th overall in their Fiesta. Mac Kierans guided Michael Boyle to 14^th overall and 2^nd in Group N. David Moffett/Martin Connolly finished 16^th overall and 3^rd in class 13.

Martin McPhillips/Ciaran Tynan took 23^rd overall and 4^th in class. Conor Mohan guided Eamon Kelly to 34^th overall and 2^nd in class 2. Sean McCaul/Frank Clerkin were 43^rd overall and 3^rd in class 12. Cathal Sheridan & Peter Deery took 48^th overall and 4^th in class 10.

Retirements included Gary McPhillips/Adam Murray, Jack Maguire/Keith McConnan, Peter Farrell/Ryan Farrell, Martin Tynan/Declan Tynan and Nigel Brennan/Ryan Brennan.

Sherlock guides Butler to Tipp Triumph

Derek Butler & Oisin Sherlock took overall victory on last weekend’s Tipperary Endurance Trial. The pair emerged victorious by 17 seconds after 19 superb selectives in the Mid-Tipperary area. Elsewhere, Robert Graham & Ryan Treanor had a superb run to 4^th overall and 1^st in the Novice class. Mechanical problems dropped Karl O’Donoghue/Evin Hughes to 13^th overall. Dylan Lennon/Sheldon Zuppa were 4^th in class and 16^th overall. Emmet Sherry/Alecia Fox came home 20^th overall. Noel Sherry/Emmet McCooey took 3^rd in their class. Mark Hertherington/John Hetherington took 2^nd in class A1.  Cathal Croarkin/Marco Lennon came home 8^th in class B.