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Last Saturday saw the running of the Omagh-based Bushwhacker Rally, a counting round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship. The all-gravel event consisted of 11 forestry stages. James O’Reilly, fresh off his Isle of Man appearance, guided former Tarmac and multiple Northern Ireland Rally Champion, Derek McGarritty, to 10^th overall in a WRC Fiesta. Mac Kierans guided Alan Smyth to 22^nd overall and 1^st in class in a Suzuki Swift.  Elsewhere there were disappointments for Andrew Grennan & Emmett Sherry. Grennan, who was navigating for Vivian Hamill in his newly built Mk2, retired with a broken wheel. Emmett Sherry, who was co-driving for Tommy O’Connell, retired on Stage 9 when a belt came off.

October Navigation Trial

The Night Navigation season begins this weekend with the October Navigation Trial taking place on Saturday 1^st October. Donal McArdle is taking on the role of COC for this event which is a counting round of the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship and Trader’s Trophy. The Sliabh Beagh Hotel, Knockatallon is the venue for the night. Regulations and Entry forms are available on www.monaghanmotorclub.net 

Potential competitors are also asked to review the new regulations for the coming season with new  requirements on car eligibility. The new regulations are available on the Motorsport Ireland website under 2016 Yearbook Amendments, Articles 33 and 34.

Marshals are required for this event and all those available are asked to attend at the Sliabh Beagh Hotel by 8pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Josh Moffett was robbed of a potential victory on last weekend’s Clare Stages Rally after suffering a puncture whilst leading. The event was the penultimate round of the 2016 Triton National Rally Championship. Josh, who had James Fulton on the notes, had taken the lead with a stunning time over the trecherous opening stage. He was 18 seconds quicker than anyone else in his R5 Fiesta. He reported being able to find grip despite the wet conditions. Declan Boyle rapidly reduced the defecit on stage four before Moffett clipped a rock on stage five which dropped him fourty-five seconds in arrears. Over the closing stages he was involved in a close battle with National Champion Roy White for 2^nd place but ended up missing out by just five seconds.

Stephen Wright with new navigator, Keith Moriarty took 4^th overall in his R5 Fiesta but over two minutes adrift. Brendan Cumisky & Ronan O’Kane finished 5^th overall in another Fiesta. Shane Maguire & Mac Kierans took 2^nd in Group N and 12^th overall in their Lancer. Their battle for National Group N honours will go down to the final round in Donegal. Jack McKenna guided Donegal’s Declan Greene to 25^th overall and 3^rd in class 11R. Martin Connolly guided Liam Bowhan to 31^st overall and 3^rd in class 13.

Arthur Kierans was navigating for Derek McGeehan in a WRC Mini. They retired on the opening stage after smoke filled their car. They re-started under Rally 2 to come home 50^th overall and 3^rd in class 7. Damien Connolly was in the hot seat for Peader Hurson. After launch control issues early on, they retired after a puncture caused them to go off the road on stage four. Emmet Sherry, who was navigating for Barry Ryan, had been battling for two wheel drive honours before they retired on stage seven.

Top 10:

1 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Fiesta WRC) 60m 05s,
2 Roy White/James O’Brien (Fiesta WRC) 61m 02s,
3 Josh Moffett/James Fulton (Fiesta R5) 61m 07s,
4 Stephen Wright/Keith Moriarty (Fiesta R5) 63m 16s,
5 Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane (Fiesta R5) 63m 46s,
6 Chris Armstrong/Chris Melly (Escort) 63m 59s,
7 Trevor Mulligan/Sean Hayde (Escort) 64m 46s,
8 Paul Mackinnon/Ray Fitzpatrick (Impreza WRC) 64m 57s,
9 Damien Gallagher/Mac Walsh (Escort) 64m 59s,
10 Aidan Wray/Kieran McGrath (Lancer Evo 10) 65m 42s.

Moffett misses out on Supercar Championship

 

Sam Moffett capped off a superb debut season on the Tool Dynamic’s Supercar Championship with a 2^nd and 3^rd place finish at the Kildare Motor Club Race Meeting at Mondello. Sam came into the weekend with an outside chance of claiming the overall title. However despite another strong showing it wasn’t enough for Sam to take the championship with Andy O’Brien claiming the title.

 

O’Reilly upholds Monaghan honor on the Manx

James O’Reilly made the trip across the Irish Sea to compete on the International Isle of Man Rally. The Scotstown native was navigating for David Bogie in a R5 Skoda Fabia. The event was the final round of the British Rally Championship and consisted of three days of action including some night sections. They had a testing three days. They dropped from fifth to eight after a delay on stage nine and they eventually finished in 7^th overall.

October Navigation Trial

 

The Night Navigation season is fast approaching with the October Navigation Trial taking place on Saturday 1^st October. Donal McArdle is taking on the role of COC for this event which is a counting round of the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship and Trader’s Trophy. Regulations and Entry forms will be available in the coming week. These will be available on www.monaghanmotorclub.net 

Potential competitors are also asked to review the new regulations for the coming season with new  requirements on car eligibilty. The new regulations are available on the Motorsport Ireland website under 2016 Yearbook Amendments Articles 33 and 34.

Castleblayney’s Michael Conlon & Ciaran McPhillips put in a storming drive to take 5^th overall on last weekend’s Wexford Stages Rally. The two-day event was the final round of the South-East Stages Rally Championship. The pair were in a battle for overall championship honours with Waterford’s Eddie Power in a Corolla WRC.

The pair took the class 13 lead on stage two and maintained their advantage throughout the two days. They were 7^th after the opening day’s nine stages and climbed to 5^th overall on day two. They took the class win by over two minutes in the end. Despite their strong performance it wasn’t enough for Conlin to claim championship honours with Power taking the title on dropped scores. However, Conlon’s navigator Ciaran McPhillips secured the overall navigator title.

Thomas Treanor was sitting with Graham Kelly in 2.5 Ltr Ford Fiesta. The pair were unfortunate to retire on the opening stage but were able to re-enter under Super Rally rules, making steady progress to 42^nd overall by the finish. James McCarville with Donegal’s Paddy McCrudden on the notes also made the trip south. They were 2^nd fastest in class on stage one but lost several minutes on stage two before retiring completely on stage five.

 

Navigation Trial Classes

The Navigation Trial season is fast approaching and the Motor Club are gearing up for that all important kick off – the navigation classes! If you have a motor sport interest of any kind the Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct ‘foundation’ to this sport. The scheduled classes will cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations and pace notes for stages rallies.

The classes continue this Friday 16^th September at 8pm sharp in the excellent facilities of the Sean Mac Diarmada complex in Threemile House. All interested persons should contact Fintan Clerkin 087 2297024 and register your position on the classes. Registration on the night will also include club membership, maps, romer and all necessary paperwork to complete the 6 week course.

The first event after the summer break is the October Trial on Saturday 1st . COC for the event is Donal McArdle and we look forward to this.

 

There was a sensational finish to the Lakelands Stages Rally, based in Enniskillen on Saturday last 3^rd Sept. In a first for Irish Rallying, two brothers finished with identical times for first position. There has never been much to separate Clontibret brothers Sam & Josh Moffett on either Tarmac or Gravel. On this occasion, not even a second could spilt them after eight challenging stages in the Fermanagh woods. A tie-breaker was used to determine the winner with Sam getting the nod.

 

The Enniskillen Motor Club event counted as Round 5 of the Valvoline-sponsored Irish Forestry Championship.   The Moffett brothers began as they would finish, equal on the opening stage, 1 second behind Mark Donnelly’s Subaru. Sam was fastest on stage 2 to take the lead which would be crucial at the end of the day. After the opening loop of four stages, Sam held a two second lead over Josh whilst Donnelly had dropped back due to a puncture. Sam looked to have held off Josh’s attack by moving four seconds clear going into the final stage. A sensational time for Josh saw him take back four seconds in three miles to tie with Sam. The winner was determined on countback as to who was fastest over the first stage. As they were equal on that stage, it went to the second stage where Sam was faster. This allowed Sam & co-driver, James Fulton, to make it back-to-back wins in Enniskillen. Josh & Jason McKenna had to settle for 2^nd overall with Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty well adrift in 3^rd overall.

 

There was disappointment for Irish Forestry Championship leaders, Michael Carbin & Darragh Kelly, who slid off the road on stage seven. This result drops them to second in the championship behind Cork’s Gerard Lucey with two rounds to go. James O’Reilly guided Kenny McKinstry to 8^th overall in their Subaru WRC. Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips were another crew to fall victim to the Fermanagh woods, as a broken wheel dropped them to 41^st overall when they had been battling for 2wd honours. Michaela McGinn guided Damien McGauren to 26^th overall in their first run in a BMW 320. Derek Mackarel/Daire Hayes had another frought run in their Nova. They lost over a minute fixing a loose coil lead and finished with a broken wheel. They still made it home to 47^th overall and 2^nd in the Junior class.

 

2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship Round Five Results:

1st Sam Moffett / James Fulton Ford Fiesta WRC 38:09.0
2nd Josh Moffett / Jason McKenna Ford Fiesta R5 +0:00.0
3rd Mark Donnelly / Barry McNulty Subaru S9 WRC +0:47.0
4th Desi Henry / Liam Moynihan Skoda Fabia R5 +1:30.0
5th Niall McCullagh / Ryan McCloskey Subaru S14 WRC +2:20.0
6th Martin Cairns / Gary McElhinney Ford Fiesta WRC +2:49.0
7th Jonny Leonard / Jackie Elliott Mitsubishi Evo 6 +2:59.0
8th Kenny McKinstry / James O’Reilly Subaru S14 WRC +3:10.0
9th Gerard Lucey / JJ Cremin Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 +3:37.0
10th Phil Pickard / Simon Pickard Subaru Impreza +3:46.0

 

Navigation Trial Classes

 

The Navigation Trial season is fast approaching and the Motor Club are gearing up for that all important kick off – the navigation classes! If you have a motor sport interest of any kind, the Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct ‘foundation’ to this sport. The scheduled classes will cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations and pace notes for stages rallies.

The classes continue on Friday 9^th September at 8pm sharp in the excellent facilities of the Sean Mac Diarmada complex in Threemilehouse. All those interested should contact Fintan Clerkin 087 2297024 to register for the classes. Registration on the night will also include club membership, maps, romer and all necessary paperwork to complete the 6 week course.

The first event after the summer break is the October Navigation Trial on Saturday 1st October. COC for the event is Donal McArdle and we look forward to what should be an exciting start to the navigation season.

 

Maguire & James O’Reilly survived last stage drama to win the Gort-based Galway Summer Rally on Sunday last 28^th August. The event was the penultimate round of the 2016 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. The pair had led from the opening stage piloting a Subaru S12B WRC. They were fastest on each of the first seven stages and built up a lead of over a minute before drama struck on the final stage. A puncture almost cost them dearly but they survived and held onto their overall lead. In the end, only 4.7 seconds separated them and their nearest rival Gary Kiernan in his Escort.

 

Shane Maguire & Mac Kierans made it a double success for the Maguire family with overall honours in Group N and 14^th overall. They held off the challenge of their main rival, Cathan McCourt. The Monaghan pair snatched the advantage on the opening loop and were able to maintain a 15-20 second gap for the remainder of the day. Paul Kelly joined forces with Limerick’s Paul Purtill once again. The pair pushed hard throughout the day to come home 8^th overall and 1^st in the very competitive class 13. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden returned to the top of class 11R, taking a dominate two minute win. This leaves them on course for a Border & National championship class double. John & Niall Kelly took class 10 honours after a thrilling battle with Donegal’s Shane Carr. The Kellys came out on top by just 8 seconds and finished 44^th overall.

 

Not so fortunate were the fellow Corolla team of Raymond Conlon/Darren McCague, who failed to complete the opening stage.

 

Galway Summer Stages Rally Top 10

 

1 Niall Maguire/James O’Reilly (Impreza WRC) 61m 55s,
2 Gary Kiernan/Ryan Moore (Escort) 62m 00s,
3 Paddy McVeigh/Gary McElhinney (Impreza WRC) 62m 02s,
4 Brian Brogan/Damien McGettigan (Escort) 62m 11s,
5 Damien Toner/Denver Rafferty (Escort) 62m 14s,
6 Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O’Neill (Escort) 62m 33s,
7 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Lancer Evo) 62m 37s,
8 Paul Purtill/Paul Kelly (Escort) 62m 47s,
9 Paul Curley/Jason Ollerenshaw (Impreza) 62m 47s,
10 Russell Woods/Martin Byrne (Escort) 62m 58s.

 

Navigation Trial Classes

 

The Navigation Trial season is fast approaching and the Motor Club are gearing up for that all important kick off – the navigation classes! If you have a motor sport interest of any kind, the Navigation Trials are the best form of obtaining the correct ‘foundation’ to this sport. The scheduled classes will cover the full range of topics including map reading, timing, car regulations and pace notes for stages rallies.

The classes will start on Friday 2^nd September at 8pm sharp in the excellent facilities of the Sean Mac Diarmada complex in Threemilehouse. All those interested should contact Fintan Clerkin 087 2297024 to register for the classes. Registration on the night will also include club membership, maps, romer and all necessary paperwork to complete the 6 week course.

The first event after the summer break is the October Navigation Trial on Saturday 1st October. COC for the event is Donal McArdle and we look forward to what should be an exciting start to the navigation season.