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Derek Mackarel & Muireann Hayes secured overall victory on last weekend’s Drumlin Navigation Trial, which counted as the second round in the National Navigation Championship.

The event is regarded as the pinnacle event in the Navigation Trial calendar and attracted a strong entry of 38 crews.

COC Martin Connolly laid out a tricky 100 mile route in North-East Monaghan. It was the Monaghan/Cork team of Mackarel & Hayes who put it a faultless run to secure overall honours by a five penalty margin. Derek also clinched the Gary Nesbitt Club Navigation Championship. Martin Tynan & Fintan Clerkin secured 2nd overall.

This result gave Martin his first Trader’s Trophy success after coming close over the last number of years while Fintan was the winning navigator in the Gary Nesbitt Championship. Reigning Trader’s champion, Damien Connolly guided Damien Hagan to 3rd overall.

Conditions were clear and dry as crews left Tyholland Community Centre and on to the opening section in the Castleshane & Glaslough areas. The first Speed Regulation Section caught out a few crews including Trader’s contenders, Damien Hagan/Damien Connolly & Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan who dropped 5 and 3 penalties respectively. TP10 was a plot & bash timepoint with the approach and departure reversed. Top seeds, Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy dropped 3 penalties whilst a number of other crews in the Semi-Expert, Novice & Beginner class were also caught out. TP40 was also given at this point on the back of the sheet with some crews failing to notice which gave rise to problems later in the night. TP15 and TP16 involved the use of straight-line and ball & arrow tulips. This was a true test of the navigator and with roads being looped multiple times it was easy to take the wrong route.

After this section just three crews were still on clean sheets.

These were Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes, Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes and Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan.  There was no change amongst the leaders before the petrol halt on the outskirts of Monaghan town. Peter Farrell/Shane Farrell were going well to lead the Semi-Expert class on 7 penalties. Kevin McCormick/David McCrudden (17 penalties) led the Novice class with Paddy Sherlock/Pamela McMahon (25 penalties) held a six penalty advantage in the Beginner’s class.

This showed that the Novice and Beginner crews were able to make the timepoints given the mostly tarmac roads & straight forward navigation sections used. 

The crews advanced to the second half which moved towards Tydavnet and Emyvale before coming back through Glaslough and returning to Tyholland shortly before 2am.

The three-way tie for the lead became a two-way tie when McAdoo/Keenan dropped 1 penalty at TP25, Connolly’s yard. A number of crews were surprisingly caught out on the second Speed Regulation Secttion. TP37, another plot & bash timepoint decided the event. Mackarel/Hayes dropped 1 penalty but Duffy/Hughes fared worse with a wrong approach dropping them out of contention. TP40 which had been given earlier caught out a number of crews. McAdoo/Keenan were the main victims as a wrong approach here cost them 2nd overall. 

This left Mackarel/Hayes clear winners on just 1 penalty. Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin took 2nd overall on five penalties with Damien Hagan/Damien Connolly 3rd overall on six penalties. This secured the Trader’s Championship for Martin after many years of trying.

Duffy/Hughes were a disappointed 4th with their wrong approach costing them the win. 5th overall went to McAdoo/Keenan on 18 penalties total. Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan won the Semi-Expert class and claimed 6th overall on 22 penalties total. Kevin McCormack/David McCrudden won the Novice class and finished 8th overall on 36 penalties. Mark Deery/Patrick O’Leary and Mark Sheridan/Craig McPhillips completed the podium places.  Paddy Sherlock/Pamela McMahon won the Beginners class on an excellent 82 penalties holding off Colm & Mark Mohan who claimed 2nd place on 94 penalties. Aaron Dixon/Dylan Lennon secured a fine 3rd in class on 146 penalties.

COC Martin Connolly thanked all who helped in the running of the event particularly the land-owners and residents along the route.

He also thanked Tyholland Community Centre for the excellent venue and all the marshals who turned out to ensure all timepoints were manned. 

Drumlin Navigation Trial Results

1 Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes (Subaru Impreza) 1 mark,

2 Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin (Subaru Impreza) 5m,

3 Damien Hagan/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza) 6m,

4 Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 15m,

5 Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 18m,

6 Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan (Subaru Impreza) 22m,

7 Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan (Vauxhall Vectra) 25m,

8 Kevin McCormack/David McCrudden (Subaru Impreza) 36m,

9 Mickey Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 44m,

10 Mark Deery/Patrick O’Leary (Subaru Impreza) 49m,

11 Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill (Subaru Impreza) 61m,

12 Mark Sheridan/Craig McPhillips (Subaru Impreza) 67m.

Maguire & Kierans Retain West Coast Rally Title

Shane Maguire & Mac Kierans secured overall victory in the West Coast Rally Championship thanks to a 11th place finish on last weekend’s Kerry Mini Stages Rally. This is Shane’s 4th West Coast title win. Shane took a cautious approach to the event as a solid finish was all that he needed. Kierans, who had travelled through the night from the Drumlin, guided him home.  Anthony Hand & Peter Deery also made the trip down and brought their Escort home in 12th overall and 1st in class 11R. David Smyth/Carmel Tuite finished 36th overall and 3rd in class 11R. Brendan Treanor & Emmet McCooey finished under Rally 2 rules in 54th overall and 5th in class 11R. Daniel Cronin won the event from Jack Newman & Stephen McCann.

Stonebridge driver Derek Mackarel notched up another class win at the Glens of Antrim Forestry Rally on Saturday last 5^th November. Derek, ably navigated by Cork man, Daire Hayes, survived numerous problems to claim the win.

The Glens of Antrim rally consisted of three stages repeated twice in the North Antrim forests. Despite suffering two stage maximums due to a broken rotar arm on stage 1 and a broken wheel on stage six, Mackarel still edged out James Driver’s Peugeot 206 to take the class win and 32^nd overall. Castleblayney’s Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips put in a solid drive to take 9^th overall and 3^rd in class 13.

Local driver Desi Henry in the Skoda R5 was fastest on stage one, but it was Clontibret’s Josh Moffett, navigated by Stephen Thornton who took the lead in his Fiesta R5 after a superb run through the famous Slieveanorra stage. Indeed Josh was to hold a narrow six second lead over the Antrim driver arriving at first service. Josh’s brother Sam had already slid off the road and out of the rally on the third Ballypatrick stage. It was one of those days for the Monaghan team however as next it was Josh’s turn to retire on the second run over Slieveanorra, after sustaining two punctures. That left Henry with a comfortable advantage which he held to the finish to win the rally and the championship.

Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly also retired on a tricky event for the crews which caught out many competitors.

Connolly & McCrudden Collect Border Championship Trophies 

Seamus Connolly & Gary McCrudden collected their trophies as overall champions of the 2016 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship on Saturday night last. The gala Prizegiving was held in the Sligo Park Hotel.  

The Monaghan duo have been regular challengers for overall honours over the past few years and in 2016 they had a near-perfect year to finally clinch the overall title. Their exciting driving style and commitment has made them and their iconic red Corolla very popular with spectators.

They dominated class 11R right from the opening round in Mayo and further class wins in Monaghan, Cavan & Galway secured the overall title with a round to spare. The pair also won their class in the National Rally Championship in impressive fashion to complete a fabulous year for the Monaghan men.

John & Niall Kelly put another Monaghan Toyota in the overall honours thanks to their exploits in class 10. The former Border champions took class wins in Monaghan, Galway & Donegal. They were also 2^nd in class in Mayo. John claimed the 3^rd overall driver award with Niall 2^nd overall navigator.

Shane Maguire/Mac Kierans were the class 4 champions, Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry won class 7, Padraig Connolly was 3^rd driver in class 10 & Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan were runners-up in Class 14.

Drumlin Navigation Trial 

All eyes turn to Tyholland Community Centre for this weekend’s Drumlin Navigation Trial. COC Martin Connolly has planned a 100 mile route which is sure to be a test for all crews. The event is a counting round of the National & Border Night Navigation Championships. It is also the final round of the Gary Nesbitt & Trader’s Trophy Championships. Martin Tynan leads the Trader’s Trophy points table but he has Ciaran Tynan & Damien Connolly also in the hunt for honours.

Marshals are required for this event and those available are asked to attend at Tyholland Community Centre at 8pm.

 

Clones driver Michael Tynan has won the 2016 Mayo Autocross Championship. The championship was initially to consist of four autocross events in Mayo but it was later reduced to just two events following the cancellation of two rounds. Michael won the opening round in May and followed it up with a 4^th place finish in June. Michael’s son, Martin, finished runner-up. Just one point separated them after Martin was 4^th in the May event and 2^nd in June.

GSMC Mini Stages Rally

 

Maurice Moffett & Martin Connolly claimed 16^th overall on last weekend’s GSMC Mini Stages Rally. The event which was a counting round of the Midlands East Rally Championship consisted of two stages repeated three times based out of the town of Baltinglass in Wicklow.

Carrickmacross duo Donal Crossan/Padraig Doogan finished 34^th overall in their Escort with Ballybay’s Brendan Keenan/Sean Lynch 56^th overall. Paul Kelly was navigating for Carlow’s David Condell but they retired after going 3^rd fastest on stage 1. Johno Doogan/Ciaran Marron retired their Lancer on stage four. The rally was won by Cavan driver Jonathan Pringle in an Escort, who had 31 secs to spare over Kildare driver Ian Barrett.

 

 

Clontibret’s Josh Moffett made a winning return to the Irish forests on last weekend’s Limerick Forestry Rally. Scotstown’s Emmet Sherry was in the navigator’s seat on this occasion. The event was the penultimate round of the Irish Forestry Championship. The pair dominated the event from start to finish, completing the six stages over a minute clear of their nearest rival. This was Sherry’s first overall win, while Josh made it two wins in a row after his success in Cork a fortnight ago.

The writing was on the wall from the opening stage where Moffett took 26 seconds out of everyone. Another blinding time on Stage 3 saw him complete the opening loop 1 minute 16 seconds clear of the opposition. Smithborough’s Michael Carbin & Scotstown navigator, Darragh Kelly, were chasing vital championship points. They were 6^th overall after three stages. Derek Mackarel & Daire Hayes were out front in the Junior class, embarrassing many competitors in their 1600cc Nova.

Moffett/Sherry consolidated their lead over the second loop to take an emphatic victory. Carbin/Kelly’s championship aspirations took a blow after differential failure sidelined them. Mackarel/Hayes secured the Junior class win and 11^th overall. Michael Conlon & Ciaran McPhillips suffered a rare non-finish when they retired on the opening stage.

The Irish Forestry Championship concludes with the Glens of Antrim Rally on 5^th November.

Limerick Forestry Rally Top 10

1 Josh Moffett/Emmet Sherry (Fiesta R5) 45m 20s,

2 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Fabia R5) 46m 23s,

3 Darren McKelvey/Graham Henderson (Lancer Evo 9) 48m 26s,

4 Shane McGirr/Aileen Kelly (Starlet) 48m 31s,

5 Dermot Kelly/Greg Shinnors (Lancer Evo 9) 49m 07s,

6 John Gordon/Thomas Wedlock (Escort) 49m 11s,

7 John Byrnes/Brian Grant (Lancer Evo 8) 50m 16s,

8 David Crossen/Chris McSherry (Escort) 50m 32s,

9 Ian Graham/Liam McIntyre (Lancer Evo 9) 51m 16s,

10 Ed Muldoon/Mark Byrne (Lancer Evo 9) 51m 31s.

Startrek Navigation Trial

 

Whitechurch, Co. Cork played host to the opening round of the 2016-17 National Night Navigation Championship. As always a number of Monaghan club members made the trip south hoping to get their National campaigns off to a good start. COC Aaron O’Regan laid out a challenging 80 mile route including some forestry sections which were popular with the crews.

Defending champions, Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes, led the crews away. A missed slot on a long gravelly lane would prove costly for this crew, resulting in two penalties into TP8. Derek Mackarel, who was to compete in the Limerick Forestry the next day, was joined by local ace Muireann Hayes. This pair also dropped two early penalties but found their footing as the event wore on. Three plot & bash timepoints in the forests of the Nagles Mountain caught out a few crews while even more lost time over the final three timepoints, which incorporated a tulip diagram.

Skibbereen’s Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy took the event win on 4 penalties holding off Mackarel/Hayes by a single penalty. Duffy/Hughes secured 3^rd place on 6 penalties.

Aiden Sherry/Oisin Sherlock had a faultless run in the Novice class taking the class win and 7^th overall. The South-Monaghan pairing of Keith McConnon/Michael McCluskey finished 9^th overall. Peter & Shane Farrell finished 2^nd in the Semi-Expert class, securing some useful championship points. Colm & Conor Mohan took 2^nd in the Novice class, ending their disappointing run of luck in Cork. Martin Tynan/Fintan Clerkin were unfortunate to pick up 50 penalties for a timing error which cost them a top 5 finish. Mechanical problems sidelined Mac Kierans/Conor Boylan & Jonathan Treanor/Christopher McMahon.

The National Championship continues with the Drumlin Navigation Trial on 12^th November.

Cork Startrek Navigation Trial Top 10

1 Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy (Subaru Impreza) 4 marks,

2 Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes (Subaru Impreza) 5m,

3 Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes (Subaru Impreza) 6m,

4 Johnny Casey/Patrick O’Sullivan (Peugeot 306) 7m,

5 Donal Healy/Denis O’Donovan (Subaru Impreza) 7m,

6 Colm O’Mahony/Ken Carmody (Subaru Impreza) 12m,

7 Aidan Sherry/Oisin Sherlock (Subaru Impreza) 14m,

8 Patrick Murphy/Mikey Walsh (Subaru Impreza) 18m,

9 Keith McConnon/Micheal McCluskey (Subaru Impreza) 20m,

10 Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill (Subaru Impreza) 20m.

Down Rally

 

The Castlewellan-based Down Rally was a counting round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship. James O’Reilly was the top finishing Monaghan man, guiding multiple Tarmac & Northern Ireland Champion Derek McGarritty, to 3^rd overall. Mac Kierans, who would make the long trip to Cork after the event, guided Alan Smyth to 8^th overall. Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane had a troubled run to 29^th overall in their R5 Fiesta. Liam McFall/Matthew McKenna failed to finish.

 

Despite a rare non-finish on the final round in Donegal on Saturday last, Monaghan’s Seamus Connolly & Gary McCrudden were confirmed as the new Border Rally Champions. Driving a Toyota Corolla in class 11R, the pair dominated this competitive class throughout the year with their hard-charging and flamboyant style and amassed enough points to secure the overall title even with one round remaining.

The pair picked up class wins in Mayo, Monaghan, Cavan and Galway and a second place finish in Sligo. They have been knocking on the door of the overall Border title over the last few years and it all came together for them in 2016. They also clinched their class in the National Rally Championship.

Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry have secured 3^rd overall in the 2016 Triton National Rally Championship. The duo sealed that position thanks to a 3^rd overall finish on the same event. Maguire/Sherry climbed from 7^th place after the opening loop to 3^rd by the end of the day after some testing stages. The Killybegs-based Martin Howley Donegal Harvest Rally was named in honour of former Donegal club member, Martin Howley, who passed away last year.

Niall’s son Shane was chasing National Group N honours with his navigator Mac Kierans. The pair were involved in a major battle with Tyrone’s Aiden Wray & Kieran McGrath. Wray had his nose in front all day and ended up taking the class win and the championship. Maguire/Kierans tried their best but had to settle for 12^th overall and 2^nd in Group N. Dessie Keenan took the wheel of James McCarville’s Escort with James himself navigating. They flew through the stages to 19^th overall and 1^st in class 11R.

Martin Connolly guided Liam Bowhan to 46^th overall and 12^th in class 13. Paddy O’Reilly/David Fitzsimons were just behind in 47^th overall and 7^th in class 14. John & Niall Kelly finished 64^th overall and 1^st in class 10 securing 3^rd overall driver and 2^nd overall navigator in the Border Championship. Father and Son Team Gerry McGivney & Gavin McGivney came home 68^th overall and 16^th in class. Michael Carbin & Conor Mohan re-entered the event under Rally 2 rules to come home 89^th overall and 4^th in class 20. Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle had a comfortable rally victory in their Fiesta WRC. 

The Prizegiving for the National Championship takes place on November 19^th while the Border Championship prizegiving is on November 5^th.

Donegal Harvest Rally Top 10

1 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Fiesta WRC) 52m 48s,
2 Manus Kelly/Gareth Doherty (Impreza WRC) 54m 28s,
3 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 56m 06s,
4 Gary Kiernan/Ryan Moore (Escort) 56m 15s,
5 Damien Gallagher/Mac Walsh (Escort) 56m 34s,
6 Joe McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney (Fabia R5) 57m 11s,
7 Ryan Loughran/Brendan McElhinney (Escort) 57m 15s,
8 Damien Toner/Denver Rafferty (Escort) 57m 16s,
9 Columba Heena/Michael McClafferty (Corolla) 57m 29s,
10 Aidan Wray/Kieran McGrath (Lancer Evo 10) 57m 41s.

Hughes Wins Irish Endurance Championship

Ballybay navigator Evin Hughes secured 1^st overall in the inaugural Irish Endurance Trial Championship, thanks to a 2^nd place finish with his driver Karl O’Donoghue on the Birr Endurance Trial on Sunday last. The pair recovered from a mechanical delay on the 2^nd selective which saw them pick up a maximum penalty. They then put in a storming drive back through the field in their Toyota Starlet to take a 2^nd place finish which secured them the overall championship laurels. The event was won by Kevin O’Rourke and Dave Ray also in a Starlet.

Market House Exhibition

For its 60th Anniversary Ball, Monaghan Motor Club prepared a pictorial record of the first 30 years from 1956 to 1986. This exhibition is now on public display in the Market House, Monaghan courtesy of Monaghan County Council. The exhibition is from Monday 10^th October to Thursday 20^th October and opening hours are from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm each day from
Monday to Thursday. On Friday 14^th October, opening hours are from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 9pm. The exhibition provides a unique insight into the early days of motorsport in County Monaghan and features details of the achievements of the pioneering motorsport men and women, together with extraordinary photographs of the time. It should prove interesting to both current and previous club members as well as the general public with an interest in the history of Monaghan and motorsport in particular.