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Michael Carbin & Darragh Kelly moved into the overall lead of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship after taking top points at Round 3, the Tour of the Sperrins Rally. The Maghera-based event consisted of stages at Banagher, Glenshane, Wolf’s Hill and Davagh. Carbin & Kelly took 3^rd overall behind non-registered crews Martin McCormick/Conor McCormick and Derek McGeehan who had Monaghan’s Arthur Kierans navigating.

 

Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane brought their R5 Fiesta home to 7^th overall and 1^st in class. Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips had a busy weekend competing on both the Sperrins and Carlow rallies. They took their Escort to 10^th overall and 3^rd in class. There was disappointment for the Fermanagh/Monaghan pairing of Damien McGauren/Michaela McGinn and the Monaghan/Cork pairing of Derek Mackarel/Daire Hayes who both failed to finish. Robert Moffett & Jason McKenna also failed to finish after putting their Fiesta WRC off the road.

 

Maguire/Sherry Keep National Campaign on Track

 

Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry consolidated 2^nd place in the Irish National Rally Championship at last weekend’s Carlow Stages Rally. The pair completed the nine stage event in 5^th place but 2^nd amongst the registered competitors. Overall honours went to Manus Kelly & Donall Barrett with National Championship leader, Roy White & James O’Brien taking 2^nd place in their Fiesta WRC. Tommy Doyle/Liam Moynihan completed the top three in a one-off drive in a Subaru WRC.

 

Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan brought their Mk2 Escort home 13^th and 3^rd in class 14. Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips swapped the forests of Tyrone for the tarmac of Carlow and came home 14^th overall and 1^st in class 13 to cap off a good weekend. David Moffett & Martin Connolly brought their Starlet home 20^th overall and 3^rd in class 13. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden were one again victorious in class 11R in their Corolla coming home 25^th overall. Martin McPhillips with Gary McNern navigating took 36^th overall and 3^rd in class 11R.

 

Peadar Hurson/Damien Connolly had been challenging for the lead when they were forced to retire with an engine problem on stage 8. Shane Maguire/Mac Kierans were disappointed to retire after the first loop. Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan were in the thick of the fight for the Mk2 challenge trophy until their retirement on stage five. James O’Reilly was sitting with Scotland’s David Bogie. Their event came to an end on stage seven.

 

Tynan Takes Honours at Mayo Autocross

 

Michael Tynan took overall victory on last weekend’s Mayo Autocross. His son Martin also put in a good showing to take 4^th overall, both were driving Mitsubishi Lancers.

 

60^th Anniversary Gala Celebration

 

All roads lead to the Hillgrove Hotel on Saturday next 14th May when Monaghan Motor Club will host a Gala Ball to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The past 60 years will be re-lived by means of displays, videos, history of our members and various memorabilia. Attendees will include members spanning the six decades of Monaghan motorsport. Some last minute tickets are still available from Ronnie Hawe: 086-8277779 or email monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com. This is a night not to be missed!

 

Ballinode’s Conor Foley guided Donegal’s Donagh Kelly to overall victory on last weekend’s Killarney International Rally of the Lakes. The event was Round 4 of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and consisted of sixteen classic stages over Saturday and Sunday. Kelly/Foley continued their unstoppable form which has already claimed wins in Birr and West Cork by making it three wins on the bounce. This was also their second successive win in Killarney.

 

It was Gary Jennings/Rory Kennedy who set the pace on Friday holding a 30 second advantage over Kelly/Foley with the Fiesta R5 of Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble sandwiched between them. A stunning run over the classic Moll’s Gap stage saw Kelly/Foley take 16 seconds out of Jennings/Kennedy who were to go off on the following Ballaghbeama stage. This left Kelly/Foley in the clear as they maintained a comfortable margin over Fisher/Noble finishing 49 seconds clear by the end of the event.

 

It was a mixed weekend for the Moffett family. Josh’s rally came to an end when he went off on Saturday while Sam & co-driver Karl Atkinson finished a strong 3^rd overall. They had been putting the pressure on Fisher/Noble until a stone punctured a tyre, which came off the rim mid-stage. Stephen Wright & Fintan Sherry also put in a fine performance to take 4^th overall and secured some useful points for the Irish Tarmac Championship. Enda Sherry guided Aaron McHale to 7^th overall in their Skoda. Barry McKenna & Arthur Kierans competed in the National Rally. An early off left them running under Rally 2 regulations. They restarted on Saturday evening and came through the Sunday stage to finish 40^th overall and 5^th in class. Liam Bowhan/Martin Connolly were forced into retirement on stage three.

 

In the National rally contested over the same stages, Eugene Meegan, co-driven by Sarah Whelan, had an impressive start to finish victory in his BMW 1.

 

Results

 

International Event:

1 Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley (Ford Focus WRC) 2h 03m 15s,
2 Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 04m 04s,
3 Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 04m 42s,
4 Stephen Wright/Fintan Sherry (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 07m 02s,
5 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 08m 32s,
6 Owen Murphy/Anthony Nestor (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 09m 33s,
7 Aaron MacHale/Enda Sherry (Skoda Fabia S2000) 2h 12m 05s,
8 Callum Devine/Keith Moriarty (Opel Adam R2) 2h 15m 29s,
9 David Guest/Paddy Robinson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 16m 27s,
10 Joe Connolly/Richard Connolly (Ford Fiesta R5) 2h 20m 20s.

National Event:
1 Eugene Meegan/Sarah Whelan (BMW M1) 2h 12m 20s,
2 Jack Newman/Donal Lennon (Ford Escort) 2h 12m 55s,
3 Liam Howlett/Enda Kennedy (Ford Escort) 2h 17m 02s.

 

 

60^th Anniversary Gala Celebration

 

Monaghan Motor Club will host a Gala Ball in the Hillgrove Hotel on Saturday 14th May to celebrate its 60th anniversary. We plan to re-live the past 60 years by means of displays, videos, history of our members and various memorabilia. Attendees will include members spanning the six decades of Monaghan motorsport. Tickets are available from Ronnie Hawe: 086-8277779, email monaghanmotorclub@gmail.com or any committee member. This is a night not to be missed!

 

 

 

Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna made it back to back wins with victory on last weekend’s Monaghan Stages Rally. The pair led the event from start to finish coming home well ahead of the opposition. As in 2015, Josh’s closest challenger was his brother Sam. However, Sam & co-driver, James Fulton were always going to struggle in their R5 specification Fiesta compared to Josh’s WRC version. It didn’t stop them from trying though but they had to settle for 2^nd place. Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry completed the podium positions after another solid run on their home event.

It was Moffett/McKenna who set the pace on the opening 16.40km Tydavnet stage. They were eight seconds clear of Moffett/Fulton with Maguire/Sherry a further four seconds adrift. A light shower of rain had left some slippy patches which could catch out the unwary. Jonathan Pringle/Alan Keena set a scorching time to lead the two wheel drive cars in 4^th overall. Moffett/Fulton were fastest on the short, technical second stage but Moffett/McKenna were unbeatable over the fast flowing third stage at Ballinode.

The leaderboard at first service read Moffett/McKenna, Moffett/Fulton + 14.3 seconds, Maguire/Sherry + 32.2 seconds, Stephen Wright/Fintan Sherry + 51.8 seconds and Pringle/Keena + 54.7 seconds. There was drama in the two wheel drive race when Chris Armstrong & Chris Melly went off over the finish line of stage two and were forced to retire. Less than 20 seconds separated the top six two wheel drive cars which showed just how close the battle for supremacy was. Shane Maguire/Mac Kierans were out in front in the Group N class, opening a 20 second lead over their class rivals.

The top three positions remained unchanged over the second loop of the stages. Moffett/McKenna were fastest on each stage to extend their lead to 25.9 seconds. Jonathan Pringle/Alan Keena climbed to 4^th ahead of Wright/Sherry who were a solid 5^th overall. Dessie Keenan/Conor Foley retired after going off on stage 4 leaving hard-charging Ryan Loughran/Leon Jordan 6^th overall with Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan breathing down their necks. Maguire/Kierans maintained a comfortable Group N lead. Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly were making their first appearance in a Skoda Fabia but their event came to an end on the last corner of stage six.

The final loop resulted in no major changes at the top. Moffett/McKenna reeled off three further fastest times to secure a 2^nd successive Monaghan win. Moffett/Fulton had a great run to 2^nd place in their R5 specification Fiesta.  Maguire/Sherry had a solid run to 3^rd overall, Niall getting the opportunity to rally past his own home this year! Pringle/Keena took a superb victory in the two wheel drive battle. The reigning Border Champions were 30 seconds clear of their nearest rival. Stephen Wright/Fintan Sherry took 5^th overall and 1^st in class 5. Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan were glad to see the finish of their home event for the first time in six years! They came home 6^th overall after edging Ryan Loughran/Leon Jordan by just 1 second! Loughran was unlucky to lose a few seconds at the scene of Dessie Keenan’s demise. Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan, Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O’Neill and Damien Toner/Denver Rafferty completed the top 10, all in class 14 Mk2 Escorts.

Local Performances

David Moffett, with new navigator Ciaran Geaney, finished 12^th overall and 2^nd in class 13. Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly brought their Lancer to 14^th overall and 1^st in class 20 showing their prowess on tarmac as well as on gravel. Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips also switched surfaces to take 15^th overall and 4^th in class 13. Raymond Conlon/Darren McCague were right behind in 16^th overall and 5^th in class 13. Shane Maguire/Mac Kierans took 17^th overall and 1^st in class 4. Roscommon- based Monaghan man, Patrick Brides guided US-based Paul Rowley to 20^th overall and 2^nd in class 5.

Gerard McQuaid/Gary Quinlan finished 21^st overall and 8^th in class 13. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden took 23^rd overall and 1^st in class 11R. Reigning Club Champion Damien Connolly guided Liam Bowhan to 25^th overall and 10^th in class 13. Barry Treanor/Colm Connolly finished 26^th overall and 2^nd in class 11R. Martin & Declan Tynan took their Lancer to 30^th overall and 1^st in class 15. Robert Moffett/Niall Tierney were 31^st overall and 3^rd in class 5 completing a great weekend for the Combilift Rally Team. Damien & Stephen Hagan enjoyed their run in the Daniel McKenna Mk2. They took 32^nd overall and 7^th in class 14.

James McCarville/Emmet Sherry flew through to 34^th overall and 4^th in class 11R. Martin McPhillips/Ciaran Tynan secured 37^th overall and 5^th in class 11R. Gary Cassidy/Paul Kelly came home 50^th overall and 2^nd in class 11F on Gary’s first event. John & Niall Kelly took class 10 honours and 55^th overall. Kevin Treanor guided Gerard Corey to 57^th overall and 4^th in class 12. Father & son team, Gerry & Gavin McGivney took their Escort to 62^nd overall and 14^th in class 13. Jack McKenna guided Terence McCabe to 72^nd overall and 12^th in class 11R. Declan Connolly/Raphael McCaughey finished 78^th overall and 4^th in class 9. Donal Crossan/Ciaran Marron also made the finish after running under Rally 2 regulations.

Martin Swinburne/Gretchen Fegan took 2^nd place in the Junior Rally which was contested over the final six stages of the event, while Shane Cassidy/Calum Maguire took 4^th overall in their Honda Civic.

Retirements

There was disappointment for the following Monaghan crews who failed to make the finish: Dessie Keenan/Conor Foley, Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly, Conor Harvey/Arthur Kierans, Barry McKenna/Evin Hughes, Gerard McFall/Matthew McKenna, Vincent McAree/Andrew Spears, Steven Corey/Declan McKenna, Cathal McGlone/Michael Sheridan, David Smyth/Johnny Rooney, Patrick Corey/Damien McKenna, Sean McCaul/Frank Clerkin, Brendan Treanor/Emmet McCooey, Padraig Connolly/Kaine Treanor, Mark Deery/Peter Deery and Johnny Treanor/Stephen McElroy.

Acknowledgments

At the well-attended prizegiving in the Hillgrove Hotel on Sunday evening, Clerk of the Course Brendan Flynn thanked all who helped make the event such a success. He thanked the residents along the route for their welcome, co-operation and support. Over 200 marshals lined the rally route during the course of the day and they received a special word of thanks a well as the Civil Defence personnel who worked long hours during the event. He had special mention for Monaghan County Council and Monaghan Municipal District who have helped the club to promote and facilitate the rally, which continues to grow in stature. He thanked An Garda Siochana for their help and assistance over the course of the weekend. Their presence was very evident in ensuring that traffic continued to flow despite the heavy volume. There was a final word of thanks to the team at the Hillgrove Hotel for their support, once again ensuring that the Monaghan Stages Rally was another resounding success.

 

 

Monaghan plays host to one of the the biggest annual sporting events in the county with this weekend’s Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally. The event has once again attracted a full entry of 130 cars plus 15 juniors and 1 historic entry. This is a notable success considering the rally is an opt out round of the National Rally Championship this year. The event is once again a counting round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship.

 

Clerk of the Course Brendan Flynn and Deputy COC Thomas Treanor have laid out three new tests in the North Monaghan area. The opening stage includes some classic roads around Tydavnet. Stage two is in the Knockballyroney/Scotstown areas with the third and final stage near Ballinode. Each stage will be completed three times. Centralised service is once again located in the Courthouse Car Park. A brotherly battle is expected at the top of the leaderboard as Josh & Sam Moffett will be pushing their Fiestas to the limit in pursuit of overall honours. Josh & Jason McKenna are defending their crown from last year whilst Sam & navigator Karl Atkinson hope to reclaim victory after wins in 2013 and 2014. Seeded between the two brothers is seven times winner Niall Maguire & four times winning navigator Enda Sherry. This pair are relishing the challenge of their home stages as they pursue their first win since 2010.

 

Kevin Barrett/Declan Tumilty & Stephen Wright complete the top five seeds in a Subaru WRC and Fiesta R5 respectively. The battle for 2 wheel drive honours is set to be the highlight of the event. Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan head the entries at no.6 but any of the top twenty seeds cannot be discounted from setting the pace. Gary Kiernan, Chris Armstrong/Chris Melly, Dessie Keenan/Conor Foley, Brian Brogan/Damien McGettigan, Ryan Loughren and Jonathan Pringle/Alan Keena have all recorded excellent results at different events and come into the event in good form.

 

The likes of Adrian Hetherington, Richard Moffett, Vivian Hamail, Damien Toner, David Moffett, Damien Tourish and Conor Harvey have the potential to be in the thick of the two wheel drive battle also. Shane Maguire/Mac Kierans head the Group N entries where they face a challenge from Trevor Bustard/John McCafferty & Pat Kirk/John McElhinney. Overseas entries are headed by John Stone/Jack Morton in their rare 2.5 litre 4 wheel drive Fiesta. As always there is a strong local entry who will be fighting hard to secure good results on their home event whilst competition will be fierce in each class as a Border Championship round.

 

Safety Message

 

The most important feature of the preparations for the rally is the safety of all concerned. Marshals, Stage Commanders and Officials have been trained accordingly. The Event Safety Plan has been compiled meticulously. What is required is that spectators play their part to ensure the safe running of the event. All are asked to ‘keep the race in its place’ and drive with care to and from the stages. Take time to read the Spectator Safety notice in the rally programme, which provides a guide to safer spectating. Safety is everybody’s business and there is one common ingredient that is essential: common sense.  Spectators are asked to please follow the instructions of the marshals and officials, who are working for your safety. Please also respect private property where you assemble and bring your litter home.

 

Monaghan Motor Club wishes all competitors and spectators a safe and successful rally.

 

 

 

Mixed Success for Monaghan Crews in Cork

 

Ballyvourney, Co. Cork was the venue for Round 2 of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship. Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane put in a good showing in their Fiesta R5 to take 3^rd overall. Robert Moffett is getting the hang of the Fiesta WRC. He and navigator Emmet Sherry came home 8^th overall and 1^st in class. Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly took their Lancer to 10^th overall securing some useful championship points. Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips continued their domination of the 2wd section with 12^th overall and 1^st in class 13. Michaela McGinn guided Damien McGauren to 15^th overall and 2^nd in class 13. Defending Champions, Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna retired their Lancer on stage two as did Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes who went out with a timing belt failure.

 

The Irish Forestry Rally Championship continues with the Tour of the Sperrins Rally in mid-May.

 

Success Here and There

 

Whilst, Josh & Robert Moffett were tackling the forests of Cork, Sam Moffett tried his hand in the Supercar racing class at Mondello Park. Sam produced a great performance to take 2^nd place in one of the races. Derek Mackarel overcame his disappointing retirement in Ballyvourney with 2^nd overall at the Tipperary Autocross in one of the McHale Motorsport buggies. Kieran McCarra was the top Monaghan finisher at the Connaght Multi-Venue Autotest in Sligo, taking a class win and 4^th overall. Eoghan Corr, Oisin Sherlock and Craig McPhillips also contested the event. Meanwhile in Dungannon, Evin Hughes guided Karl O’Donoghue to 9^th overall and 1^st in class in the local Lanes Rally with Fintan Clerkin guiding Graham O’Donoghue to 23^rd overall in the same event.

 

Clontibret driver Josh Moffett & navigator John Rowan became the new leaders of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship thanks to a 4^th place finish on last weekend’s Circuit of Ireland International Rally. The event was a counting round of the European, British and Irish Tarmac Rally Championships and attracted a quality field full of the latest spec R5 rally cars. Moffett/Rowan produced a strong showing to finish 4^th overall behind last year’s winner, Craig Breen, European Champion Katejan Kajetanowicz and Alaister Fisher who all have extensive experience at World Championship level.

 

The opening day comprised stages in the North Antrim area including a 31km stage through Glendun and Torr Head. Moffett/Rowan held a steady 6^th place after day one, three places ahead of brother Sam & his navigator Karl Atkinson. Stephen Wright/James Fulton held 14^th overall in another R5 Fiesta.

 

Day two featured stages in the Downpatrick & Banbridge areas. Moffett/Rowan kept up the pressure on the crews in front moving up to 4^th place. Sam Moffett was forced into retirement after putting his Fiesta up a bank on stage 9. Wright/Fulton also made steady progress up the top 10 eventually climbing to 7^th place by the finish. Moffett/Rowan held onto 4^th place which secured 2^nd place points in the Irish Tarmac Championship and top points in the British Rally Championship. The result leaves them leading the Irish series after three rounds and 2^nd in the British Championship with two rounds completed.

 

The Irish Tarmac Championship continues with the Killarney Rally of the Lakes on the May Bank Holiday weekend while the next round of the British Championship is the Pirelli International Rally.

 

The Circuit of Ireland National Rally ran at the back of the International section. Brendan & JP McAree brought their Porsche home to 43^rd overall. Evin Hughes was navigating for Antrim driver Rodney White but they retired with a broken differential on stage 9 after being as high as 6^th overall.

 

Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally

 

Entries are continuing to pour in for the 2016 Monaghan Stages Rally, which takes place on Sunday 24^th April. The Hillgrove Hotel-backed event is a counting round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. Clerk of the Course Brendan Flynn and his deputy Thomas Treanor have selected three excellent stages, to be run in the usual 3×3 format with centralised servicing in Monaghan town. The official launch took place this week and local accommodation is being booked up rapidly. Entry forms can still be downloaded from monaghanmotorclub.net.