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South Monaghan crew Keith McConnan/Micheal McCluskey took a dominant victory on last Saturday’s Navigation Trial. The Novice pairing finished over 30 penalties clear of their nearest rivals which secured them their first outright event win. The event was the final round of both the National & Border Night Navigation Championships.

Defending Gary Nesbitt Club Champions, Laurence Keenan & Ashley McAdoo were COC & ACOC respectively. The pair organised a brilliant 100 mile route through the Lough Egish, Shantonagh, Corduff and Magheracloone areas. The big trick of the night would be on the first SRS. After a plot & bash section the shortest route to the next timepoint passed through the ITC again. All bar one crew would double visit the check resulting in 30 penalty marks being applied to each offender. Eventual winners, Keith McConnan/Micheal McCluskey were the only crew to avoid the double visit at the ITC and by the petrol halt they held a commanding lead on a clean sheet. Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston & Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes held equal 2^nd overall on 31 penalties apiece.

The second half was a tighter affair with the section from TP35 to TP47 being particularly challenging. This also incorporated a Plot & Bash section which would catch the majority of crews out. McConnan/McCluskey held their nerve dropping just three penalties to maintain the lead. Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes moved into a clear 2^nd place on 36 penalties with Andy Mackarel/Conor Maguire moving up to 3^rd place on 42 penalties. A wrong departure at TP46 dropped Duffy/Johnston to 4^th overall but they were still on course to secure the Border Championship.

The leaderboard remained unchanged over the final few timepoints allowing McConnan/McCluskey to secure a well-deserved maiden win. In the Expert class Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes took the win from Mackarel/Maguire & Duffy/Johnston. Cork’s Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy took the Semi-Expert class win from Joe Friel/Eoghan McCarthy & Eoghan Corr/Darragh Kelly. Derek Mackarel/Seamus McTigue won the Novice class from Mark. Deery/Patrick O’Leary and Johnny Casey/Patrick O’Sullivan. Ciaran Sheridan/Conor Boylan dominated the Beginner’s class and finished an excellent 6^th overall to the embarrassment of many of the more experienced crews. Colm Mohan/Conor Mohan took another fine result with 2^nd in class with Paddy Sherlock/Oisin Sherlock coming home in 3^rd.

That’s the final Navigation Trial until October. Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes have won the National Championship and Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston have retained their Border title. Details on the prizegiving for each championship will be released in the coming weeks. The next round of the Monaghan Traders Club Championship will be the Stages Rally on April 26^th.

Moffett/McKenna take 2^nd on Donegal Forestry

 

Josh Moffett made the switch from his Fiesta WRC and Tarmac to his Group A Lancer and Gravel inside a week to compete on last Saturday’s Donegal Forestry Rally. The event was the second round of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship. Josh also switched navigator to his usual forestry co-driver Jason McKenna. The pair were on the pace from the start moving from 4^th to 2^nd overall as the day progressed. They eventually finished 2^nd, just 7.1 seconds behind overall winner Andrew Purcell.

Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips finished as the top two wheel drive finishers for the 2^nd consecutive event. The pair were involved in a close battle with Antrim’s David Crossan and actually started the final stage tied on equal times. When Crossan’s Escort got stuck in 4^th gear, Conlon/McPhillips sealed the two wheel drive honours and 5^th overall. Michael McGinn guided Fermanagh’s Damien McGauren to 10^th overall and 3^rd in class 13 in his Corolla. Derek Mackarel/Mark Deery finished 16^th overall and 2^nd in the Junior class in their Nova, continuing their fine start to the year. Out of luck were Enda McNulty/Paul Sheridan who retired from 5^th place on stage 3. The next round of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship is the Moonraker Forestry Rally in Ballyvourney, Cork on April 12^th.

Midland Stages Rally

 

The Triton Showers National Rally Championship continues with the Midland Stages Rally on Sunday next 29^th March.  The nine stage event will be based out of Roscommon and it has attracted a full entry plus reserves. Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry are the top Monaghan seeds at No.5 and will be hoping to continue their early season form. Damien Connolly is navigating for Peader Hurson at No.8. Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan are at No.16, Shane Maguire/Stephen Thornton at 21, Arthur Kierans navigating for Simon Chapman at 29, Michael Carbin/Emmet McCooey are at 33 and David Moffett/Fintan Sherry are No.38. The other Monaghan entries are Jim McKenna/Thomas Treanor, Jack Maguire/Andy Hayes, Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden, Barry Treanor/Gregory McQuillan, Johno Doogan/Padraig Doogan  and Martin McPhillips/Ciaran Tynan. Paul Crosby/Martin Swinburne and Stefan McCann/Stephen McElroy are entered in the Junior class. Full Report next week.

Circuit of Ireland Marshals

 

As a counting round of the European Rally Championship, the Circuit of Ireland Rally has attracted a bumper entry of International drivers for the 2 day event at Easter. Marshal Reward Packs available and a training course has been arranged on 30^th March at 8pm in Lisburn Civic Centre. Those available to help out on either Friday 3^rd or Saturday 4^th April are asked to contact Paul on 086-2571401.

 

Upcoming Events:

April 3^rd-4^th Circuit of Ireland Rally

April 12^th Munster Forestry Rally

April 19^th Circuit of Kerry Rally

April 26^th Monaghan Stages Rally

May 2^nd-3^rd Killarney International Rally

There were excellent results for Monaghan crews on last weekend’s West Cork Rally, Round 2 of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Sam Moffett & co driver Karl Atkinson took a fine 2^nd overall in their Fiesta WRC with Stephen Wright & co driver Mickie Galvin right behind in 3^rd overall in their R5 specification Fiesta.

The two day event was based around the town of Clonakilty with eight stages on Saturday and six stages on Sunday. Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson slotted into an early 2^nd place behind the flying Ford Focus of Donagh Kelly, a place he would hold for the rest of the event. Sam’s brother Josh was also competing in a Fiesta WRC. He held 4^th overall until an ignition problem ended their event on stage 7. They later rejoined the event on day two.

By the end of the opening day, Moffett trailed Kelly by 48 seconds. Stephen Wright was getting to grips with his recently acquired Fiesta R5. He was leading his class and 5^th overall overnight. Day two followed the pattern of day one with Moffett unable to make any inroads to Kelly’s lead. Sam eventually settled for 2^nd overall which was enough to move into 2^nd place in the Irish Tarmac Championship. Stephen Wright benefited from retirments ahead to move into 3^rd place overall as well as securing a convincing victory in the R5 class.

Furher down the field, Stephen Thornton guided Vivian Hamill to 16^th overall and 5^th in class 14. Josh Moffett/John Rowan salvaged 18^th overall after setting some impressive stage times on day two. John McQuaid/James McCarville were unable to start the event. The third round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship will be the Circuit of Ireland Rally on Easter weekend.

Bishopscourt Stages Rally

 

Two Monaghan navigators made the trip north for the Bischopscourt Rally on Saturday. Damien Connolly was navigating for Peader Hurson and they brought their Subaru WRC home to 4^th overall. Mac Kierans guided Alan Smyth to 13^th overall in their Citroen C2 and finished 3^rd amongst the R2 class competitors.

Monaghan Navigation Trial

 

All roads lead to Aughnamullen for the final round of the National & Border Navigation Championship on Saturday night. COC Laurence Keenan and ACOC Ashley McAdoo are organising the final Navigation Trial until October and the pair hope to have a 100 mile route which will surely be a challenging test for competitors. Marshals are required for this event and anyone available should meet at the Community Centre, Aughnamullen at 8pm.

Donegal Forestry Rally

 

Round 2 of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship takes place on Saturday with the re-arranged Donegal Forestry Rally. Entries are still be received for this event but a number of Monaghan crews are expected to make the start. Six stages are on the agenda to be held in the Pettigo area. Full Report next week.

Stage Commander Training

 

A Motorsport Ireland Stage Commander training course will be held in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan on Thursday 19^th March with sign-on at 7.45 for an 8pm start. This course is compulsory for those seeking a Stage Commander’s licence. It is also required as a refresher course for those licence holders who last attended this course 3 years ago or more. Newcomers who attend will be able to obtain their full Stage Commander licence, once they have officiated as Deputy Stage Commander at two events, or have previously officiated in this role.

The course is approximately two and half hours long and will cover a number of topics, including Public Relations, Reconnaissance, Stage set-up and Accident Management.  We would encourage any experienced marshal interested in progressing in rally management to attend this course, which is free of charge.

Upcoming events:

March 29^th Midland Stages Rally

April 3^rd-4^th Circuit of Ireland Rally

April 12^th Munster Forestry Rally

April 19^th Circuit of Kerry Rally

April 26^th Monaghan Stages Rally

 

Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry claimed overall victory on last weekend’s Mayo Stages Rally. The pair led the event from start to finish, completing the nine stages one minute clear of their nearest rival. This result followed a podium finish in Birr in what has been an excellent start to the year for the Ballinode duo. Frank Wray/Joe McNulty and Aaron McHale/Paul McGee completed the podium finishers.

The Ballina based Mayo Rally was the opening round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. A loop of three stages in the Killala area repeated three times was the format of the day. Maguire/Sherry took the lead on the opening stage and never looked back, maintaining a comfortable advantage for the rest of the day. Niall’s son Shane capped off a great weekend for the Maguire team as he and co-driver Stephen Thornton finished 4^th overall and 1^st in Group N. Defending Border Champions, David Moffett & Fintan Sherry made the switch to class 13 this year and much like their dominance of class 11R last year, they led the class from start to finish taking 6^th overall to boot.

Mark Tierney guided Brian Armstrong to 2^nd in class 12 and 13^th overall in their Mk2 Escort. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden made it two class 11R wins in a row and were 17^th overall to boot. Mark Hamill guided Cavan’s Brendan O’Reilly to 34^th overall and victory in class 9. Brendan McAree/Johno Doogan brought their immaculate Porsche 911 to 47^th overall and 9^th in class 14. Declan Connolly/Alison Hughes finished 50^th overall and 2^nd in class 9 bagging some useful Border points. Vincent McAree/Martin Connolly rejoined the event under Super Rally rules after retiring on stage 2. They managed to get the car repaired and back out on the last loop and eventually finished 59^th overall and 3^rd in class 13. Fintan Lennon guided Cavan’s Paul Crosby to victory in the Junior class.

Out of luck were Michael Carbin/Emmet McCooey who retired their Mitsubishi Lancer on stage 2. Sean McCaul/Frank Clerkin were lying 4^th in class before their event came to end on stage 5. Johnny Treanor/Adrian Foley were leading class 9 but would retire on the final stage. Martin Swinburne/Gretchen Fegan were competing in the Junior class but after an up and down day, they too would retire on stage 6 whilst lying 5^th in class.

West Cork Rally

 

A small number of Monaghan competitors are entered for next weekend’s West Cork Rally, round 2 of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Sam and Josh Moffett are both on the entry list at No.4 and No.6 respectively. Stephen Wright is listed at No.9 in his Ford Fiesta R5. John McQuaid/James McCarville are at No.42 in their Mk2 Escort and Mac Kierans is navigating for Brendan McDaid at no. 65. Full Report on their progress next week.

Upcoming Events:

March 21^st Donegal Forestry Rally

March 21^st Monaghan Navigation Trial

March 22^nd Cavan Autocross

March 29^th Midland Stages Rally

April 3^rd/4^th Circuit of Ireland Rally

April 12^th Munster Forestry Rally

Michael Conlon & Ciaran McPhillips were top 2wd drive finishers and an impressive 5^th overall on last Sunday’s Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally. The pair led the 2wd crews from start to finish on the six stage event to begin their Valvoline Forestry championship campaign in perfect style.

Elsewhere in the event, Clontibret’s Michaela McGinn guided Fermanagh’s Damien McGauran to 19^th overall and 3^rd in class 13. Derek Mackarel & Peter Deery made the overnight trip down after competing on the Cavan Navigation Trial the previous night. They showed no ill effects as they guided their Nova to 25^th overall and 4^th in the Junior class. The Championship continues with the Donegal Forestry Rally which has been re-arranged for Saturday March 21^st.

Cork Crew Seal the Deal on Cavan Navigation Trial

 

The Cork Semi-Expert pairing of Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy upstaged the locals by taking overall honours on last Saturday’s Cavan Navigation Trial. The event was the penultimate round of the National & Border Night Navigation Championships. COC Damien McCabe laid out a challenging 75 mile route based around the village of Maudabawn. It the end it was the Cork pairing who took the event win from Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan on a tie-break.

A plot & bash section between TP2 and TP6 proved to be very challenging with any mistakes likely to be punished by wrong approach/double visit penalties. Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes and Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston, who were battling for both the National & Border titles, moved into an early lead and by TP22 not one penalty would separate them. Joining them in the lead were Novice pairing Keith McConnan/Micheal McCluskey who were having a terrific run to be down just 2 penalties by TP22. Dermot Whelton/Mark McCarthy held 4^th place but were already six penalties adrift of the leading trio.

The event is never over until its over and dramatically all three leading crews would drop out of the lead over the last four timepoints. TP29 would be the undoing of Duffy/Hughes who were caught with a wrong approach. Duffy/Johnston got TP29 ok but would then wrong approach at TP30. This left McConnan/McCluskey holding the lead but they forgot to visit Via4 which had been issued earlier. Upon realising their mistake and re-routing to visit the Via, they dropped 9 penalties into TP32 thus dropping them from 1^st to 3^rd overall. All this left Whelton/McCarthy clear to take the win on 12 penalties on the furthest cleanest rule from fellow Semi-Expert pairing Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan. McConnan/McCluskey finished 3^rd overall and 1^st in the Novice class.

Donegal’s Rory Coyle/Ciaran Coyle won the expert class after winning a three-way tie with Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan and Joe Shinnors/Greg Shinnors. Joe Friel/Eoghan McCarthy & Matt Hume/Enda Hume finished 2^nd and 3^rd Semi-Expert respectively. Local crew Thomas & Andrew Wedlock took 2^nd in the Novice class and 4^th overall with Derek Mackarel/Seamus McTigue finishing 3^rd Novice. Ciaran Sheridan/Conor Boylan won the Beginners class with Philip Smith/Conor Smith and Colm Mohan/Conor Mohan completing the top three finishers.

The final round of both the National & Border Night Navigation Championships will be held in Monaghan on March 21^st. Laurence Keenan & Ashley McAdoo will be running this event. Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes hold the advantage in the race for the National title while the Border Championship looks like a shoot-out between Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston & Laurence Keenan.

 

 

Mayo Stages Rally

 

The 2015 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship kicks off this weekend with the Mayo Stages Rally on Sunday. Defending champions, David Moffett & Fintan Sherry are among a number of Monaghan crews set to compete on this event. The event will again be based in Ballina with three new stages selected for this year giving a total competitive distance of 116 km. Full Report on this event next week.

Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship

The committee of the Border Rally Championship are delighted to confirm that Sligo Pallets will return as title sponsors for the 2015 Border Rally Championship. This partnership, which began in 2011, has seen the Championship grow in stature and entrance levels increase over the previous years. It is hoped this trend will continue in 2015.

The Championship will revert to a six round series in 2015 with the addition of the Galway Summer Rally in late August. It was felt by many crews that there was too long of a gap between Sligo & Donegal, so Galway in late August was the ideal candidate to fill this void. The committee look forward to welcoming Galway to the fold this year. Due to the new round, competitors will now count their best four scores from six events. Classes will be as per 2015 Motorsport Ireland regulations.

The dates for the 2015 championship rounds are:

March 8^th Mayo Stages Rally

April 26^th Monaghan Stages Rally

May 23^rd Cavan Stages Rally

July 11^th Sligo Stages Rally

August 30^th Galway Summer Rally

October 10^th Donegal Harvest Rally

Upcoming Events:

March 14/15^th West Cork Rally

March 21^st Monaghan Navigation Trial

March 21^st Donegal Forestry Rally

March 22^nd Cavan Autocross

March 29^th Midland Stages Rally

April 4^th-5^th Circuit of Ireland Rally

Niall Maguire & Enda Sherry secured a fine 3^rd overall on last weekend’s Birr Stages Rally, the opening round of the 2015 Triton Showers National Rally Championship. Heavy rain during the day left the stages in a trecherous state, but the pair held it all together to secure a podium finish whilst many of their rivals floundered in the conditions. Donagh Kelly & Kevin Flanagan followed up their win on the Galway International by winning in Birr after Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle punctured on stage 7. Gary Jennings/Rory Kennedy secured 2^nd overall and won the inaugural power stage, earning themselves three additional points.

Shane Maguire/Stephen Thornton capped off a good weekend for the Triton Showers/Maguire International team with 13^th overall and 4^th in Group N. The pair were beginning the defence of their National Group N title and a steady approach paid off with some useful championship points in the bag. Jim McKenna/Thomas Treanor finished 19^th overall and 3^rd in class 14 in their Mk2 Escort after a fun day fighting for traction out of the junctions. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden took 27^th overall and 1^st in class 11R after leading the class from start to finish. The pair got the jump on their rivals on stage 2 and were able to maintain that advantage until the end of the day.

James McCarville was in the navigator’s seat for Armagh’s Darren Gass. The pair were competing in the McKinstry hire S14 WRC Subaru and held 3^rd overall until the half shaft let go bringing their event to a premature end on stage 7. Arthur Kierans was navigating for cross channel visiter Simon Chapman. Their rare Proton Satria was well within the top 10 overall but their rally came to an end after an off on the final stage. Emmet Sherry, competing in his 2^nd event in two days, was calling the notes for Laois’ John Lynch. Unfortunately they retired on stage 5.

The National Rally Championship continues with the Midland Stages Rally on Sunday, March 29^th.

Monaghan Crews Out of Luck on Spring Rally

 

It was a tough day for Monaghan competitors on Omagh Motor Club’s Spring Rally based in the forests around Fivemiletown. Josh Moffett & Jason McKenna were expected to be one of the top runners but their Lancer was sidelined by mechanical problems on stage 2. Emmet Sherry was navigating for rising Fermanagh star, Jon Armstrong. The pair were in the battle for the rally lead but their car slipped off the road and got stuck in a drain on stage 6. Enda McNulty/Paul Sheridan were also among the front running crews until their event came to an end on stage 5 whilst holding 3^rd overall.

Alan Smyth/Mac Kierans were forced out with drive-shaft failure on stage 6 and Damien McGauren/Michaela McGinn were forced to retire on the same stage after going off the road. Suspension failure sidelined Derek Mackarel/Raymond Conlon while holding 3^rd in class, with Adam Bustard/Matthew McKenna retiring on the event’s final stage. Gregory McDaid/Stephen Tierney made it as far Stage 2 before their event came to an end.

Cavan Navigation Trial

 

The penultimate round of the National & Border Night Navigation Championships takes place this Saturday night 28^th February. Cavan Motor Club are hosting the event with Damien McCabe acting as COC. The familiar surrounds of Maudabawn is the venue for the night and approximately 75 miles are in store for competitors. Full Report next week.

Carrick-on-Suir Forestry

 

The Irish Forestry Rally Championship kicks off this Sunday with the Willie Loughman Memorial event organised by Carrick-on-Suir Motor Club. A number of Monaghan crews are expected to head down to this event. Full Report next week.

Forthcoming Events:

March 8^th Mayo Stages Rally

March 14^th-15^th West Cork Rally

March 21^st Donegal Forestry Rally

March 21^st Monaghan Navigation Trial

March 22^nd Cavan Autocross

March 29^th Midland Stages Rally