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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

Derek Mackarel got the better of his father Andy to take top spoils in the club section of last weekend’s autotest in Wright’s Quarry, Swans Cross sponsored by the Nothern Standard. The event was round 2 of the 2015 Trader’s Championship. Derek was fastest over all 9 tests to take victory by fifty seconds. Things were a lot closer in the battle for 2^nd place as only eight seconds separated the next five competitors. Andy Mackarel took second place just ahead of Martin Tynan with Damien Connolly, Richard Cassidy & Martin Connolly completing the top six.

The main Hewison Trophy section of the event was won by Steven Ferguson in his Mini Special. Multiple Champion, Eamonn Byrne took 2^nd place with David Thompson 3^rd overall in his Nova. This result secured Steven his fifth Hewison title. The class winners were Eamonn Byrne, Patrick Power, Timmy Lynch and David Thompson.

COC Brendan Flynn would like to thank all the marshals who turned out on the day as well as the Wright family for the use of their facilities.

Duffy/Johnston take spoils on Midland Navigation Trial

 

Colin Duffy & Sam Johnston took overall honours on last Saturday’s Midland Navigation Trial, a counting round of the National, Border and Munster Navigation Championships. Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes laid out a challenging 80 mile route through North Longford and South Leitrim. It was the reigning National Champions, Duffy & Johnston who took a convincing win in the end from Aaron Duffy/Laurence Keenan who edged out Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan for 2^nd on the ‘Semi beat Expert’ rule.

Crews were in trouble as early as Via1, with no fewer than 22 out of the 34 starters taking a wrong departure. More trouble lay ahead on Plot & Bash at TP6 & TP7 where even the eventual winners were caught out with a wrong approach. By the first time relax section outside Arvagh, Michael & Ciaran Tynan led on 14 penalties, Colin & Sam were 2^nd on 27 penalties and Cork’s David Beamish/Muireann Hayes were 3^rd on 28 penalties.

By the 2^nd TRS at TP26, The Tynan’s still led but another tricky Plot & Bash sections from TP27 to TP30 would dramatically change the leaderboard with only two crews negotiating all four timepoints successfully. Colin Duffy & Sam Johnston were one of these, which brought them to a total of 30 penalties. Semi-Expert pairing Aaron Duffy/Laurence Keenan climbed to 2^nd place on 75 penalties beating Expert class winners Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan on a tie-break. Rory & Ciaran Coyle were the other crew to get all four timepoints successfully and they climbed to 4^th place on 76 penalties. Owen Murphy/Daire Hayes completed the top five on 80 penalties.

Derek Mackarel/Seamus McTigue took 6^th overall and secured victory in the Novice class from Thomas Wedlock/Andrew Wedlock. Colm Mohan/Conor Mohan took an impressive 14^th overall as well as securing victory in the Beginner’s class from Paddy & Oisin Sherlock.

The next round of the National & Border Championships is the Cavan Navigation Trial on Saturday 28^th February. The National Championship looks a two horse race between Pakie Duffy & Evin Hughes and Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston while Colin & Sam hold the advantage in the Border Championship with the Tynans, Duffy/Keenan and the Coyles still in contention.

 

Open Forum

 

Over 150 people attended the Open Forum in the Hillgrove Hotel last Thursday. A broad range of issues were discussed including safety, competitor input, rule changes, communication and the future of rallying in general. The club would like to thank the delegates from Motorsport Ireland for attending. It is hoped another forum may be organised in the future.

Eurocables Stages

 

A small number of Monaghan crews attended the Eurocables Rally in Kirkistown last Saturday. Stephen Wright debuted his new Ford Fiesta R5 with co-driver Gregory McQuillan. The pair held 5^th place until a technical problem sidelined them on stage 5. Elsewhere, Matthew McKenna guided Brian McFall to 14^th overall while Mac Kierans guided Alan Smyth to 23^rd overall.

Birr Stages Rally

 

The Triton Showers National Rally Championship gets underway this Sunday with the Birr Stages Rally kicking off the series. A full field of 140 enties plus 20 junior crews has already been received with defending champions, Declan & Brian Boyle starting at No.1. There are 4 Monaghan club members seeded in the top 10. James McCarville is sitting with Armagh’s Darren Gass at No. 4, Damien Connolly is with Peader Hurson at No.6 and Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry are at No.10. Shane Maguire/Stephen Thornton, Jim McKenna/Thomas Treanor, Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden and Arthur Kierans are also listed to compete on this event. Full Report next week.

 

Fivemiletown Forestry

 

Omagh Motor Club host their annual Spring Rally based in the forests around Fivemiletown this Saturday. Entries are still being received for this event but a number of Monaghan crews are expected to compete.

 

Upcoming Events:

February 28^th Cavan Navigation Trial

February 28^th ALMC Endurance Trial

March 1^st Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally

March 8^th Mayo Stages Rally

March 14^th/15^th West Cork Rally

Sam & Josh Moffett brought their respective Ford Fiesta WRC’s to 3^rd and 4^th place overall on last weekend’s Galway International Rally. The event was the opening round of the 2015 Tarmac Rally Championship. Sam & co-driver Karl Atkinson were involved in a rally long battle with the BMW Mini WRC of Eugene Donnelly & Paul Kiely which saw Donnelly come out on top by 0.7 of a second! Josh & his navigator John Rowan shadowed Sam on day one and despite a puncture on day two, they held on to a very encouraging 4^th place in their new car.

Reigning champion, Declan Boyle took an early lead on Saturday but a 3 minute road penalty after his Subaru failed to fire up before the start of the fifth stage dropped him to 6^th overnight. Fellow Donegal man, Donagh Kelly ended the day in the lead from Eugene Donnelly with Sam Moffett close behind in 3^rd. Josh Moffett was 4^th just 13 seconds behind his older brother. Monaghan native Pauric Duffy was in 7^th place and leading class 5 in his Ford Fiesta.

As Kelly manintained his lead on day two, Donnelly & Moffett had a mighty battle for 2^nd place which saw Donnelly snatch 2^nd on the final stage by less than a second. Josh Moffett maintained 4^th place despite a puncture on stage 10. Pauric Duffy & Kevin Glynn lost their class 5 lead after a problem on stage 11 which dropped them to 16^th overall and 3^rd in a class by the finish. Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane finished 2^nd in class 4 and 9^th overall in their Subaru after being edged out by Aaron McHale/Paul McGee on the last stage.

Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips had a great run in the National section to finish in 2^nd place overall behind Donegal’s Declan Gallagher/Ryan Moore. Kieran McCarra/Mark Hamaill had been running in the top 10 in the Nationals before retiring early on day two. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden retired early on day one but were able to get their Escort back out on the stages before the end of the day under ‘Super Rally’ rules. The pair went on to set many fastest class times on day two. The next round of the Tarmac Championship is the Circuit of Ireland Rally at Easter which is again a round of the European Rally Championship.

Open Forum

 

Monaghan Motor Club will host an Open Forum for marshals and competitors on Thursday 12th February in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan commencing at 8pm. The Chairman of the Rallies Committee has confirmed he will attend and it is hoped that the Chief Executive, President and Immediate Past President of Motorsport Ireland and members of the Rallies Committee will also be present. The agenda is as follows:

The Future of Rallying:

– safety

– competitor input to future rule changes

– marshal recruitment and training

– communications

This forum is not confined to Monaghan club members and members from our neighbouring motor clubs are also invited to attend

Midland Navigation Trial

 

Midland Motor Club are hosting a Night Navigation Trial this Saturday night in Drumlish, Co. Longford. COC Pakie Duffy has laid out an 80 mile route with the 1^st car away at 9.01pm. The event is a round of both the National & Border Night Navigation Championships which should attract many local competitors who are contesting these series. Full report will be published next week.

Club Autotest

 

Monaghan Motor Club host their annual Autotest in Wright’s Quarry, Swans Cross this Sunday February 15^th. The event is a round of the National Hewison Championship as well as a round of our Club Trader’s Championship. The Hewison Championship section gets underway at 11.00am, with the club championship competitors starting at 11.30am. Marshals are required for this event and anyone able to help should contact COC Brendan Flynn.

Upcoming events:

February 21^st Five-mile-town Forestry Rally

February 22^nd Birr Stages Rally

February 28^th Cavan Navigation Trial

February 28^th ALMC Endurance Trial

March 1^st Carrick-on-Suir Forestry Rally

March 8^th Mayo Stages Rally