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Last year’s winner of the Garda Siochana stages Rally, Richard Moffett led the field away from the start ramp in his Toyota Starlet looking to make it two in a row in Baltinglass Co. Wicklow last Sunday. With regular co-driver Martin Connolly on the notes he was going to have his work cut out, having to withstand the pressure from Cavan’s Chris Armstrong and James Fulton in a Mark II escort.

Into stage 1 and it was Moffett and Connolly who set the pace over the 16.5 kilometre test leading their Cavan rivals by three seconds by the end of the stage, setting up a great battle for the day. Mike Quinn and Tony Healy held third a further five seconds behind in their Mk2 Escort. After service it was into stage 2 and Armstrong went on a massive charge to win the stage by eight seconds over Moffett to take the lead by five. He extended his advantage by a further three seconds on the third test, to head into service with an eight second advantage.

Armstrong extended his lead to 13 seconds through stage 4 as his chances of victory were growing quickly while Moffett had to contend with a half spin. Quinn appeared safe in third place. Stage five was cancelled due to a delay so they crews headed back to the final service stop. With one stage to go it appeared Armstrong only needed to get through the stage to win the event but an overshoot near the end of the test nearly ruined his chances of victory but the Cavan man along with co-driver James Fulton did enough to win the rally by nine seconds from Monaghan’s Richard Moffett and Martin Connolly.

Mike Quinn and Tony Healy took third place, 49 seconds behind the winners. It was a good day also for JP McAree who navigated Jack Newman to the class 13 win and 4th overall in their Ford Escort. Barry McKenna and Macartan Kierans took second in class 13 and 7th overall, also in an Escort. Declan Tynan navigated Leitrims Enda McLoughlin round the Wicklow stages to take 12th overall in their newly built millington powered mark II escort. Jim McKenna and Thomas Treanor also made the trip South but their day was to get off to a bad start with a visit to the scenery but they managed to get back on the road and complete the event.

Garda Siochana MC Mini Stages Rally Top 10

1/ Chris Armstrong/James Fulton (Escort) 38m 05s
2/ Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly (Starlet) 38m 14s
3/ Mike Quinn/Tony Healy (Escort) 38m 54s
4/ Jack Newman/J P McAree (Escort) 39m 11s
5/ Aaron MacHale/Paul McGee (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 39m 13s
6/ Anthony O’Halloran/Charlie McEnery (Manta) 39m 35s
7/ Barry McKenna/Mac Kiernan (Escort) 39m 36s
8/ Sam Smyth/Alan Smyth (Escort) 39m 39s
9/ Graham Scallan/Jim Scallan (Impreza Gp N) 39m 45s
10/ David Leonard/Darragh Mullen (Lancer) 39m 52s

 

JOSH MOFFETT TO MAKE WRC DEBUT IN WALES

Josh Moffett will make his WRC debut next month when he takes his Group N Mitsubishi Lancer across the Irish Sea to tackle the final round of the championship, Wales Rally GB.

The 22-year-old Monaghan driver, who is a nominee for this year’s Motorsport Ireland Young Rally Driver of the Year Award, has been a front-runner in the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship this season and is hoping to try and build on his gravel experience on the challenging Welsh stages. “I really enjoy driving on gravel,” said Josh speaking last week. “I suppose the only downside is that forestry rallies in Ireland tend to be quite short which is no fault of their own, that’s just how it is. I’d love to challenge myself by doing a full 3-day gravel rally and gauge my pace against new Group N competitors. Competing against professional drivers on the Circuit of Ireland this year has given me the confidence to try and push myself and I’m really looking forward to Wales. It might be my last rally in a Group N car for a while so I’d love to get to the finish and gain as much experience as possible.”

Josh will be the second Combilift Rallying driver to sample the WRC this season after elder brother Sam finished 15th overall on Rallye Deutschland in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC back in August. Josh has already driven the Fiesta WRC in competition himself when he won the Sligo Stages in July and this weekend he plans to use that Fiesta again on the Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally. ”I was actually surprised how quickly I adapted to the Fiesta in Sligo and I’m really looking forward to driving it again in Skibbereen. There may be more outings next year but nothing is set in stone yet.”

MOFFETT and SHERRY are Border Rally Champions

It was a great weekend for local crew David Moffett and Fintan Sherry as they were crowned the 2014 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Champions at the Donegal Harvest Rally on Saturday in their Toyota Starlet, bringing the title back to Monaghan for the third year in a row. Having won their class in three of the four previous rounds the crew knew that victory in class 11R would guarantee them the title but they wee going to have to fight for it. While a good run of form over the course season plus victory in the Junior Rally of the Donegal International earlier in the year inspired confidence it would count for nothing today if things went wrong.

Stage one saw Moffett and Sherry set the second fastest time sitting just 1.8 seconds behind Paul Carron and Andrew Browne in a Toyota Corolla. On stage two the action really kicked off as Donegal’s Paul and Patrick Gallagher set fastest time in their Mk1 Escort by almost twenty seconds to lead the class as Moffett and Sherry slipped to third 8.3 seconds off the lead. But on stage three things changed again as the Monaghan crew won the stage setting a time over ten seconds faster than anyone else to shoot into the lead, they now led the class by just 2.2 seconds heading into the first service stop.

After the break the pair extended their lead on the fourth test until an impressive time form the Gallaghers saw them share the lead of the class with Moffett and Sherry with an equal overall time of 46:54.6 setting things up for a cracking battle going into the afternoon. Stage six saw the Monaghan crew really put the power down and ended the stage 8.5 seconds ahead of the Gallaghers who held second heading into the final service stop.

Moffett and Sherry extended their lead of stage 7 but a lightning time from their Donegal rivals saw Paul and Patrick Gallagher take the lead by 11 seconds heading into the final stage. The lads responded magnificently and set fastest time on stage 9 by 12.2 seconds to win class 11R by a mere 1.2 seconds. A fantastic performance to back up a deserving victory in the championship. Well done lads!

 

Maguire and Thornton take the Group N National Title in Donegal

It’s a weekend to remember for Monaghan’s Shane Maguire and Stephen Thornton as they wrapped up the Dunlop National Group N title on the Donegal Harvest Rally. With championship rival Josh Moffett not starting the event things were made a lot easier for Maguire who came into the rally with a commanding lead in the championship.

Stage one went to Border Rally Championship regulars Martin Doherty and Conor Foley who

led Maguire and Thornton by ten seconds with Trevor Bustard and John McCafferty in third.

By the first service Maguire had dropped to fifth in the standings almost 44 seconds off the class lead. Doherty led a hard charging Gary Cairns and Justin Coyle by 28.7 seconds with Bustard in third and Aidan Wray and Kieran McGrath in fourth,

The second loop of stages saw the demise of Cairns retiring on stage 5. Doherty was in a commanding lead at this point and led Bustard by almost 76 seconds with Maguire in Third.

Positions remained unchanged over the final loop and Martin Doherty crossed the finish line to win Group N 1:40 but it was Shane Maguire and Stephen Thornton that were in celebration mood as the lifted the trophy to win the National Group N championship bringing the title to Monaghan along with the Irish Tarmac Group N title won by Josh Moffett.

Elsewhere in the rally it was a mixed day for other Monaghan crews. Niall Maguire continued his comeback from injury in his Subaru S11 with Paul Goodman on the notes finishing eight overall and second in class eight. Michael Carbin and Emmett McCooey had a good run to second in class 20 in their Subaru Impreza N12. Richard Moffett and Eamon Hayes finished third in class 13. Dessie Keenan had an eye catching return to rallying in class 13 with Enda Sherry on the notes, he led the modified section and held fourth overall at one point until a puncture dropped him down the order where he eventually finished 19th overall and sixth in class. Raymond Conlon and Gary McKenna finished fifth in class 13. John and Niall Kelly performed brilliantly to win class 10 in their Corolla. Lawrence Sherry and Mark Sheridan finished fourth in class 9 while Arron Duffy and Keith McConnon finished behind them in fifth. Cathal Sheridan and Peter Deery finished third in class 10, enough to claim the class 10 title in this years Sligo Pallets Border Championship.  while Declan Connolly and Alison Hughes finished eight in class 9. There were retirements for Sa Moffett and James O’Reilly, Brendan and JP McAree and Barry Treanor and Colm Connolly.

The event was won by Donegal’s Declan and Brian Boyle who were crowned Dunlop National Rally Champions

 

Moffett and McKenna Take Maiden Forestry Win In Carrick On Suir

To round off yet another fantastic weekend of results for Monaghan Motor Club members, Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna claimed their first outright victory on the Willie Loughman Memorial Carrick Forest Rally. Based in the Suir Valley, the six stage event was the penultimate round of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship and what a battle it turned out to be.

Stage one saw Andrew Purcell and John Rafter set the pace with a time of 8:01.0 over the 13km test which was 2.3 seconds faster than forestry regular Owen Murphy and James O’Reilly. Moffett and McKenna sat a further 7.5 seconds behind in third with Desi Henry and Liam Moynihan 2.1 seconds adrift in fourth. Shane McGirr and Jackie Elliot held the lead in the modifieds 1.9 seconds ahead of Mickey Conlon and Ciaran McPhillips.

Andrew Purcell lost approximately 13 seconds on stage 2 due to an overshoot and stall at a hairpin dropping him to third. Josh Moffett set the fastest time on the test to hold second overall. Owen Murphy was third fastest but did enough to move into a 3.5 second lead. Desi Henry was second fastest to hold station in fourth. Stage three saw Purcell set the fastest time to leave the top four separated by 7.7 seconds. In Group N it was Sam Moffett who led the way while McGirr had extended his modified lead to 16.5 seconds over Conlon.

Josh Moffett and Desi Henry tied on stage 4 with a time of 7.46, the pace had gone up a gear as times were 15 secs quicker than the first run. Moffett took the lead as Murphy dropped to second, the Cork man was 4.6 seconds off the pace and now trailed the Monaghan man by 2 secs. Henry moved up one place to third 5.3 seconds off Murphy while Andrew Purcell slipped to fourth a further 2.3 secs back. On stage five things got really tight as Murphy set the second fastest time to close within a second of Moffett and with Purcell winning the stage the top four were now separated by just 5.7 seconds heading into the final test. Moffett knew what he had to do on the final stage and set the fastest time to win the rally by five seconds over Desi Henry who leapfrogged Owen Murphy on the last test. Murphy ended the rally 7.8 seconds off the lead with Andrew Purcell a further 5.7 seconds behind in fourth.

Sam Moffett took fifth overall and the Group N win to make up for the disappointment of the Donegal Harvest the day before. In the modified section Shane McGirr won by 30.7 seconds from Mickey Conlon. Martin and Declan Tynan made a return to the gravel stages in their EVO 8 after a few years absence and quickly git back into the swing of things, finishing 12th overall and take the class 6 win.

Clones man Eoghan Corr teamed up with Cavan’s Ruaidhri Nash on last Saturday nights Monaghan navigation trial and came away with their maiden victory. The novice pairing had a faultless run all night and kept a clean sheet to take the spoils. The first navigation event of the new season was undertaken by first time CoC’s Micheal McCluskey and Keith McConnon with Corduff GFC complex used as HQ. These lads laid on an enjoyable route which headed South towards Magheracloone, then veered North West towards Latton and Ballybay before making its way back towards Corduff via Shantonagh taking in almost every farm lane and narrow road along the way.

Corr and Nash were one of four crews to keep a clean sheet on the night but were deemed winners as a novice crew. Ashley McAdoo and Laurence Keenan were the only semi-experts to clean the event and thus finished 2nd overall and semi expert winners. Martin Tynan/Stephen Thornton along with multiple champions from last season Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston were the only experts to finish with no penalties and took joint winners of the class. Trevor Farrell and Noel Hall dropped one penalty to finish 3rd expert and 5th overall. Bobby Sharkey and Mac Kierans had a good run to 2nd semi-expert with Ciaran McElroy and Damien McCabe 3rd. With the overall winner coming from the novice class, this promoted Michael Carbin and Darragh Kelly to first, ahead of Jonathan Treanor and Martin Swinburne with the Wedlock cousin’s, Thomas and Andrew in 3rd.

Conor Boylan had a great first night on the maps, navigating Emmett McCooey to a beginners class win and only down a very respectable 24 penalties on his first night out. Second beginner went to Cavans Alan Cullinan, driven by Peter Deery on his first night also. Third beginner went to Steven O’Neill and Shane Stevenson. This navigators seat was kindly offered up by the O’Neill brothers Raymond and Steven to help young beginners get onto the first step of the motorsport/navigation ladder and Shane was selected for this event so well done to all.

That’s the navigation season kicked off for another winter, well done to Micheal McCluskey and Keith McConnon on a great event and thanks to Corduff GFC, all residents along the route, results team and the many marshals who turned up on the night. Next up is the first round of the National Championship in Cork on 2nd November, followed by Monaghan’s Drumlin navigation on 9th November where the traders title will be decided. Its very much a two horse race with Martin Tynan and last years winner Damien Connolly locked in a close battle with only half a point separating them so all is to play for.

Monaghan Navigation Trial Top 10

1/ Eoghan Corr/Ruaidhri Nash (Subaru Impreza) 0 marks,
2/ Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan (Subaru Impreza) 0m
3/ (tie) Martin Tynan/Stephen Thornton (Subaru Impreza) and Colin Duffy/Sam
Johnston (Subaru Impreza) 0m
5/ Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall (Subaru Impreza) 1m
6/ Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly (Subaru Impreza) 2m
7/ Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan (Subaru Impreza) 2m
8/ Jonathan Treanor/Martin Swinburne (Subaru Impreza) 3m
9/ Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan (Subaru Impreza) 3m
10/ Gary McElhinney/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza) 3m
11/ Thomas Wedlock/Andrew Wedlock (Subaru Legacy) 6m
12/ Fintan Larmer/Sean McCaffrey (Vauxhall Vectra) 8m

MOFFETT AND ROWAN TAKE GROUP N TITLE IN CORK

It was a great weekend for Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and Cushendall’s John Rowan as the crew claimed the Clonakilty Black Pudding Irish Tarmac Group N title at the Cork 20 last weekend, the pair went into the last round of the championship leading the category over Cavan’s Stephen McCann. The battle for the title was over almost before it had begun as McCann and co-driver Breen McNamee crashed on the first stage and blocked the road. They were able to rejoin later in the event but weren’t able to score points which handed the title to Moffett. The Monaghan man didn’t have things all his own way as an off on the first stage of Day 2 put Rowan and himself out of the event. Nevertheless it’s been a great year for Josh Moffett. The ITRC Group N title win is one of a number of accolades he is in contention for. He is currently in a great battle with Ballinode’s Shane Maguire for the National Group N title, he is also leading the Irish Forestry championship and has been nominated for the Billy Coleman Award. Not a bad year! He wasn’t the only driver to taste success in Cork last weekend as Stephen Wright took his Peugeot 208 R2 to third overall in the rally a fantastic achievement. Co-driven by Mike Galvin the 2013 Billy Coleman Award Winner took third spot on stage eight and never looked back. There was disappointment for Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly who retired on day one while running in third overall. The pair were battling Cork’s Keith Cronin for second when their Fiesta WRC was forced to pull off the road with rear differential problems. In the National Rally Pauric Duffy had a great weekend in his newly acquired Fiesta R5. The Castlebaney man who is now based in Australia took his new machine to fourth overall in the National section. It was also a good event or J P McAree who navigated Meath’s Jack Newman to the class 13 win.

 

MAGUIRE AND MOFFETT SET FOR DONEGAL GROUP N BATTLE

The Dunlop National Group N battle finale is set to be a Monaghan affair this weekend at the last round of the championship in the North West. The Donegal Harvest Rally is the setting for Shane Maguire and Josh Moffett’s battle for Group N honours. Moffett lead the championship early in the year but a couple of missed rounds has allowed Maguire to catch up. With just a handful of points separating them it will be a fantastic battle to watch!

It was a sight to behold in Monaghan Town on Saturday night last as hundreds of people flocked to the courthouse on the diamond for Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans’ Appreciation Night. The Scotshouse/Aghabog duo were being honoured for their triumph in the 2014 British Rally Championship this year. Hosted by Sean McCaffery, the night consisted of a number of speeches from representatives from the motorsport world and the local community. They included Heather Humphreys T.D., Chief Executive of Motorsport Ireland Alex Sinclair and the manager of Monaghan County Council Padraig McNally. There were also a number of videos that recounted the lads’ career and lives followed by a number of interviews with some of Monaghan’s other rallying stars including Shane Maguire, Gary McPhillips, Stephen Wright and Dessie Keenan. The stars of the show arrived in their Citroen DS3 about half an hour into the show and the crowds were thrilled as Daniel and Arthur climbed from the car with the BRC trophy aloft. Interviews with some of the people who helped the lads throughout the season followed including Bill Adair and Davy Greer who entertained the crowd with stories of the lads from throughout the season. Local representatives from Scotshouse and Aghabog also spoke. Eventually the stars of the show took to the stand and spoke to the gathered crowd. Both Daniel and Arthur offered their thanks to their team, friends and family for all the support they had received over the last two years before Daniel was asked to recount his day 2 accident from the Rally Isle of Man! The evening was wrapped up with quick video as people flocked to the car for photographs. A great night was had by all and Monaghan Motor Club would like to thank everyone who helped make the night possible.

Moffett and McKenna 2nd in Bushwhacker

Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna took second place in last weekends Bushwhacker rally. The pair finished seventeen seconds behind Martin Cairns and Gary McElhinney. The first two stages saw Cairns streak out an advantage, leading Moffett by four seconds with Desi Henry and Liam Moynihan a further four seconds behind in their Evo IX. James Gillen and Sarah Whelan held fourth just a second behind while Marty McKenna and Martin McGarrity tied for fifth with Niall McCullagh and Ryan McCloskey, Frank Kelly and Sean Ferris and Kenny McKinstry and Kenny Hull. Stage three saw Moffett take the lead from Cairns to lead by six seconds but Cairns started the fight back on the following stage and closed the lead to just two seconds. Setting up a great fight heading into the afternoon stages. Desi Henry was hanging on in third place twenty seconds off the lead. James Gillen and Sarah Whelan went off the road and into retirement on SS3 while on stage four Marty McKenna and Martin McGarrity retired with clutch issues. Martin Cairns shot into the lead on stage 5 before it was cancelled due safety concerns and on stage 6 the S14 driver extended it to 13 seconds over Moffett. As the afternoon went on there were no major changes at the front of the field but on stage 10 there was drama in the modified section as Frank Kelly was forced to retire with a broken halfshaft handing the lead to Adrian Hetherington, he led Seamus O’Connell and Emmet Sherry by 20 seconds. Martin Cairns and Gary McElhinney completed the final stage to win the Bushwhacker Rally from Josh Moffett and Desi Henry. Adrian Hetherington took the modified win by 19 seconds. Sam Moffett and James O Reilly took the Group N win and 9th overall. Emmet Sherry navigated Seamus O’Connell to 10th overall and second modified car home. Mickey Conlon and Ciaran McPhillips took second in class 6 Maurice Moffett and Martin Connolly took 7th in class 6. Well done all

1. Martin Cairns/Gary McElhinney 32:18
2. Josh Moffett/Jason McKenna + 0.17
3. Desi Henry/ Liam Moynihan + 0.43
4. Kenny McKinstry/ Kenny Hull + 0.52
5. Pat O’Connell/ Mark Wiley + 1.02

Monaghan MC Night Navigation Trial

Monaghan motor club will kickstart the night navigation season this Saturday night, 4th October. CoC’s for the event are Michael McCluskey and Keith McConnon with headquarters in the Corduff GFC complex. As always marshals are in short supply so if you are available on the night please be at the Corduff GFC complex before 8pm. Full report next week.

 

 

It was a mixed weekend for Monaghan crews last weekend on round 9 of the Dunlop National Rally Championship, the Oakwood Arms Hotel Clare Stages Rally. The event proved very challenging as the nine stages pushed crews to their limits. Shane Maguire and Stephen Thornton took their Mitsubishi Evo 9 to yet another Group N victory, the Ballinode man had to fight off competition from local rival Josh Moffett and John Rowan as well as Paul Kiely and Eugene Donelly. The Monaghan man led championship rival Josh Moffett and John Rowan on the opening test with Gary Kiernan and Niall Tierney, in Sam Moffett’s Evo 9 taking third. Role reversal for Paul Kiely as he had multiple Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly on the notes, they lay fourth after stage 1. On the second test Moffett managed to overhaul Maguire to lead by 3.5 seconds but a puncture on the stage three dropped them to last in class over three minutes off the lead. The second loop saw Maguire extend his lead once again but Kiernan was not letting him run away with the lead and remained within 40 seconds off the Monaghan man with Kiely in third. Josh Moffett called it a day after the second loop of stages with an oil leak forcing him into retirement. Maguire held the lead over the last three stages but had to battle a turbo issue to take the win but it was heartbreak for Gary Kiernan as the Cavan driver retired from second in Group N and ninth overall on the final stage. Maguire and Thornton won Group N by 1 minute and 53.6 seconds from Paul Kiely and Eugene Donnelly with Gary Cairns and Justin Coyle a further 8.6 seconds behind. Maguire heads into the final round in Donegal knowing a top ten finish overall will secure him and Stephen Thornton the 2014 Dunlop National Group N title.

In the modified section it was Richard Moffett and Martin Connelly who took the win by 33.8 seconds over Ed O’Callaghan and Gerard Clancy. After a disrupted stage 1 Moffett went on the attack on stage 2, to finish the test second in the modifieds and seventh overall. Heading into the first service the Starlet driver remained second behind O’Callaghan by 16 seconds. All was to change on stage 6 when O’Callaghan hit trouble. Moffett took advantage and inherited first place leading second placed Frank Kelly by 11.8 seconds. Heading into the final loop Kelly managed to snatch the lead but mechanical failure forced him into retirement on the last stage. Moffett and Connolly took the win by 33.8 seconds from O’Callaghan.

Elsewhere it was a tough day for Monaghan crews. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly entered the event in Gary Kiernan’s Mk2 Escort but crashed out on stage 1. Niall Maguire was making a welcome return to rallying with Enda Sherry on the notes but clutch problems ruled him out on stage 1. Michael Carbin and Emmett McCooey were leading class 20 but retired on stage 4.

The event was won by Declan and Brian Boyle in their subaru, followed by Hugh Hunter and Andy Marchbank, also in a subaru. Roy White and James O’Brien took their MG ZR rover home to 3rd overall.

 

Appreciation Night for Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans

An appreciation night will be held in honour of the 2014 British Rally Champions Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans this Saturday night, the 27^th of September. The event will be held outside the courthouse in Monaghan Town at 7.30 p.m. A number of dignitaries from the motorsport world will be in attendance as well as the Citroen DS3 that took the Monaghan crew to the BRC title. The night will filmed and will be presented by Sean McCaffery. Make sure and come out for an unforgettable night!

 

Monaghan Night Navigation Trial

Monaghan motor club will kickstart the night navigation season on Saturday week next, 4th October. CoC’s for the event are Michael McCluskey and Keith McConnon with headquarters in the Corduff GFC complex. Regulations and entry forms are available from motor club website on http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net and entries must be with event secretary Paul Hughes before 2nd October. As always marshals are in short supply so if you are available on the night please contact any committee member and be in Corduff GFC complex for 7.30 on Saturday 4th October.