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A warm summer’s day greeted competitors on Sunday last as Monaghan Motor Club hosted their rallysprint event at Rally School Ireland outside Scotstown. The event, which was sponsored by McAree Engineering LTD, attracted a healthy list of competitors all ready to attack the course which had been laid out by Clerk of the Course John Kelly. The gathering crowd were in for a real enjoyable day as they were treated to everything from buggies to Mark II’s and even a Porsche 911.

            It was Joseph Smith who claimed victory by just 0.8 of a second from the hard charging Gary McPhillips. The two Escort drivers were closely matched all day but Smith came out on top. Michael Tynan took third place in his Evo 5. There was plenty of action throughout the field. Class 6 was a real crowd pleaser as Michael Conlon powered his buggy to victory by less than 10 seconds from Martin Connolly with David Smith in third, both in buggies. In class 5 Michael Tynan won from Cormac McElvaney and Martin Tynan 3rd. Class 4 saw Gary McPhillips, competing ahead of a big weekend for him at the Donegal International Rally; took the win from Justin Smith in his Escort. Class 3B was the busiest category with 10 competitors making the finish. Vincent Deery came out on top in his Nova beating Ronnie Coulter by just over 10 seconds with Richard Cassidy a further 2 and a half seconds behind in third, both of them in Astras. Joseph Smith took class 3A  by 40 seconds from Patrick Corey both in Escorts. In class 2B it was Pauric Duffy who took the win in his Citroen C2R2 by just under 15 seconds from John McCabe in his Escort with Gerry McIntyre a further 3 seconds behind in his starlet. Derek Mackarel took top spot in class 2A in his Nova. The Monaghan man was 16 seconds ahead of Shane Marron in his Escort. He narrowly beat Adrian Foley who was half a second behind in third in his Corsa. Michael Brennan took class 1B in his Nova by almost 5 seconds from Aidan Coyle in his Escort with Damien Connolly taking third in his Peugeot, a further second and a half behind. Finally in class 1A Alan Pickins took victory by almost 8 seconds in his Corsa beating Ronan Greene’s Nova with Kevin Flannagan narrowly missing out on the runner up spot. The Mini driver was only 0.1 seconds behind in third. Kieran McCarra took Entertainer of the Day in his Rover 25. The Monaghan man proving to the crowd that a front wheel driver can be driven sideways on tarmac!

            CoC John Kelly would like to convey his sincere thanks to all the marshal’s and club members who helped out on the day. To Rally School Ireland for the use of their excellent facilities, Eamon McKenna for the great job he did as MC which was both informative and entertaining. Also to Frankie McCarey in McCagues pub, Scotstown for hosting the prizegiving and providing the food. Also a big thanks to Brendan McAree and McAree Engineering Ltd for sponsoring this event and coming up with a very unique design for the trophies which were fabricated in their engineering facility at Balinode. Over €600 was raised on the day by Monaghan Motor Club for two worthy charities, Alzheimers Ireland and Downsyndrome Ireland who were hosting their annual Ice Cream Sunday event in Balinode also.

1. Monaghan Motor Club Rallysprint Top 10

1Joseph Smith (Escort) 8m 08.28s

2 Gary McPhillips (Escort) 8m 09.12s

3 Michael Tynan (Lancer Evo 5) 8m 10.33s

4 Vincent Deery (Nova) 8m 12.44s

5 Pauric Duffy (Citroen C2R2) 8m 15.94s

6 Cormac McElvaney (Lancer Evo 7) 8m 17.10s

7 Derek Mackarel (Nova) 8m 19.22s

8 Martin Tynan (Lancer Evo 8) 8m 20.84s

9 Ronnie Coulter (Astra) 8m 23.09s

10 Richard Cassidy (Astra) 8m 25.39s

 

Donegal International Rally

Attention now turns to next weekend as many local crews prepare to tackle the biggest event in Ireland’s motorsport calendar, the Donegal International Rally. Among them are last year’s winners Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly. The Clontibret crew will be hoping to make it back to back victories in their Combilift backed Fiesta WRC. Daniel McKenna and Gary McPhillips will be battling it out for the win in the National section as the two Escort drivers look to rekindle their intense battle during the Monaghan Stages Rally earlier in the year. Josh Moffett and Brendan Cumiskey will be in the hunt for group N honours. Jim Mc Kenna and John McQuaid also bring their class 14 escorts to the Donegal Hill’s. Gerard McQuaid, Anthony Hand, Richard Moffett, and Shane Maguire are also on the top class entry list. Ryan McKenna and David Moffett will surely be in contention in the junior Rally with Brendan McAree sporting his porsche 911 in the historic event. Best of luck to all competitors and full report next week.

 

Wright’s Heading Back To Belgium

Motorsport Ireland Young Rally Driver of the Year Stephen Wright heads back to Belgium this weekend to take on the challenge of the Geko Ypres Rally in his Peugeot 208 R2. The rally is one of the most popular on the European continent and has attracted a stellar entry including over 40 cars in the R2 category alone and will provide a stern test for the talented County Monaghan driver and his co-driving sister Susanne.

            Despite the strong entry, Stephen is hopeful the pair can perform well on the challenging Belgian roads where they have already picked up a string of solid results. Speaking before he set off for Ypres Stephen said; “This rally has provided the toughest field of competitors that Susanne and I will have ever competed against. Our focus will remain on the 208 Rally Trophy and accumulating more points in it. However, it would be nice to be in the mix for a podium among the Junior European Championship runners having narrowly missed out on a top 3 placing on the Circuit of Ireland at Easter.”

            It has been almost 2 months since Stephen’s last foray to Belgium where he finished 5^th among the 208 Rally Trophy runners on the Rallye de Wallonie but he has kept his eye in by tackling rallies on home soil and working on the set up of the pocket rocket Peugeot. “We’ve completed a couple of local events since Wallonie and the feeling is very good with the car now so I’m excited to get going in Ypres” said Stephen.

            The action in Ypres starts on Friday afternoon when the crews leave the historic town to complete 7 challenging stages before the overnight halt. Saturday resumes with a 10.00am start with 13 stages (including the 27.56km Hollebeke stage) to complete before returning to the finish ramp at 10.00pm.

Monaghan Motor Club Rallysprint

Monaghan Motor Club, in association with Mc Aree Engineering, Balinode will host their first Rallysprint for quite a few years in the idealic facilities that is Rally School Ireland, Scotstown this Sunday. This is a rare chance for competitors to test the Rally School’s circuit in your own race/rally cars. Their will also be some buggies competing. Clerk of Course John Kelly and his team are hard at work piecing together what is promised to be an enjoyable event with minimum 4 timed runs over the 2.2km track. Mc Aree Engineering Ltd. Ballinode are main sponsors of the event and regulations and entry forms are available on club website at http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net Proceedings will kick off at 8am sharp with Mechanical and paper scrutiny, followed by familiarisation run on foot or bicycle, with first timed runs starting at 10.30am sharp. Mr Scanbitz himself, Eamonn McKenna is coming out of retirement to MC for the day and keep the crowds informed of all that is happening.  All competitors doing the event are urged to please get your entries in early so that the organisers can make their final preparations knowing the extent of the entry list. A one day rally licence is available on the day for once off competitors , or anyone not holding a current licence but must be booked with the Motor Club in advance. See regs on Motor Club website for further information. Prize giving and refreshments will follow at approximately 6pm in McCagues, Scotstown village with the possibility of a barbeque, weather permitting.

 

Laois Heartlands Mini Stages Rally

Well done to all the locals who made the trip to Portlaoise on Sunday last for the Laois Heartlands Mini Stages Rally. The event was won by Ed O’Callaghan and Ger Clancy who had a slender 13 second win over 2nd place Vivian Hamill and Paul Sheridan in a class 13 escort. George Condell and Patrick Brides were 3rd overall in a class 13 starlet. Stephen and Suzanne Wright were 6th overall with a class win to boot in their Peugeot 208 with Cavan’s Gary Kiernan 9th overall and 2nd in class.

 

Limerick Stages Rally

Last Sunday saw Limerick Motor Club host round four of the Dunlop National Rally Championship and as ever a number of Monaghan crews made the journey south. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly continued their fine run of form to claim another overall win in their Ford Fiesta WRC. They finished just 4.6 seconds in front of last year’s event winner Kevin Kelleher (Subaru WRC) with Welsh man Steve Wood rounding off the top 3, also in a subaru. Monaghan’s Paul Kelly navigated local Limerick native Paul Purtill to a fine eighth overall and 2nd in class 13 driving an escort. Josh Moffett and John Rowan scored another fine group N win with Shane Maguire and Martin McGarrity runners up in the production category.  Paul Sheridan guided Vivian Hamill to thirteenth overall and 2nd in class 14. Michael Carbin and Stephen Thorton also had a fine run to third in class however a stage 5 puncture robbed them of a much better result.

 

Monaghan Motor Club Rally Sprint

Monaghan Motor Club will run a Rallysprint in Rally School Ireland, Scotstown on Sunday 15th June. Clerk of Course John Kelly and his team are hard at work piecing together what is promised to be an enjoyable event with minimum 4 timed runs over the 2.2km track. Mc Aree Engineering Ltd. Ballinode are main sponsors of the event and regulations and entry forms are available on club website at http://www.monaghanmotorclub.net. All competitors doing the event are urged to please get your entries in early so that the organisers can make their final preparations knowing the extent of the entry list. A one day rally licence is available on the day for once off competitors, or anyone not holding a current licence but must be booked with the Motor Club in advance. More information next week.

 

Niall Maguire and Conor Foley came out on top last weekend on the 2014 Kilmore Hotel Cavan Stages Rally with just under two minutes to spare over Rodney Wilton and Conor McMahon. This event was the third counting round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship and this win is Nialls sixth outright win in Cavan whilst Conor finally got his hands on the overall cup after almost twenty years of trying. Ballyjamesduff man Rodney Wilton kept the pressure on the Ballinode pairing throughout the day but following overnight rain the slippy and greasy conditions left it almost impossible for Wilton/McMahon to maximise the potential of their escort against the four wheel drive advantage of Maguire/Foley. Donegal men Trevor Bustard and John McCafferty took 3rd overall in their group N Evo. Michael Carbin and Emmett McCooey stormed up the leader board throughout the day to finish an excellent 4th overall. Arguably the drive of the day must go to Paddy Boyle and Martin Sherlock. They brought their class 13 escort home to 5th overall with some top 3 stage times to boot. The Cavan men seemed at home on these stages and their times proved just that in tricky conditions.

            Wet and slippy was the order of the day for all competitors over the first two loops of the Cavan Stages Rally last Sunday. This years stages consisted of a compact loop surrounding the Bunnoe, Kill and Castletara areas. Its been over 15 years since the rally traversed the Kill area in its entirety taking in the famous lanes like the stoney trough, lung lane and Knobbies Jumps which just like old times claimed quite a few retirements along the way. Richard Moffett and Martin Connolly were on their usual good pace to finish in 8th overall and 2nd in class to the flying Cavan men, Paddy Boyle and Marty Sherlock. Other locals to fair well included Stephen Wright and Karl Atkinson who finished top front wheel drive car and 11th overall. Jack Maguire and Andy Hayes finished 2nd in class 14 behind Adrian Hetherington and Gary Nolan. Johnno and Padraig Doogan finished 15th overall in their hired class 13 escort. Brian Armstrong and Mark Tierney took the class 12 honours ahead of James Cassidy and Declan Smith. Arthur and Mac Kierans had a tough day at the office with fuel pressure problems before the opening stage, plug lead woes on stage 3 and a puncture on stage 7 meant the Aghabog men were happy to make the finish at all! David Moffett and Fintan Sherry came out on top in the highly competitive class 11R in the Moffett Engineering backed starlet. Martin McPhillips and Ciaran Tynan were counting their blessings to make the finish with 2nd in class after their twin cam developed driveshaft/gearbox issues on the final loop and nursed the McPhillips Engineering backed corolla to final control in 26th overall. Barry Treanor and Colm Connolly also had a testing day but managed to secure 3rd in class and 30th overall, making it a Monaghan top 3 in class 11R. Cootehill’s Darren O’Brien and John McCabe had been as high as 12th overall in their class 11F civic but a puncture on stage 8 dropped them back to 25th overall. 11F was won by Chris Snow with Adrian Cannon 3rd. Class 10 went the way of Carrickroe brothers John and Niall Kelly with Ballyhaise men Adrian and Anthony Foley in 2nd. Cathal Sheridan and Evin Hughes finished 3rd in class 10, after surviving a big moment at the chicane on Knobbies Cross Roads with the Nova bearing all the haul marks of good quality Cavan round bales!

            Class 9 was won by Gene Callan and Sean Brunton with Gene McDonald and Kevin Reilly in 2nd and Declan Connolly and Alison Hughes 3rd. Class 15 which is for Group N production cars out of homologation went to Martin and Declan Tynan in their EVO 8 and they too had a testing day with a puncture and a broken drive shaft but nevertheless they managed to finish and take the class win. South Monaghan men Martin Swinburn and Keith McConnon had an excellent debut in their 1600 twin cam to take the overall win on the Junior Rally. Martin only acquired the car last Tuesday from Donegal and it surely was a baptism of fire to take a 3second win from Adrian Sweeney and Gary Lockart.

            So that’s Cavan Stages finished for another year, well done to all locals who finished, never mind win crystal in what was easily one of the toughest events for years with the slippy conditions. Next up in the Sligo Pallets Border Championship is Sligo Stages Rally on 13th July.

 

 

1. Cavan MC Hotel Kilmore Stages Rally Top 10

1 Niall Maguire/Conor Foley (Impreza WRC) 80m 37s

2 Rodney Wilton/Conor McMahon (Escort) 82m 24s

3 Trevor Bustard/John McCafferty (Lancer Evo 9) 83m 08s

4 Mickey Carbin/Emmet McCooey (Lancer Evo 4) 83m 23s

5 Paddy Boyle/Marty Sherlock (Escort) 83m 26s

6 David Leonard/Darragh Mullen (Lancer) 83m 37s

7 Pat Kirk/John McElhinney (Lancer Evo 9) 83m 41s

8 Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly (Starlet) 83m 58s

9 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Escort) 84m 04s

10 Russell Woods/Gary Gallagher (Escort) 84m 11s

Locals to the Fore in Wicklow

ALMC Motor Club ran their maiden Forestry Rally event last Saturday in the picturesque surroundings of Glendalough in North Wicklow for the first time since 2006. A four stage compact event with a great entry of 79 starters left the Glendalough Hotel to tackle the 40 stage kilometres in “The Garden of Ireland”. Corks Owen Murphy and James O’Brien had a slender 7 second overall win from Josh Moffett and Jason McKenna. The Monaghan men kept the pressure on throughout the day but in the end Murphy made no mistakes to take the win. Paul Sheridan was navigating for Enda McNulty and they too had a great run on new terrain to take 3rd overall in the subaru. 

            Michael Carbin and Stephen Thornton had their best result to date with a fine 5th overall and a class 20 win to boot. Michael Conlon and Ciaran McPhillips brought the trusty MC Blinds escort back to the gravel and had a great run to 12th overall and 2nd in class. Mac Kierans was in the hotseat with Jason Roach to finish 16th overall and 3rd in class 5A in their escort. So all in all a great days rallying for the Monaghan crews in Wicklow.

 

Cavan Stages Rally

Best of luck to all competitors on this weekends upcoming Kilmore Hotel Cavan Stages Rally. A fine line-up of entries will take to the Cavan roads on Sunday morning with many Monaghan club members sure to be in the mix for overall and class honours. As always marshals are always in demand and anyone available should make themselves known to Kerry Stevenson or any committee member. Full report next week.