Carlow Stages Rally

Last weekend saw Carlow Car Club run their popular stages rally, the third counting round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship. This year was also the tenth anniversary of the highly acclaimed mk2 challenge. The event opened with several slippy stages and proved a real test for eventual winners Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank who were closely followed by Melvyn Evans/Mark Glennerster whilst Roy White/James O’Brien finalised the top three. Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird ran out winners of the Mk2 challenge from Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan. Top Monaghan finisher Paul Sheridan guided Vivian Hamill to third place closely followed by Stephen Thornton who was navigating for Enda McNulty, finishing in fourth place Escort and 12th overall. In class 4, Danny Barry/Gordon Noble were victorious and fellow class runners Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity took their Mitsubishi to 2nd in group N. Breen McGovern/Michael Sherdian took their Citroen Saxo to 6^th in class 6. Barry Treanor had a less fortunate event retiring on stage 6 whilst holding a fine 2nd in class 11.

 

 

 

Mayo Autocross

Well done to all local competitors who made the long journey West to compete in the ever popular Harringtons quarry Mayo loose surface Autocross. Local man Derek Deane won the event in a buggy, closely followed by Martin Tynan who was only 2.5 seconds adrift in his EVO 8. Mervin Deane rounded off the top 3, also in a buggy. Michael Conlon also made the trip to take 8th overall in his buggy. Andy and Derek Mackarel were double driving the Mackarel Garden Products backed EVO 4 but hit trouble with differential woes but despite this Andy managed 14th overall

 

Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly have popped the Champaign corks for a second weekend in succession following an emphatic win on last weekends Cartell.ie Killarney Rally of the Lakes. The Combilift backed duo claimed the outright win after two tough days through the Kerry countryside, traversing some of Irelands best known rally stages such as Moll’s Gap, Healy’s Pass and Cod’s Head. Declan and Brian Boyle had been leading the event through the Saturday stages but they crashed out in the WRC Subaru. Then it was Donagh Kelly who took over the mantle but he too crashed out on the penultimate stage leaving the travelling Monaghan men to take over the reigns at the helm and guide the Fiesta WRC home to yet another famous victory, following on from their success on their home event, the Hill grove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally the weekend before hand.

            Alan Ring and Adrian Deasy were second overall, almost two minutes and forty seconds adrift of the Combilift Fiesta. Josh Moffett and John Rowan also made it the the podium, finishing a fantastic 3rd overall in their EVO 9. They too were coming off the back of a great result on their home stages, swapping the Group N win for 3rd overall in Killarney, amongst some stiff opposition. Eugene Meegan and Sarah Whelan rounded off a perfect weekend for the travelling Monaghan crews in the International Rally with 4th overall and the Group N win, also in an EVO 9.

            The National category was won by Roy White and James O’Brien in the MG ZR Rover S2000, with Wesley Patterson and Johnny Baird second overall. Donegal’s Declan Gallagher and Ryan Moore thrilled the thousands of spectators with there sideways style to come home in 3rd overall. Clones man Raymond Conlon with Nicola McKenna on the notes had been lying in 10th overall and second in class 13 in the twin-cam corolla before their gearbox let go and forcing their retirement whilst setting some great stage times.

 

Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally

Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans dropped the chequered flag on their British Rally Championship campaign last weekend with a wonderful 2nd overall result on the Pirelli Rally, based in Carlisle. After 10 demanding gravel stages over the course of Saturday and Sunday the Monaghan duo were only 46seconds adrift of Oisan Pryce and Dale Furniss in a similar Citreon DS3 R3T. This was Daniels first competitive stage mileage on a gravel surface, running on the new Pirelli gravel tyres and an excellent result with the tarmac roads of the Jim Clarke Rally in Scotshouse awaiting the Scotshouse/Aghabog men on 30/31st May.

            Tydavnet man Emmett Sherry also made the trip to Wales to navigate for Calvin Beattie in a Ford Fiesta and they too had a great drive through the Welsh forests to claim 5th overall and 2nd in class 2.

 

Wright’s April Adventures

Stephen Wright has reached the end of his hectic April schedule that saw him tackle 3 rallies in 3 weekends in Ireland and Belgium behind the wheel of his Peugeot 208 R2. Stephen’s first event of the month saw him travel to the TAC Rally in Belgium, which is based around the town of Tielt. Despite challenging roads and foggy conditions on some of the stages, Stephen with elder sister Susanne on the pacenotes, finished a brilliant 16^th overall and 2^nd among the Peugeot 208 Rally Trophy runners. As an added bonus, Stephen also won the junior driver of the rally award.

            From the roads of West Flanders the Wright Rally cavalcade then travelled all the way back home to take part in the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally. The event was a counting round of the Junior European Championship and after a troublesome opening day, Stephen and Susanne eventually climbed to 4^th place, narrowly missing out on a podium among a truly international field of drivers from Norway, Britain, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland and Belgium.

            Finally, it was back to Belgium to compete in the Rallye de Wallonie where Stephen faced a massive challenge with 25 cars entered in his class. Due to work commitments Susanne sat out the rally but a replacement was found in the form of experienced navigator Karl Atkinson and he guided Stephen to 8^th in class and 5^th among the Peugeot Trophy winners. With every mile on the Belgian roads Stephen is continually learning and is looking forward to the remainder of the season.

 

Squealing Pig Border Navigation Championship Prizegiving

All roads lead to the Squealing Pig in Monaghan this Friday night for the annual border navigation prize giving awards. Dinner will be at 8.30 sharp with prize giving afterwards. This years overall winners were midlands men Colin Duffy and Sam Johnston with a host of local navigation men receiving awards also. Please check out results and award winners on Monaghan Motor Clubs facebook page and come along to the championship sponsor, the Squealing Pig on this Friday night, 9th May for a guaranteed night of craic and banter. Tickets need to be booked ASAP so call or text Andy on 0872558957 to reserve some.

 

Club Notes/PRO Details

Monaghan Motor Club have set up a new e-mail account solely for the purpose of receiving information from competitors and club members on their exploits throughout the year in all forms of motorsport competition. All competitors are urged to e-mail action photos (no watermarks) and a short note on how they got on in any event throughout the year. We need these details for weekly reports and Facebook news. The e-mail address is rallynews1@gmail.com Obviously we cannot guarantee everything will be published but your input would be greatly appreciated to try and cover all members and their endeavours. 

 

A sun quenched morning greeted all competitors and supporters alike to the 2nd round of the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship at the idealic Hillgrove Hotel last Sunday for the running of Monaghan Motor Clubs annual Stages Rally. Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly recorded their second overall win in as many years in their Fiesta WRC. The local  Monaghan men recorded fastest stage times on all nine stages to make it a double on their home event with a two minute advantage from their nearest rivals Peadar Hurson and Damien Connolly in the unique Cosworth WRC. Daniel McKenna and Stephen Hagan took 3rd overall in their escort. Indeed the battle for two wheel drive honours was fierce with Daniel and Stephen locked in a battle with Gary McPhillips and Paul Sheridan with both crews sharing the stage wins count over the first two loops. Unfortunately for McPhillips/Sheridan their challenge came to an end at the end of stage 7 when there gearbox developed an oil leak which ultimately forced their retirement and allowed Daniel coast home for 3rd overall. Kevin Barrett finished 4th overall and lifted the class 8 honours while Josh Moffett and John Rowan rounded off the top 5 and claimed the group N production class.

            CoC for this prestigious event was Brendan Flynn and along with his team of stage commanders and chief marshals they set out a fabulous route of 3 fast flowing stages in the Sheetrim, Ballybay and Ardaghey areas of West Monaghan with centralised service in the towns main car park. With the sun beaming brightly all day, tyre choice was not an issue as the bumper entry of 131 cars crossed the start ramp to tackle the 9 stages. Many class battles emerged throughout the day as well as hard luck stories. Cavan’s Rodney Wilton and Conor Mc Mahon finally got the result they hoped for with a class 14 win and 6th overall. Monaghan’s John McQuaid and Seamus O’Connor had a great spin through the Monaghan countryside to claim 2nd in class 14 and 8th overall just ahead of Donegals Brian Brogan. Other locals to feature in class 14 included Jack Maguire in 12th overall and Thomas O’Connell and Emmet Sherry in 27th overall. The class 13 battle was fierce as ever with Richard Moffett and Martin Connolly having  the drive of their life to finish in 7th overall and class winners. Raymond Conlon and Darren McCague kept the pressure on Moffett all day to round off the top ten with 2nd in class in the twin cam corolla. Gerard McQuaid took 3rd in class, just 7 seconds ahead of Russell Woods. Damian Hagan and Ciaran McGorman also made the finish in class 13 to 29th overall.

            The class 12 battle was a two way affair for most of the day with Justin Smith and Sharon Clarke holding the advantage over Arthur and Mac Kierans with both crews setting blistering stage times which saw Smith/Clarke up to 16th overall after six stages but unfortunately a puncture on stage 7 put an end to their charge, leaving the Kierans duo

with the class 12 win ahead of Martin Toner in 2nd and Brian Armstrong/Mark Tierney in 3rd. Smith and Clarke eventually finished 4th in class. Class 11R was the biggest of the day with 17 entries. A fierce battle ensued throughout the day with David Moffett and Fintan Sherry coming up trumps with 19th overall and the class win. This rounded of a picture  perfect day for the whole Moffett cousins with 3 class wins and of course the overall win for Sam. 2nd in class 11R went to Kevin Bradley with Barry Treanor and Colm Connolly 3rd in the almost new escort. Martin McPhillips and Ciaran Tynan were 4th in class whilst Sean McCaul and Lorcan Kennedy dusted off the G3 for a days sport and finished 6th in class. Ryan and Nicola McKenna had numerous car issues pre-event but at least got a finish and 7th in class. Cathal McGlone and Mark Deery were 8th, Gerry and Aaron McIntyre 9th and Raymond Scott 10th. Christopher Brennan and Patrick Lyons finished 4th in the class 11 front wheel drive class.

            Class 10 also had another big local entry  with Cathal Sheridan and Evin Hughes enjoying their day in the sun with a class win in the newly built Nova. Ballybays David and Aaron Dixon were 2nd in class with Martin McGuigan and Ryan Brennan 3rd. Padraig Connolly and Padraig Corrigan were 5th in a Peugeot 106. Class 9 honours fell to Cootehills Gene McDonald with Kevin Reilly on the notes in the newly built escort, ahead of Declan Connolly and A Hughes in 2nd with Peter and Shane Farrell taking 3rd in the hired escort. Laurence Sherry and Mark Sheridan had a troubled day but finished the event in 4th. Rodger Kennedy and Wendy Blackledge were the sole finishers in class 7. Class 6 went the way of Darragh Kelly in a Citreon C2R2 with Paddy McDaid 2nd in a similar C2.

            Josh Moffetts 5th overall was more than enough for the class 4 win with Maurice Greaney in 2nd. Pat Kirk was 3rd in an EVO 9 with Martin and Declan Tynan 4th in group N in the EVO 8. Matthew McKenna was navigating for Liam McFall but encountered problems to eventually make the finish, 6th in class. Mark Ewing was the sole finished of class 3 with class 2 going the way of David Keller in a civic with Brian Quigley/Seamus McTigue in 2nd. Francie McKenna and Sean Craig kept up the fight in class 1 with the win in the MG ZR Rover. Class 20 went to David Leonard and Darragh Mullan who finished in 13th overall, followed by Michael Carbin and Emmet McCooey who finished in 23rd place. The junior class 16 was won by Shane Forde and Brian McLoughlin in a civic, followed by Stefen McCann in a 205 and Barry Gallagher 3rd in a civic.

            With dry weather conditions and fast stages their are always casualties and Sunday was no different. Jim McKenna and Thomas Treanor were on a real charge but there day ended with prop shaft failure. Enda McNulty and Stephen Thornton also retired at the end of stage 7 with mechanical gremlins. Johno and Padraig Doogan retired after the first loop in their hired class 13 escort. Paddy Boyle and Marty Sherlock re-joined the event under rally 2 guidance but still failed to make the finish, just not their day! Sean Agnew and Peter Deery retired on stage 4 whilst David Smith and Jason McKenna only managed to complete the first stage. Paddy O’Reilly and Loretta Kelly were up the their usual entertaining tricks but retired on stage 9. John and Niall Kelly were in the lead of class 10 in their twin cam but failed to make it out of stage 3 with mechanical issues. Stephen Rushe and Conor Hagan were in a battle for class 10 honours with eventual winners Cathal Sheridan and Evin Hughes but were cruelly forced into retirement on the last stage. Jonathan Treanor and Adrian Foley had a sudden end to the day over jumps on stage 3 in the newly built Nova.

            So that’s the ever popular Monaghan Stages Rally finished for another year. Well done to Sam and James on the outright win and good luck on the Killarney Rally of the lakes this weekend. CoC Brendan Flynn would like to convey his sincere thanks to our Main sponsor, The Hillgrove Hotel. He also wishes to express his thanks to all local business’s who took ad’s in the rally programme. To all residents and property owner’s along the route. To the Gardai and County Council for their continued support. To his stage commanders, chief marshal, event secretaries and assistant Coc’s without whose help this event could not have been the success it was. Finally to everyone else who helped out in any way, big or small.

            Monaghan Motor Club would also like to wish Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans  the very best of luck this weekend when they head to England to compete in the first round of the British Rally Championship in the Pirelli Citreon DS3 R3.

 

Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally Top 10

1 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Fiesta WRC) 79m 53s

2 Peadar Hurson/Damien Connolly (Escort WRC) 81m 53s

3 Daniel McKenna/Stephen Hagan (Escort) 82m 17s

4 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 84m 10s

5 Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Lancer Evo 9) 84m 15s

6 Rodney Wilton/Conor McMahon (Escort) 84m 41s

7 Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly (Starlet) 85m 35s

8 John McQuaid/Seamus O’Connor (Escort) 85m 37s

9 Brian Brogan/Damien McGettigan (Escort) 85m 53s

10 Raymond Conlon/Darren McCague (Corolla) 86m 27s

 

 

This weekend will see the culmination of hard work and planning over the past six months come to fruition for CoC Brendan Flynn and his dedicated team as the chequered flag is lowered for the 2014 Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally. Saturday will see all competitors converge on the Hillgrove Hotel to sign-on for recce and each crew is allowed three passes over the loop of three stage to make their pace notes. Then on Saturday evening scrutiny will take place at McElvaney Motor’s where all cars are meticulously checked for safety features. Then at 9.30 pm on Sunday morning last years winners Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly will lead off a bumper entry of 131 cars to tackle the 9 stage event which boasts 140km of stages and just under 60km of road section. 2nd seed is Niall Maguire and Conor Foley followed by midlands stages winners Paddy McVeigh and Gary McElhinney, both crews in subaru WRC’s. 4th seeds are Kevin Barrett and Sean Mullally with Peader Hurson and Damien Connolly rounding off the top 5 in an escort cosworth WRC. Josh Moffett will head the Group N challenge in 6th, followed by a plethora of escort men which is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Daniel Mc Kenna and Stephen Hagan return to their home event in the Scanbitz escort and are seeded 7th. Gary McPhillips and Paul Sheridan are next up in 8th with Cavan’s Rodney Wilton and Conor McMahon in 9th. Manus Kelly has James McCarville on the notes and they round off a splendid top 10 with Dessie Keenan and Enda Sherry making a return to the stages in a class 13 escort and seeded in 11th.

Shane Maguire and Martin Mc Garrity are at 12, ahead of Donegal’s Trevor Bustard and John McCafferty. Raymond Conlon and Darren McCague are at 15 in the twin cam with Richard Moffett rounding off the top 15 in his class 13 starlet. Jim Mc Kenna and Thomas Treanor are at 20 in their escort. Incredibly there are 16 entrants into the highly powerful class 14 so the stakes are high. Enda McNulty will have Stephen Thornton on the notes and are at 23 with John McQuaid and Seamus O’Connor returning to the stages after a short lay-off and are sure to be back on the pace, seeded at 25. Michael Carbin and Emmet McCooey will be hopeful that they can continue there goo pace of late in class 20 as they run 27th on the road.

Class 12 will see Justin Smyth and Sharon Clarke head the field at 35, followed by Martin Toner and Martin Swinburne. Class 11R is the biggest of the event with 18 entrants set to battle it out over the South Westerly Monaghan stages. Kevin Eves and Chris Melly head the class 11R brigade in their twin cam, followed by Kevin Bradley and Graham Henderson in an escort. Barry Treanor and Colm Connolly start at 32 with David Moffett and Fintan Sherry at 33. Seamus Connolly and Gary McCrudden should also be in the hunt for class 11R honours as will Martin McPhillips and Ciaran Tynan, seeded at 45 in the McPhillips Engineering backed twin cam. Other locals to feature in class 11R include David Smith and Aidan Coyle at 60 and brother/sister pairing of Ryan and Nicola McKenna. Sean McCaul and Lorcan Kennedy make their long awaited return to the Monaghan stage’s to compete in class 11 also.

Class 10 will be headed by the Kelly brothers, John and Niall seeded at 86. Stephen Rushe and Conor Hagan will also be vying for class 10 honours as will Cathal Sheridan and Evin Hughes in the newly built Nova. David and Aaron Dixon also compete in class 10along with Martin McGuigan (119) and Padraig Connolly (124). Gene McDonald and Kevin Reilly head the class 9 brigade ahead of Laurence Sherry and Mark Sheridan (98) with Aaron Duffy and Thomas Wedlock at (99) Mickey Brennan and John McKenna are at 110 followed by Jonathan Treanor and Adrian Foley at 111.

With a bumper entry and an action packed weekend in store lets hope the weather Gods are looking down favourably for the upcoming weekend. Service area has moved from recent years and is located at the back of the courthouse in the new carpark which is sure to keep the town busy for one of Monaghan’s biggest sporting events of the calendar.

Finally for now the CoC Brendan Flynn would like to wish all involved in this event a happy, safe and enjoyable weekend of motorsport action and no matter whether your, spectating, competing or marshalling always remember that your safety is paramount and please keep the Race in its Place.

Please also respect peoples land and property when out spectating and bring your litter home!

Programmes are widely available throughout Monaghan town and surrounding areas.

Finally best wishes to all competitors and hope to see everyone back at our main sponsors, the Hillgrove Hotel on Sunday night for prize giving at 8pm sharp.

 

As ever the Easter Bank holiday weekend has long been associated with the running of the Circuit of Ireland Stages Rally and this year is no different. All roads lead to Belfast this weekend with the idealic surroundings of the Titanic Quarter proving an excellent backdrop for the running of this titanic event spread over two days. After a ceremonial start on Thursday evening at Belfast City Hall the action on the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland will start on Friday morning. Over Friday and Saturday the crews will cover 18 stages before they arrive back at the Belfast finish ramp on Saturday evening.

            This years event has the added bonus of being a counting round of the ERC (European Rally Championship) which has drawn entries from all over the world. Local interest will be firmly focused on the likes of Sam and Josh Moffett, with Sam and James O’Reilly seeded at number 6 in his Ford Fiesta RRC and following a steady maiden run on the recent Circuit of Kerry they will hope to be on the pace of the more experienced European Competitors. Josh is seeded at number 7 in the EVO 9 and following his 4th place overall on last weekends moonraker forestry rally they too will be hoping for a good battle amongst the top 10.

            Stephen and Susanne Wright are seeded right in the heat of the battle at number 20 surrounded by Italian, Polish, Dutch, Czech and Norwegian crews. The Newbliss siblings have a hectic schedule over a 21 day period having been in Belgium last weekend for the second round of the Belgium Championship where the finished second 208 and took the junior driver award. Once the circuit is over they Spanwright/Killyhevlin Hotel backed Peugeot makes a return to Belgium for the 3rd round on the following weekend.

            2014 Pirelli Star Driver Daniel McKenna and co-driver Arthur Kierans will make their long awaited competitive debut in the David Greer Motorsport Citroen DS3 R3T this weekend on the Circuit of Ireland Rally. In a departure from the usual black colour scheme, the Pirelli prize drive car will also sport a new, eye catching yellow colour scheme for the upcoming season. It will be an event of firsts for Daniel. It will be his first competitive drive in the Citroen, his first time tackling the Circuit of Ireland, his first taste of the European Rally Championship and it will also be the first time Pirelli’s 17 inch WRC tyre will be used in competition. It’s a lot to take on board but Daniel is looking forward to the challenge that awaits.

            Other locals to keep an eye out for include Mervyn Wedlock and Phillip Smith in a honda civic type R whilst Paul Sheridan will once again team up with Enda McNulty in the national section in their class 13 escort. Emmett Sherry will be navigating for Calvin Beattie in a Ford Fiesta R2. Best of luck to all crews competing and full report next week.

 

Monaghan Motor Club Annual Stages Rally

Monaghan Motor Club held a successful rally launch for their upcoming Stages Rally in the Hillgrove Hotel last Thursday evening. A large attendance gathered to get up close and personal with some of the cars and crews which will battle it out over the 9 stages on Sunday 27th April. CoC for the event is Brendan Flynn and with final preparations well under way and a bumper entry list being issued in the coming days its sure to live up to its billing as one of the biggest sporting events of the year for County Monaghan. As always marshals are needed so if you are available please make contact with any committee member. Full preview of the 2014 Hillgrove Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally next week.

 

Sligo Autocross

Well done to Derek Mackarel who finished 8th overall on the recent Sligo Autocross. Derek had been 4th overall before conditions dried up, allowing the more powerful car’s to use there advantage but 8th overall and 2nd in class still a great result in his trusty white Nova.