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Monaghan Motor Club capped off a truly inspiring year for its members with the news that Stephen Wright has been crowned the Billy Coleman award winner as young rally driver of the year for 2013. Stephen along with his sister and co-driver Suzanne , who was undoubtedly a major factor in his success lifted a plethora of awards this year in his Group N EVO 9. This included being crowned group N winner on the Irish International Tarmac Championship for 2013,  3rd in group N on the Dunlop National Rally Championship along with top 10 finishes in a number of events throughout the year. Stephen and Suzanne are also very competitive in the forests with many top 10 results . The Newbliss native has followed in the footsteps of Daniel Mc Kenna and Sam Moffett who were worthy winners over the past two years to make it a hatrick for Monaghan Club members. We wish Stephen and Suzanne all the very best in their endeavours for 2014 and we will try to report on their progress throughout the year.

 

Monaghan Navigation Trial

This Saturday night sees Monaghan Motor Club host the first night navigation trial of the New Year with Enda Sherry and Dessie Keenan as CoC’s. Ballinode Community Centre in HQ with plots available from 6.30. Entries are still available and as always many marshals are required so please make yourselves available to marshal and be at the community centre, Ballinode before 8pm this Saturday. Full report next week

 

AGM

Monaghan Motor Club host their annual general meeting on Friday 17th January at 8.30sharp in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan. All club members are asked to attend as this is your chance to contribute to the running of the club.

 

Happy New Year

Monaghan Motor Club wish all of its members a Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.  The success of its members in 2013 will be hard to beat but in true Monaghan Motor Club fashion we will have contenders at the top of every event through 2104.

Locals Fair Best in Midlands

Midlands Motor Club played host to the first of their two navigation trials for this season on Saturday night last. Expert crew of Sam Johnston and Colin Duffy were the CoC’s and laid on a challenging, yet enjoyable route through the Leitrim countryside surrounding Ballinamuck and Cloone. Local men Enda McLaughlin and Nigel McCloughry paired up for the night in Enda’s two wheel drive starlet which has had overall wins on endurance trials in the past and once again they were on the top step of the podium with a clean sheet on the night. The route proved to be ideal for these midlands men with 90% tight and twisty tarmac roads levelling up the playing field between the two wheel drive starlet and the more common subaru’s. Evin Hughes and Pakie Duffy have also teamed up for this years border campaign and they too had a clean sheet on the night, but unfortunately had to settle for 2nd overall on engine cc ruling. 3rd overall went to another local novice crew with Andrew Stewart and Robert Howard finishing on 2 penalties. A great run for this crew who have only been competing a short while and indeed their only fault of the night was 2 penalties on the ITC section which ultimately cost them the overall win.

            In the expert class, Pakie and Evin took the class honours with Noel Hall and Trevor Farrell following up on their good run last time out to claim 4th overall and 2nd in expert class. Michael and Ciaran Tynan were 5th overall and 3rd in expert class. Drumlin CoC’s, Gary Farrelly and Sean McKenna obviously used the experience of setting a 120 mile route to good effect with a semi-expert class win and 7th overall. Laurenec Keenan and Ashly McAdoo were 2nd semi expert after a small error leaving Via1 cost them dearly. Bobby Sharkey and Mac Kierans took 3rd in semi-expert after a troubled night and glad to make the finish with silverware.

            The novice class was won by the aforementioned Stewart and Howard on 2 penalties, but Derek Mackarel and Fintan McGorman were also on the boil, finishing up on only 5 penalties to take 2nd in class and 6th overall. Indeed it was the ITC section which also cost them dearly, dropping 3 penalties to their rivals. Donegal men, Dessie Dorrian and Ciaran Coyle had another good run after coming out of retirement for the Drumlin and took 3rd novice and 9th overall. Michael Carbin and Emmett McCooey teamed up once again with Michael proving he can sit on both sides of a navigation car after a successful few years driving for Evin Hughes to take the beginners class on the night and 10th overall. Shane Sorohan and James Canning were 2nd in beginner, ahead of Maudabawn’s Thomas and Andrew Wedlock.

            Skibbereen Carbery Navigation is on this Saturday night which is a reserve round of the National Navigation championship. Then its a short break until after Christmas on the night navigation scene with Monaghan Motor Club kicking off their 2014 club championship with a night navigation on 11th January.      

 

Midlands MC Night Navigation Top 12

1/ Enda McLoughlin/Nigel McCloughry 0 penalties

2/ Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes 0pens

3/ Andrew Stewart/Robert Howard 2pens

4/ Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall 2pens

5/ Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan 4pens

6/ Fintan McGorman/Derek Mackarel 5pens

7/ Sean McKenna/Gary Farrelly 7pens

8/ Stephen Wright/Daire Hayes 8pens

9/ Ciaran Coyle/Dessie Dorrian 13pens

10/ Emmet McCooey/Michael Carbin 16pens

11/ Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan 25pens

12/ David Moffett/Martin Connolly 26 pens

 

Monaghan MC Night of Champions

All roads lead to the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan this Saturday night where Monaghan Motor Club will host their annual awards dinner. This years event will celebrate the outstanding achievements of its club members on both the national, international and BRC motorsport scene in what is billed as “A Night of Champions” Come along to meet and greet the champions and also get a glimpse of their winning trophies. All award winners will be notified but why not come along and show your support for all award winners in what’s is guaranteed a great night. MC on the night will be Sean McCaffery with dinner followed by music. Tickets are available from any committee member or by contacting 087 2558957 with dinner served at 8pm sharp in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan.

                                                  

 

Midlands MC crew Sam Johnston partner by driver Colin Duffy came away with the overall win on Monaghans drumlin night navigation trial held on Saturday week last. Coc’s for the event, Gary Farrelly and Sean Mc Kenna set out a demanding route, 120 miles stretching from Tyholland through Clontibret, Ardaghey, Ballybay, Broomfield and Carrickmacross to ensure the biggest navigation event in the calendar lived up to its name. By petrol halt in Mc Caugheys, Broomefield, Noel Hall and Trevor Farrell were clear leaders, only down 1 penalty but they were forced into retirement mid way through the second half with a burst radiator. Johnston and Duffy took over at the helm and finished with a 9 penalty advantage over Richard Cassidy and Paul Phelan. Damien Connolly, partnered by Donegal driver were 3rd overall and in doing so, Damien was crowned Monaghan MC traders champion for 2013.

            Michael and Ciaran Tynan were 4th overall and took 3rd in the expert class. Ashley McAdoo and Laurence Keenan took the semi expert class with Corks David Beamish and Muireann Hayes 2nd semi. Bobby Sharkey and Mac Kierans finished 3rd in class. Donegal/Cork pairing of Trevor McConnell and Eoghan McCarthy made their journeys worthwhile with a novice class win. Conor Meehan and Brendan Keenan were 2nd with Donegal men Dessie Dorrian, driven by Ciaran Coyle coming out of retirement to claim 3rd novice on what was a very tough event. Derek Mackarel and Fintan McGorman kept up their good form of late to take the beginners class, followed by Peter and Shane Farrell with Lindsay and Christine Boyd 3rd.

            So that’s the drumlin over for another year and well done to CoC’s Gary/Sean and all their team on a truly mammoth task of running such a big event. Big congratulations also to Damien Connolly on winning the traders club championship following this event and also to Ashley McAdoo and Damien Connolly for winning the Gary Nesbitt club navigation championship. All roads lead to Ballinamuck, Longford this Saturday for round 2 of the Squealing Pig border navigation championship. Full Report next week.

 

Monaghan MC Drumlin Navigation Top 10

1/ Colin Duffy/Sam Johnston 27marks

2/ Richard Cassidy/Paul Phelan 36m

3/ Gary McElhinney/Damien Connolly 37m

4/ Michael Tynan/Ciaran Tynan 46m

5/ Stephen Wright/Daire Hayes 74m

6/ Pakie Duffy/Evin Hughes 88m

7/ Ashley McAdoo/Laurence Keenan 89m

8/ Trevor McConnell/Eoghan McCarthey 100m

9/ Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill 119m

10/ Joe Friel/Aidan Friel 137m

 

Kerry MC Banna Beach Stages

Shane Maguire has emerged from the recent Kerry winter stages rally in BannaBeach as the overall winner of the 2013 Top Part West Coast rally championship. The Ballinode man partnered by Martin McGarrity has had a mixed season, however their determination has paid off with this prestigious victory. The campaign began back in February with the Birr stages, victory in group N and second place points set them up well, however round two wasn’t as kind as a further maximum point’s haul was on the cards until a last stage retirement put pay to their hard endeavours. The third round of the championship took the crew to Limerick, an event which suited the more powerful Escorts. However a healthy haul of points for top group n and fifth place in the championship were welcomed. The championship fight was back on, and the boys duly stamped their intentions in Galway with a fine second place points and again top group n position, the championship was now becoming clearer as it seemed it was now a four way fight between Shane, Alan O’Callaghan, Ed Synan and Kevin Barrett. The penultimate round of the championship saw the crews head to the Clare stages and like all previous rounds the competition was fierce, Barrett took yet another maximum whilst Maguire took third and Synan fourth, O’Callaghans championship suffered a severe blow with his retirement leaving a three way tussle heading into the final round in Banna. Kevin Barrett did not start the final round as his Wrc Subaru wasn’t eligible for the event leaving a two way fight between Synan and Maguire. By mid-point in the event Shane and Martin had turbo problems which left Synan well ahead, however the Maguire team kept their composure to score fourth place points, which was enough to secure the title for the Monaghan man, the championship has been good for Shane as this is the second time for him, having last secured the prize back in 2010. Martin and Shane would like to thank their dedicated service crew of Pauric, Dessie, Michael, Emmet, Bob, Stephen & Gary for their work all year. Shane would also like to thank his sponsors for their support all year.

            Jim Mc Kenna and Thomas Treanor also made the trip south and came away with 2nd in class 14 for their efforts. Michael Carbin and Emmet McCooey were 14th overall and 2nd in class 20 on the difficult Kerry stages. Tommy Boyle, with Monaghans Peter Derry on the notes were 4th in class 11R. The event was won by Mick Quinn and Tony Healy in a class 14 escort, followed by Ed O’Callaghan and Ger Clancy in a class 13 escort. Stephen McCann and Lisa O’Dowd were 3rd in an EVO 7.

 

Dunlop National Prizegiving

Well done to all club members who picked up awards at the Dunlop National Tarmac Championship Awards night on Saturday night last. Josh Moffatt and John Rowan were rewarded for their exploits this year by winning the group N category in their EVO 9. Cavans Jonathan Pringle and Martin Byrne were crowned Dunlop MKII trophy champions with James Cassidy and James Mc Carville 4th overall in this category. Sam Moffatt and James O’Reilly took class 4 honours with Stephen and Suzanne Wright 2nd and Eugene Meegan and Martin McGarrity 3rd. Shane Maguire was 4th overall driver in class 4.

            Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry were also rewarded for their efforts this year with consistency resulting in 1st in class 8. Cavans Gary Kiernan and Niall Tierney won class 10 with David Smyth and Mark Deery taking 2nd in class 11. Paddy Kiernan (RIP) and James McCarville were awarded class 13 honours on the night. Well done to all recipients.

 

Wales Rally GB

Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans competed in the final round of the World Rally Championship in North Wales last weekend. This was a mammoth 4 day event which was equally demanding on both car and crew. Unfortunately the Monaghan men experienced several mishaps throughout the event but managed to finish 2nd in class and more importantly their stages times were very impressive.  Full report next week.

 

Monaghan MC Night of Champions

Monaghan Motor Club will host their annual awards dinner dance on Saturday night 30th November. This years event will celebrate the outstanding achievements of its club members, on both the national and international motorsport scene it what is billed as a “Night of Champions” All award winners will be notified but why not come along and show your support for all award winners in whats is guaranteed a great night. MC on the night will be Sean McCaffery with dinner followed by music. Tickets are available from any committee member with dinner served at 8pm sharp in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan.

Sympathy

Monaghan Motor Club wish to extend their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of the late Vincent Fagan, Dublin. Vincent was a keen supporter of motorsport and in particular night navigations and retrospectives. Vincent was well known within Monaghan Motor club where he competed on many night navigation trials down through the years and was always about to lend a hand if required. May he rest in peace.

 

Tarmac Championship Awards

 

In what was a busy weekend for club members with the Irish Tarmac Championship awards and the Border Rally Championship awards both taking place on Saturday night 2^nd November. The Tarmac awards ceremony took place in Stormont in Belfast where Fermanagh’s Gary Jennings & Wicklow’s Kevin Flanagan were crowned the 2013 Irish Tarmac Champions. Pride of place amongst the Monaghan crews went to the brother & sister team of Stephen & Suzanne Wright who were the overall Group N champions. This was a remarkable result given that it was their first time contesting the series. They had a tremendous battle all year with fellow Monaghan man Josh Moffett and his Antrim co-driver, John Rowan. In the end, Josh & John had to settle for 2^nd place in Group N this year. Not to be outdone, Josh’s brother Sam secured 3^rd overall in the championship which was no mean feat as he split the season between his Group N Lancer and a McKinstry WRC Subaru. His overall win with navigator James O’Reilly in Donegal was the highlight of his Championship. Shane Maguire was classified 2^nd in Class 4 despite just two outings during the year.

 

Sligo Pallets Border Championship Awards

 

Monaghan success was once again in abundance at the annual Border Championship Prizegiving in the Sligo Park Hotel. The overall winners of the championship were Cavan’s Gary Kiernan ably navigated by Niall Tierney. This was a great success for Niall who was in his first season competing. Aghabog father and son team, Arthur & Mac Kierans, champions for the last two years, finished 3^rd overall in the championship this year.

 

There was also excellent success for Monaghan crews in the classes once again. Francie McKenna/Sean Craig were the class 1 champions in their MG. Josh Moffett was the class 4 champion with Shane Maguire finishing runner-up. Justin Smyth/Gregory McQuillan finished 2^nd in class 9 while John & Niall Kelly claimed class 10 honours. David Smyth/Mark Deery were the class 11R champions, while Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden finished 3^rd in the same class. Raymond Conlon went home with his award for 2^nd place in class 13. Once again, an excellent year for Monaghan crews in the Border Championship.

 

Cork Star-Trek Night Nav

 

A number of Monaghan crews made the trip to Cork for Round 1 of the 2013-2014 National Night Navigation Championship. The event consisted of a challenging 85 mile route organised by leading Cork competitors Ken Carmody & Johnny Kenneally. Richard Cassidy had his usual Dublin navigator Paul Phelan navigating him. The pair finished in 4^th place overall in what was a tough event with only one crew finishing under 100 penalties. Hot on their heels were Ashley McAdoo and Laurence Keenan who finished in 5^th place overall and 1^st in the Semi-Expert class. Also making the trip down were Peter Farrell & Shane Farrell who were taking part in their first Cork event. This was a good result for this crew who finished 3^rd in the Beginners class on a very demanding event. The next National round is the Drumlin Navigation Trial on Saturday night next.

 

Drumlin Navigation Trial

 

Monaghan’s premier Navigation Trial takes place next weekend. COC Gary Farrelly and assistant Sean McKenna are putting the finishing touches to a 120 mile route based out of Tyholland. The event is Round 2 of the National Night Navigation Championship and Round 1 of the Squeling Pig Border Navigation Championship. Crucially the event is the final round of the Monaghan Motor Club Traders and Gary Nesbitt Championships. Damien Connolly currently leads the Traders Championship, but Martin Tynan & Derek Mackarel are also firmly in contention. As usual, marshals are needed to man the various timepoints, vias and controls that mark the route. Marshals are asked to meet in the Tyholland Community Centre at 8pm.

 

Kerry Mini Stages Rally

 

A number of club members are making the long trip south to compete on the Kerry Mini Stages Rally on Sunday next. The event is the final round of West Coast Rally Championship, which is led by Ballinode’s Shane Maguire and Fermanagh co-driver Martin McGarritty. Best of luck to all Monaghan crews.

 

 

 

Daniel Mc Kenna and co-driver Arthur Kierans have been crowned the BRC Rally 2 champions with the Scanbitz Ltd and Ravenol Motoroil supported Ford Fiesta R2 at the final round of the BRC, Rallye Sunseeker in Poole, Dorset last weekend. Daniel sealed the championship with a mature controlled drive to finish second in the R2 category on the event, doing more than enough to take a hard fought title from event winner Steve Rokland. This was the duo’s sixth podium of the year in as many events, the only R2 crew to manage this amazing feat, which stands testament to the speed and consistency of this championship winning crew.

            Ten tough stages and eight other R2 crew stood between the young Scotshouse native and the title before the event started and after the Friday recce, Daniel and Arthur knew that a top five finish was enough to guarantee him the title, although this was easier said than done. The plan was to start with a steady safe pace and monitor all other R2 drivers times and make no mistakes to take the championship. For added safety the crew decided on covering all bases, carrying extra tool’s and spare tyres in case of emergency which would obviously affect the cars performance but ultimately would give them a better chance of a top 5 finish. Thankfully as things turned out they didn’t have to call on any of their extra baggage.

            The Monaghan men went second fastest on the opening stage directly behind Rokland and remained in this position throughout the event, driving well within their capabilities to consolidate a podium place and stay ahead of the chasing pack. However with slippery conditions on the stages for much of the day and the top five R2 cars never being separated by any more than a minute and thirty seconds, one mishap could have spelled disaster for Daniel’s championship hopes. Another problem was with three passes on some of the stages they became extremely rough and rutted which really took its toll on the car, but the reliable Fiesta R2 was more than able for the challenge. The Scanbitz/Ravenol Ireland backed fiesta  even managed to set a fastest stage time on stage 8 of the event despite driving in safe mode.

            Daniel is absolutely delighted with the result and the championship season as a whole, here is what he had to say about his wonderful achievement. “At the beginning of the season I couldn’t have dreamed for the championship to work out like this for us. To be on the pace with all these great drivers in the BRC, take four wins, a second and a third is unbelievable. I really need to thank my main sponsors Scanbitz and Ravenol Ireland along with the many other companies and people who helped sponsor this success story. To my dedicated service crew for their help all year, especially Sharkey Motorsport for preparing a very reliable car throughout the season. I would also like to thank Motorsport Ireland and the Irish Sports Council for their great advice in conjunction with the Billy Coleman Award, Arthur Kierans for a great job all year on the notes and all of my friends and family for all of their support and good luck” As part of Daniels prize for winning the R2 class, the crew recieve a free entry into this years Rally GB which is the final round of the World Rally Championship based in Wales.

            The icing on the cake for Daniel came on Tuesday of this week when he was also awarded the Pirelli Star Driver award for his exploits in this years British Rally Championship. With no time to celebrate after his R2 championship win, it was a quick shift to North Wales on Sunday to compete in this prestigious competition on Monday and Tuesday where he was to compete against five other nominees for a prize of a full BRC season in a Citroen DS3 R3T backed by Pirelli. Thankfully the hard work by both Daniel and Arthur paid off when it was announced on Tuesday afternoon that Daniel had been awarded the Pirelli Star Driver award and can now look forward to another season in the British Rally Championship with the help of Pirelli in the Citroen DS3.

            Another competition for Daniel this week is the BRC Live Media Trophy shootout held at World Rally preparation experts, Prodrive’s facility in Banbury on Wednesday.  Daniel along with 5 other nominees will be interviewed where the winner will get to test drive JCW Mini S2000 which is another amazing opportunity in conjunction with the BRC.

            Monaghan Motor Club would like to congratulate Daniel and Arthur on their amazing feat of being crowned British Rally Championship R2 category winners and also to Daniel for being crowned 2013 Pirelli Star Driver which undoubtedly could not have been achieved without the help of Arthur Kierans and all his dedicated team. Well done lads.