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After the 3^rd round of the British Rally Championship, the Scottish Rally in Dumfries, Daniel McKenna and Co-Driver Arthur Kierans find themselves leading the R2 Championship by 5 points from Norwegian driver Steve Rokland and lying a magnificent 5^th in the overall championship among the top R3 category drivers after finishing 1^st in R2 and 8^th o/a last weekend.

            This is the first time the Scottish Rally has been a round of the BRC for 7 years and was a new challenge for the majority of the championship competitors including Daniel. After a very challenging recce on the Friday, all of the crews knew that they had a very tough day’s rallying ahead of them as the stages where very technical but also very fast. The biggest fear however was the sharp stone surface which would most definitely cause punctures and would probably have some reckoning on the final results. Also the fact that the Scottish national rally competitors were running ahead of the BRC crews, this would cut and rut the surface up, making it an even bigger challenge.

            Stage 1 early ON Saturday morning was a 6 mile test, the crew stuck to the game plan and set 2^nd fastest time in R2, 2 seconds behind Rokland with no problems. However on the next test a 13.5 mile stage the crew encountered an unavoidable rock that had been dragged onto the racing line about 1.5 miles into the stage which created such an impact that it bent the rear axel making the car handle badly for the remainder of the stage. The crew still managed to set 2^nd fastest R2 time on the stage but dropped 11 seconds to Rokland as the majority of the other R2 competitors were already experiencing puncture problems. Stage 3 was a short spectator stage only 0.75 miles long before the much needed service to the car. Daniel made a big effort through the test setting the 5^th fastest time o/a and fastest R2 despite the mishandling car.

            With a short 20 minute service their dedicated service crew managed to replace the rear axle without any time penalties. Towards the end of stage 4 Rokland’s gearbox mounting broke and he also picked up a puncture as Daniel was 4 seconds quicker closing the gap to 9 seconds. Jon Armstrong was also having a good run and was only 6 seconds behind Daniel. Stage 5 proved to be a big turning point as Daniel had a fairly clean stage despite encountering a power steering problem near the end of the stage. Rokland was still carrying his gearbox problem and Armstrong had a puncture so Daniel had a 26 second lead at the 2^nd service.

            Unfortunately the power steering problem could not be fixed in the short service, so Daniel and Arthur knew they would have to carry the problem and probably drop time on the final 3 tests, but were confident of holding their position. Daniel was again quickest through stage 6, the spectator stage by 0.2 of a second from Rokland stretching his lead to 27 seconds. On stage 7 however Rokland was on a charge and took 10 seconds out of Daniel who was being cautious with his steering problem and the gap was reduced to 17 seconds with 2 stages to go. However stage 8 was cancelled due to an accident in the national rally and it was down to the final stage for Daniel to try and hold onto the lead. The 13 mile stage was a tough and rough test to finish with but everything was going to plan for the crew until 10 miles in and disaster struck. A wishbone bolt sheared on Daniel’s Fiesta on one of the bad bumps through the stage and to add insult to injury he then picked up a left rear puncture making the car virtually un-drivable. He managed however, to scrape the car over the finish of the stage very disappointed thinking that the top result was gone. The rough terrain of the Scottish rally was to inflict a lot of trouble to almost all of the R2 competitors including Rokland as he picked up a puncture and dropped 4 minutes and dropped to 4^th in the class. This meant that Daniel and Arthur survived their final stage ordeals to take the R2 win and 8^th o/a by over 2 minutes and now have a 5 point advantage over their nearest rival in the R2 category heading into the 4^th round of the championship, the Ulster rally back on tarmac which would be considered a home rally for Daniel and Arthur.

            Mac Kierans was also in Scotland for his first taste of the BRC, once again navigating for Joe McGonigle in the R3 Clio and followed up on their Donegal success the previous weekend with a fine drive to 7th overall. Brendan Cumiskey and Conor Foley also made the trip to Dumfries and also had a great run to 10th overall on this demanding rally. The event was won by Alastair Fisher and Gordan Noble in the Citreon DS3 R3.

 

Loughgall Stages

Well done to Jim McKenna and Thomas Treanor who were 2nd overall on last Saturday’s Loughgall Stages. Mervin Wedlock and Damien McCabe were 4th overall and first in class 6. Andy and Derek Mackarel had the trusty ascona out once again and finished 27th overall.

 

ALMC and Connacht Stages

Marshals are urgently required for the upcoming ALMC stages this Sunday 7th July based in Dunboyne, Co. Meath and also the Connacht (Sligo) stages the following weekend, Sunday 14th July. If anyone is available for either event please contact Kerry Stevenson or Cora Maguire on 086 3627000 as soon as possible

 

Ravens Rock Rally

Monaghan Motor Club wishes to extend its sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Paul Mulcahy who passed away while competing on the Ravens Rock Rally last weekend. May he rest in peace.

Major win for Monaghan Crews in Donegal

 

Sam Moffett and James O’Reilly led a procession of Monaghan crews to victory in their respective classes at the Donegal International Rally last weekend. In what may well go down as a milestone event for the Monaghan club, Sam and James followed up on their overall win on the recent Monaghan stages with a minute and a half to spare over their nearest rivals after 3 days and 20 stages on what is now classed as Irelands biggest rallying event. Setting some fastest stage times along the way, the Combi-lift backed S14 was never outside the top 5 and with consistent stage times quickly moved up the leader board where they found themselves embroiled in a three horse race with Gary Jennings and Darren Gass who had Monaghans Enda Sherry on the notes. Unfortunately for the Armagh/Monaghan based team of Gass and Sherry it was to be unlucky 13 as their event ended on stage 13 with a visit to the Donegal scenery. Sam and James moved into the lead on Sunday morning when Jennings was allotted a three minute road penalty but with six Donegal stages to traverse on Sunday the pressure was on. Thankfully for the Billy Coleman award winner they held their nerve and made it back to the Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny for a historic win for the young Monaghan team.  Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan had a consistent drive to claim 2nd overall whilst Gary Jennings and Neil Doherty picked themselves up after their 3 minute penalty with some great pace through the Sunday stages and climbed back up to 3rd overall, gaining valuable points for their championship campaign.

            The group N production class could be considered a two horse race for most of the weekend as the Newbliss brother and sister team of Stephen and Suzanne Wright were embroiled in a battle with Donegal natives Martin Doherty and Damien McCauley  for most of the Saturday and Sunday stages with no more than 15 seconds separating them at any time. Josh Moffett and John Rowan had also been in contention through the early stages but retired on stage 7 which left Shane Maguire and Martin McGarrity 3rd in group N, a position they never relinquished to the finish for a great result and 10th overall. Back at the front the race was very much alive as Doherty/McCauley traded stage times with the Wrights until stage 17 where Dohertys engine cried enough and the Span Wright EVO 9 coasted home for a memorable victory and 7th overall. Seamus Heron was 2nd in group N, also in an EVO 9.

            Donegal’s Joe McGonigle called on the navigator services of Aghabog youngster Mac Kierans for the weekend and things could not have went any better as they had a superb run in the R3 Clio to an incredible result of 8th overall and class 3 winners. Matthew McKenna teamed up with Dara Leonard once again in the fiesta but their weekend was short lived with retirement on stage 8 whilst lying 2nd in class, only 2 seconds off the lead.

            The National Rally could be considered the crowd puller to Donegal and it certainly never failed to disappoint on this occasion either. Monaghan’s Gary McPhillips and Paul Sheridan laid down the gauntlet on the opening stage, pulling out a 5 second lead over the nearest rivals and good friends Manus Kelly and Donal Barrett. Indeed this was to be the story of the weekend for these leading two wheel drive crews as they traded stage times right up until the last stage. Incredibly over the 20 stages these crews were never any more then 13 seconds apart but unfortunately Kelly/Barretts charge ended on the final stage with an off road excursion and Gary McPhillips and Paul Sheridan went on to take a memorable 1st overall victory on the national stages event.  Gary would like to thank the service crew of Francis and Martin McPhillips and Cathal Sheridan who kept the car going all weekend and also Dessie and Emmet from Keenan Rally Prep for preparing the car in the weeks leading up to the rally. He would also like to thank all his sponsors without whom it would just not have been possible to compete on the event. And finally to Deborah and Jennifer for all that they had to endure over the past two weeks whilst Gary and Paul were preparing and competing.

            Frank Kelly took the now infamous baby blue escort home to 2nd overall in the national event after a consistent run with some near misses, whilst Damian Gallagher was 3rd, also in a class 14 escort. James McCarville took up his usual role as navigator for Cavans Paddy Kiernan in the class 13 escort and they too had a memorable run through the Donegal hills to claim 3rd in class and 7th overall. Rodney Wilton and Conor McMahon finished 3rd in class 14 and 9th overall. Gerard McQuaid and Gareth Quinlan also made the finish in their class 13 escort. Unfortunately John McQuaid/Seamus O Connor failed to finish with retirement on stage 8 whilst lying in 9th overall. Cootehill man Mark Wedlock finished in 40th overall after a testing weekend on the Donegal stages. Results sheets suggest that Seamus Connolly and Gary McCrudden had a troubled weekend on the Donegal stages as they were lying 2nd in class after the opening test but slipped back down the leader board and finally into retirement on stage 16.

            In the junior rally, Maudabawn men Damien O’Reilly and Damien McCabe had a great spin through the Sunday stages to claim 3rd overall, a memorable result following some recent bad luck on their local stages. Ryan and Nicola McKenna gained valuable experience in Donegal and brought their twin cam home to 13th overall.

            So that’s a preview of a highly successful Donegal Stages Rally from a local point of view and with overall winners in both the International and National categories as well as the group N production class, this feat may never be repeated again so well done to all involved.

 

DONEGAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY RESULTS

1 Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 22m 44s,

2 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC) 2h 24m 14s,

3 Garry Jennings/Neil Doherty (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 24m 53s,

4 Seamus Leonard/Paul McLaughlin (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 25m 02s,

5 Daragh O’Riordan/Tony McDaid (Ford Fiesta WRC) 2h 25m 58s,

6 John O’Donnell/Aidan Friel (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 26m 21s,

7 Stephen Wright/Susanne Wright (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 29m 42s,

8 Joe McGonigle/Mac Kierans (Renault Clio R3 Maxi) 2h 34m 22s,

9 Seamus Heron/Gerry McVeigh (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 37m 05s,

10 Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity (Subaru Impreza Gp N) 2h 37m 30s.

 

GROUP N:

1 Stephen Wright/Susanne Wright,

2 Seamus Heron/Gerry McVeigh,

3 Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity.

 

NATIONAL RALLY:

1 Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan (Ford Escort) 2h 27m 11s,

2 Frank Kelly/Stephen Quinn (Ford Escort) 2h 29m 07s,

3 Damian Gallagher/Mac Walsh (Ford Escort) 2h 29m 34s,

4 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Escort) 2h 29m 47s,

5 Daniel Conaghan/Terence Magee (Ford Escort) 2h 31m 16s,

6 Paul Reid/Karl Reid (Ford Escort) 2h 31m 21s.

 

HISTORIC RALLY:

1 Wesley Patterson/Sean Hayde (Ford Escort) 2h 03m 44s,

2 Seamus O’Connell/Sean Magee (Ford Escort) 2h 05m 02s,

3 Ian Millar/Ronan O’Neill (Ford Escort) 2h 14m 34s.

 

JUNIOR RALLY:

1 Kevin McLaughlin/Kieran McGinley (Honda Civic) 60m 50s,

2 Jonathan Orr/Martin McBrearty (Honda Civic) 60m 55s,

3 Damian O’Reilly/Damien McCabe (Ford Escort) 61m 23s.

Mc Kenna produces Star Drive performance at the Jim Clark

After a very tough weekend’s rallying in the Scottish Borders at the 2^nd round of the BRC, the Jim Clark Rally, Daniel McKenna and Co-Driver Arthur Kierans finished a very impressive 7^th O/A, won the R2 category and an extra bonus was securing the much coveted Pirelli Star Driver (PSD) nomination based on his performance on the weekend’s event.

At the wheel of his Scanbitz Ltd and Ravenol Motoroil Lubricants Ford Fiesta R2, Daniel had a mixed weekend. The event started at 7pm on Friday evening as the first stage was a short blast around the town of Duns before heading to the mammoth 16 mile Abbey St. Bathans stage.

Then a shorter 4 mile test, which were all then repeated. Daniel set the joint 2^nd fastest time on the town stage with no drama, but about 6 miles into the Abbey stage the car dropped down on power getting progressively worse as the stage went on and the crew found themselves 15 seconds off the pace with no chance to repair the unknown problem until after the 6 stages on Friday night were completed before overnight service back at Kelso Racecourse.

After some investigation a faulty fuel pump was diagnosed as the problem. Daniel and Arthur put in a massive effort on the remaining stages that were completed in the darkness of Friday night, doing their best to minimize their disadvantage and finished leg 1 of the event 2^nd in the R2 category and 18 seconds behind the leader, local man Gary Pearson despite the car being very uncompetitive.

A second hand fuel pump was fitted to the car with the hopes of the power loss problems eliminated before Daniel and Arthur could launch their attack for the lead of the R2 class. Leg 2 of the event was a scheduled 90 stage miles, but with the longest stage of the day was cancelled due to marshal problems, thus reducing the route by 27 miles which was going to make Daniel’s job even harder. However, undeterred the Monaghan crew set fastest R2 time, taking 8 seconds off the leader and reduced the gap to 10 seconds but unfortunately the power loss problem was not fully rectified but was a lot more manageable than Friday night.

For the next test Daniel found himself on the front foot and was confident of taking the lead from Pearson and the pressure applied to the leader was enough as Daniel was promoted to the lead as his leading rival had a spin and dropped 30 seconds. On the next test the battle was over as Pearson crashed out of the event and Daniel and Arthur had a 58 second lead over the next R2 car. A string of fastest R2 stage times throughout Saturday stretched  their lead to a 1min 40 secs in the R2 category and 7^th O/A by the finish.

At the finish ramp in Kelso town centre, it was announced that Daniel was the chosen nominee for the PSD competition which was the perfect way to cap of a brilliant performance on a very challenging event. Daniel and Arthur now find themselves joint leading the R2 category in the championship and lying joint 5^th O/A in the main championship ahead of the 3^rd round of their campaign, the Scottish rally in Dumfries which is back on gravel.

 

Limerick Circuit of Munster Stages Rally

 

The 2013 Circuit of Munster Rally had a nail biting finish at the Limerick Racecourse. Edward O’Callaghan was leading the event by 4.8 seconds coming in to the last stage but it was the Impreza WRC of Kevin Kelleher who was quickest on the last stage by 7 seconds to take a memorable win. Paul Purtill was 3rd overall, also in an escort.

This event was a counting round of the West Coast Rally Championship. The sole Monaghan representatives where the pairing of Shane Maguire and Martin McGarrity who where rewarded with the Group N win and a seventh overall, a valuable points haul for their championship bid.

1 Kevin Kelleher/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 43m 28s

2 Ed O’Callaghan/Ger Clancy (Escort) 43m 30s

3 Paul Purtill/Diarmuid Falvey (Escort) 44m 26s

4 Ed Synan/Denis O’Connell (Escort) 44m 56s

5 Alan Callaghan/Cathal McGrath (Impreza) 45m 41s

6 Frank Sweeney/Jane Cogan (Escort) 45m 42s

7 Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity (Impreza Gp N) 46m 13s

8 Stephen Greaney/Keith McHugh (Escort) 46m 24s

9 Sean Lyons/Dean Raftery (Impreza Gp N) 46m 25s

10 Benny Kennedy/Brendan Ryan (Escort) 46m 31s

Group N Production class:

1 Shane Maguire/Martin McGarrity

2 Sean Lyons/Dean Raftery

3 Pat Price/Stephen Price (Impreza) 47m 06s

Historics:

1 P J O’Dowd/John Young (Sunbeam) 31m 00s

2 Philip McKibbin/Padraig Brick (Escort) 32m 14s

3 David Dee/Rita Dee (Mini) 35m 17s

Juniors:

1 Damien Boyle/Joseph Boyle (Civic) 28m 02s

2 Darren Young/Sean Walsh (Civic) 28m 04s

3 Andrew Ryan/Tommy Hayes (Civic) 28m 38

Sol Rally Barbados

A big well done to club members Raymond Conlon/Darren McCague and Maurice Moffett/Jason McKenna who were competing in the Sol Rally Barbados over the past two weekends. Both crews finished the event with Conlon/McCague finishing 24th overall and 5th in class. They also lifted the highest oversea’s rear wheel drive award. Moffett/McKenna finished just two places behind in 26th o/a and 2nd in class. Its evident from the many videos and photo’s available that both these crews had an enjoyable event, along with their many travelling supporters. Hopefully full report and photo’s to follow in the coming weeks when they return.

On The Boyle in Cavan

Donegal cousins Declan and Brian Boyle proved too hot to handle once again on last Sundays Hotel Kilmore Cavan Stages Rally. The Tir Connell men had a start to finish win on the demanding Cavan roads with tight and twisty stages proving popular yet unforgiving. Indeed it was a blistering time on the 4th stage, 22 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals which ultimately sealed the deal for the Boyles to take a 1min 14sec win. Eugene Donnelly and Paddy Toner made a return to Cavan once again, where he started his rallying career twenty nine years ago and proved that he is still as competitive as ever in the trusty Corolla to take 2nd overall. Welsh competitors James Belton and Mark Glennerster went one better than his Monaghan Stages result with 3rd overall in Cavan in his Subaru WRC.

            Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry came home with 4th overall and a class 8 win after a steady run through the tight Cavan stages which covered the North East Cavan areas of Clifferna, Mountain Lodge and Bunnoe. Roy White and James O’Brien rounded off the top 5 with a class 20 win in the super quick MG S2000. 

            Newbliss siblings Stephen and Suzanne Wright made the short trip to Cavan very worthwhile with a superb run once again to take 6th overall but even more important the Group N victory. The Killyhevlin/SpanWright backed EVO 9 was in a great battle throughout the day with Eugene Meegan and Jonathan Treanor, also in an EVO but Meegan/Treanor had to settle for 2nd following a stage 9 cancellation which saw their scratch time drop them back a few seconds. Josh Moffett and John Rowan were 3rd group N and 9th overall on this occasion. Older brother Sam with regular navigator James O’Reilly were forced into retirement on stage 4 with mechanical issues. Shane Maguire and Martin McGarrity were out in an EVO 9 once again but had another troubled run after a good start to eventually finish 4th in class 4 and 15th overall.

            The two wheel drive battle was as entertaining as always in Cavan with local men Rodney Wilton and Conor McMahon finally getting their hands on the title, finishing 7th overall and class 14 winners. Paddy Kiernan and James McCarville had a fine run in the class 13 escort to round off the top 10 and take a class 13 win. This crew also lifted the drive of the day award for fastest class 13 car on stage 4. Jonathan Pringle and Martin Byrne were 2nd in class 13, with veterans Paddy Boyle and Marty Sherlock rounding off a great return to the stages with 3rd class 13. James Cassidy and Declan Smith took a class 12 victory ahead of Arthur and Mac Kierans. The Aghabog men and double Sligo Pallets Border champions hit trouble on stage 2 with a puncture dropping them almost three and a half minutes to their rivals. Incredibly they bounced back and climbed the leader board from 84th overall to 31st at the finish, ensuring that their treble border championship hopes remain very much alive with 2 rounds remaining in Sligo and Donegal.

            The ever competitive class 11 was no different in Cavan with the ultra quick corsa of Dermot O’Hagan and Pierce Doheny taking the front wheel drive honours ahead of Eamon O’Connell and Mark Linehan in a Civic. The rear wheel drive battle in class 11 was fierce throughout the day with joint border championship leaders Seamus Connolly and Gary McCrudden in top form and lying just outside the top 20 but their engine cried enough at the end of stage 7. Only 10 seconds were separating the top three in class 11R following Connolly’s demise with two stages remaining but this battle failed to materialise with the cancellation of stage 9 as Tommy Rodgers and Phillip McEntee took the class win by a mere 3 seconds from Martin McPhillips and Ciaran Tynan in the McPhillips Engineering backed twin cam. Donegal men Paul Carron and Andrew Brown were 3rd, also in a twin cam. David Smith and Mark Deery finished 4th class 11R with valuable points gained in the border championship.

            Gary Kiernan and Niall Tierney had a fantastic run in the class 10 escort to take the win but also finished 29th overall on their local stages rally. John and Niall Kelly followed up on there class win in Monaghan with a 2nd in Cavan to keep their border class hopes alive, although it didn’t look good at one stage with a visit to the scenery, nevertheless the Tydavnet men got back on solid ground and went on to take 2nd in class.

            Class 9 always throws up some great battles but most of the top runners left their luck at home on this occasion. Lloyd Hutchinson retired his mini on stage 6 with Justin Smyth/Gregory McQuillan retired on stage 1 with mechanical difficulties. This left Cavan men Seamus and Stephen Cooke to lift the class 9 honours ahead of Gene Callan and Sean Brunton with Maudabawn men Damien O’Reilly and Damien McCabe 3rd, albeit after a few trips to the Cavan country side!

            Daniel McKenna and Stephen Hagan had their first outing on tarmac in the fiesta, ahead of this weekends upcoming Jim Clark Rally and came away with the class 6 win. Daniel was using Cavan as a shakedown and reported learning valuable entities on suspension and tyre choice. Indeed Daniel was feeling very unwell in the 24hours leading up to the event and did well to make the finish at all! Class 6 also saw the citroen trophy competitors do battle with Galway’s Stephen Greaney taking the citroen honours on this occasion with Welsh man Steve Wood  2nd and Paul Manton/Martin Connolly 3rd. Francie McKenna and Sean Craig were the sole finishers in class 1.

            The junior rally was won by Kerry’s Robert Duggan and Mike Galvin with Richard Moore 2nd and Conor Moore 3rd. Pre-event junior favourite’s Darren O’Brien and Johnny Rooney were once again troubled with gear box woes forcing their retirement, this following a long week of late nights replacing a blown engine.

            64 finishers from 106 starters in the main field is testament to the demanding nature of this event with tight and technical stages coupled with the dry tarmac proving all too much for some. John McQuaid and Peter Deery were forced into an early retirement as there gearstick became undone. Jack Maguire and Andy Hayes picked up a puncture which dropped them back to 5th in class 13. Mark Wedlock returned from Australia for his local event and teamed up with Adam Kinkade once again to finish in 25th overall. Gerard McQuaid and Gary Quinlan were one behind in 26th overall in their escort. Paddy O’Reilly and Declan Connolly were also on the retirement list in the G5 escort.

            So that’s the brief over view of a fantastic event that was the Hotel Kilmore Cavan Stages Rally 2013. Well done to CoC Stephen Kellett and his team. Monaghan Motor Club would like to thank the many marshals who turned up on the day to help with the running of stage 3, Bunnoe and to ensure the event ran as safely as possible.

 

2013 Hotel Kilmore Cavan Stages Rally Top 10

           

1 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Impreza WRC) 76m 04s,

2 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Corolla WRC) 77m 18s,

3 James Belton/Mark Glennerster (Impreza WRC) 78m 33s,

4 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 78m 46s,

5 Roy White/James O’Brien (MG ZR S2000) 79m 34s,

6 Stephen Wright/Suzanne Wright (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 81m 15s,

7 Rodney Wilton/Conor McMahon (Escort) 81m 16s,

8 Eugene Meegan/Jonathan Treanor (Lancer Evo 10 Gp N) 81m 36s,

9 Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 82m 03s,

10 Paddy Kiernan/James McCarville (Escort) 82m 04s.

 

Historics:

1 Berian Richards/Frank Curtin (Escort) 64m 41s.

 

Juniors:

1 Robert Duggan/Mikie Galvin (Civic) 58m 14s,

2 Richard Moore/Stephen Quin (Civic) 59m 13s,

3 Conor Moore/Ella Ryan (Civic) 60m 00s.

 

 

Sam Moffett/James O’Reilly carried on their momentum from their overall victory in Monaghan as they returned to the wheel of their faithful Mitsubishi Lancer for Round 2 of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, the Killarney Rally of the Lakes. They were involved in a battle with local men Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy for Group N honours, renewing their rivalry from the opening round in Galway. Ring held the advantage after the opening day, but their event would end on Stage 13. Moffett/O’Reilly inherited top spot in Group N and 4^th overall to boot. Indeed Monaghan crews cleaned up in Group N with Stephen Wright/Suzanne Wright taking 2^nd and Josh Moffett/John Rowan 3^rd in the class.

            Gary Jennings/Neil Doherty took the overall honours in their Subaru Impreza with Derek McGarritty/James McKee 2^nd and Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan 3^rd respectively. The 3^rd Round of the Tarmac Championship is the Donegal International Rally on 21^st – 23^rd June.

 

Daniel McKenna & Kierans 3^rd in class on BRC opener

2012 Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year winner Daniel McKenna got his British Rally Championship campaign off to a fine start by taking 3^rd in class and 9^th overall on the Pirelli International Rally in England two weeks ago. The event was spread over two days with a total of 10 stages including some classics in the notorious Kielder forest complex. Daniel & co-driver Arthur Kierans made a steady start to the event and slotted into 3^rd in class after the opening Pundershaw stage. However a puncture on the second test demoted them to 7^th in class. Despite suffering another puncture on stage five, the pair would go on to complete the day in 5^th place and 15^th overall in their Fiesta R2. Determined to overcome their disappointments from day 1, the Monaghan pair reeled off four straight fastest class times and recovered to 9^th overall & 3^rd in class by the finish. All in all it was a solid start to their BRC campaign and secures some useful championship points. Class honours went to Steve Rockland who also scooped the coveted Pirelli Star Driver award which qualifies the winner for an end of year shoot-out with the prize of a free drive in a Citroen DS3 on offer for the shoot-out winner. McKenna & Kierans will continue their assault on the series on Round 2, the Jim Clark Memorial Rally which takes place from 31^st May to 2^nd June.

            Brendan Cumiskey/Conor Foley were also competing on the Pirelli event in their Citroen. They held an impressive 8^th overall after the opening day’s action but unfortunately their event came to an end early on day 2.

 

Cavan Stages Rally

The 3^rd Round of the  Dunlop National & Sligo Pallets  Border Rally Championships takes place in Cavan on Sunday 26^th May. Monaghan Motor Club is once again tasked with organising the running of one of the stages. As such, there is a great demand for marshals for this event and anyone willing to give a hand is asked to contact the Club Secretary Cora Maguire as soon as possible.

 

Carlow Stages Rally

Full report next week