Moffett Makes It a Double In Monaghan

Yet again it was a local win in Monaghan as Sam Moffett took victory in his home event for the second year running. The Clontibret man co - driven by James O'Reilly took the lead from the start and never looked back winning by just over two minutes! Peadar Hurson finished an excellent 2nd in the Escort WRC proving that "90's" World Rally Car machinery can still put it up to it's modern day counterparts. Paddy McVeigh's rally came to an end on stage 4 when the car got beached on a bank and with no spectators or marshals to help he was unable to continue although thankfully the car hasn't sustained much damage. Kevin Barrett came home 4th to take the class 8 win. Sam's brother Josh took Group N honours by over 3 minutes while Richard and David Moffett won classes 13 and 11F also making it a good day for Moffetts.

While Sam's win never really looked in doubt it was the battle in the modified section that really grabbed people's attention. Daniel McKenna and Gary McPhillips had a very close scrap for the Modified honours all day. After the first loop of three it was McKenna that led McPhillips by over six seconds with Rodney Wilton the best of the rest in third, fifty seconds behind. That was all changed at the second service stop however as McPhillips had taken the lead from the Scanbitz Escort, made more impressive considering Gary had a puncture on stage 4. Daniel was complaining of vibrations in his car. The battle was unfortunately cut short as McPhillips was forced to retire on stage 8 with gearbox problems handing the win to Daniel McKenna. With the Scotshouse man also finishing third overall it means he forfeited his class 14 win which was inherited by Rodney Wilton. Rodney has had a bad run of luck the last two years in Monaghan with an accident and driveshaft failure forcing his retirement so it's nice to see a change of fortune for the Cavan man.

Class Wins

In Class 1 Francie McKenna and Sean Craig were the sole starter and brought the car home 74th overall. In class 2 there was a good battle between David Keller and Brian Quigley in their Honda Civics. Keller led from the start with Quigley briefly taking the lead on Stage 3 but it was David that took the win in the end by sixteen seconds. Class 3 spoils went to Mark Ewing and John Egan as they were the sole survivors in the class. In Class 6 Darragh Kelly and Keith Gorrell took the lead after stage 2 and never looked back winning the class by over a minute. Roger Kennedy and Wendy Blackledge were the sole class 7 starters and got their Peugeot 306 to the finish. In class 9 Gene McDonald and Kevin Reilly took the win by over 5 minutes in their Ford Escort. Cathal Sheridan and Evin Hughes took advantage of  the rate of attrition in class 10 to take the win in their Opel Corsa. In class 11F early leaders Kevin and Gavin Gallagher retired their Rover 25 on the second loop to hand victory to Adrian Cannon and Paddy McCrudden in their Honda Civic. Justin Smyth and Sharon Clarke lead class 12 for most of the day in their Escort until their retirement after stage 6 leaving Daniel McKenna's British Rally Championship co-driver, Arthur Kierans to take the class navigated by his soon Mac. A good battle between Colin Flannigan and Patrick Bride's Evo 7 and David Smith and Jason McKenna's Evo 8 for class 15 spoils was cut short when both retired after the second loop handing the class win to Derek Bolton and Trevor O'Connell in their Subaru V4 STI. In the juniors Shane Forde and Brian McLoughlin took the lead on stage 2 and never looked back winning by over three minutes. Peadar Hurson's second overall meant that David Leonard and Darragh Mullen took Class 20 in their Lancer.

A great day was had by everyone yesterday. Thanks to Monaghan Motor for running a great event and for the weather for staying dry! Next event I'l make it two will be Cavan so see you all there!

Monaghan Rally set to be a cracker!!

If the Circuit of Ireland Rally last weekend proved anything it's that Ireland is certainly not short of rallying talent. To see some of the young guns from around the country put it up to their European counter parts was fascinating and resulted in some very impressive drives. The European Rally Championship leader going into the event, Craig Breen kept the eventual winner Esapekka Lappi honest right up until his retirement. Smashing two rear windows and loosing a rear bumper in a high speed moment he certainly can't be accused of not trying. Robert Barrable had a fantastic run to 3rd overall representing Ireland on the podium.


The Combilift boys in Sam and Josh Moffett were very impressive with Josh taking the Group N win. Sam unfortunately retired on day two but set a blistering pace considering the car is new to him. But the man who really impressed me was Daniel McKenna. In an event that was only supposed to be a practice session for is BRC campaign Daniel took the lead of the 2wd category from the start and held it right until the finish. Certainly a good omen for his BRC campaign. The National section was no less dramatic!! Gary Jennings, leading going into the final stage crashed out in dramatic fashion handing the win to Declan Boyle who continues his great run in his Subaru WRC.


So after this dust has settled in Northern Ireland the rallying fraternity moves to Monaghan for round 2 of the Border Rally Championship and the entry list does a lot to wet a rally fan's appetite. With rallying favourites from long ago and from today entering it is sure to be a fascinating day's rallying. Fresh off the Circuit and after his win in Monaghan last year Sam Moffett is seeded at Number 1 and will have his work cut out to defend his win with the likes of Niall Maguire, Paddy McVeigh, Kevin Barrett and Peadar Hurson behind him. The 2wd section is no less mouth watering. Daniel McKenna leads, Gary McPhillips, Rodney Wilton, Manus Kelly in Class 14 and a returning Dessie Kennan in Class 13. McKenna won a dramatic Monaghan Rally in 2012 but failed to finish it last year after and off and is using the event to test out Pirelli's new tyre selection. Gary McPhillips and Rodney Wilton failed to finish the rally last year so they will be keen to put that right this year. Dessie Kennan who is a previous winner of the rally will want to prove that he still has what it takes to compete at the front. Group N is also an exciting prospect  with Josh Moffett heading up a fantastic line up including Trevor Bustard and local man Shane Maguire

 I'll be marshaling this weekend and all I'll say is it's been too long. It looks set to be a fantastic weekend so lets keep the race in it's place and have a safe and enjoyable weekend! Heres is footage from last year's rally. Enjoy! :