Road rally returns with success for local competitors

For the first time since March 2020, closed road rallying returned to the Island of Ireland with the Cork 20 Rally on September 19^th and the Donegal Harvest Rally on October 3^rd. Some competitors had made the trip to the UK in search of events but now they can compete at home. As always, Monaghan crews would be among the first to return to the stages. The 9 stage Cork 20 rally was the first closed road rally of the year. Callum Devine/Brian Hoy would emerge victorious. Sam Moffett/Keith Moriarty topped the Monaghan crews in 3^rd place overall. Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes finished 21 seconds behind in 4^th. Stephen Wright/Ger Conway took 7^th overall. In the National Rally, Richard Moffett/Darragh Kelly finished in 4^th place in their Starlet and Jack Maguire/Stephen McElroy came home 15^th overall. On the 6 stage Donegal Harvest Rally, top club finisher was James O’Reilly who navigated Declan Boyle to 2^nd overall. The pair had been in a close fought battle with Callum Devine/Brian Hoy throughout the event but it was the Derry driver who edged the event by 9.8 seconds. The damp conditions made things tricky with Boyle/O’Reilly surviving a lurid moment when they slipped into a drain which only resulted in the loss of the rear spoiler. Sam Moffett/Keith Moriarty secured 3^rd place in their Ford Fiesta R5, 46 seconds adrift of the winners after six stages. Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes finished in 5^th place in his Hyundai after climbing the leaderboard after being 8^th after stage 1. Niall Maguire/Conor Foley brought their Subaru WRC to 9^th place. Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly put in an impressive showing to finish 12^th overall and take class 20 honours. Brendan Cumisky/Lorcan Moore finished 16^th overall in their Skoda. Arthur Kierans stepped in alongside Gary Jennings. The pair were fighting for the lead in the early stages holding 2^nd after stage 2. It all went wrong when they slipped off at the same spot as Boyle but they got stuck and lost three minutes leaving them down in 20^th place. Daniel McKenna/Andrew Grennan made a welcome return to the stage for the first time in six years and took their old Escort home in 21^st place. Kaine Treanor guided Limerick driver Chris O’Callaghan to 24^th overall and 1^st in class 13. Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden were once again the class 11R winners in 34^th overall. Oisin Sherlock guided Sean McConnell to 74^th place while Gerard & Gavin McGivney took 85^th overall. In the Junior class, Jack McKenna/John McCabe finished in 4^th.There a further events this year planned in Wexford, Tipperary and Kerry whilst Monaghan Motor Club plan to host the first Navigation Trial since March 2020 on the 13^th November.