Gareth Dezley and Oisin Joyce who finished in second place in Monaghan. Photo by Lorna Kennedy
An impressive 70 Donegal Motor club members made their way to the Farney county last weekend for the Monaghan Stages Rally.
Widely referred to as the Monaghan Grand Prix, the event made a welcome return after taking a year out
A vast array of Donegal machinery travelled down for the rally with each class well represented. Particularly so in class 16 where all crews bar one contained Donegal Motor club members. The Four Seasons Hotel was the HQ for the event, with the impressive CombiLift factory the backdrop for the service area.
The weather remained dry early on, allowing everyone the chance to bed in to the fast flowing stages laid on by COC Thomas Treanor and his team. A few benchmark times throughout the first 3 stages saw Monaghan’s Josh Moffet take a lead of 1.7 seconds from brother Sam. In the modified section the class 14 battles were beginning with Rathmullan’s Kevin Gallagher/Ger Conway holding a narrow 1.8 second advantage over the hard charging Monaghan men behind.
Returning to the first service, times posted by Donegal Motor Club members left some squares in the battle for a podium class position, however 6 more demanding stages could cause things to change very easily.
Class 2 saw Gareth Deazley/Oisin Joyce from Frosses 2nd in class. In class 5, Jason Mitchell/Paddy McCrudden from Donegal Town were 3rd in the polo R5. Ramelton’s Jason Mooney/Gary Lockhart 3rd in class 9, Trentagh’s Gavin Russell/Daniel Callaghan 3rd in 11f. Milford man Ian Gallagher navigating for midlands Colin Flanagan were in 2nd in class 20 and Kieran Roarty from Dunlewey with Michael O’Donnell from Gweedore in 3rd.
In class 16 it was an unsurprising Donegal 1-2-3 with Letterkenny’s Ronan Dorrian/Jason Tease in the lead with a .7 second advantage over Creeslough men Jason Wilkinson/Ciaran McGinley and Inishowen’s Kyle McDaid/Shane Maguire (below) a further 6 seconds behind. Change was to come quickly unfortunately, for the leading class 16 crew of Dorrian/Tease due to being unable to change a broken front window in service to continue the event. This promoted Wilkinson/McGinley to 1st , McDaid/Maguire 2nd with Mountcharles’ Jordan Jervis/James Mcbrearty now in 3rd.
Kyle McDaid, Laura Furey and Shane Maguire.
A small shower of rain passed through the middle loop of stages as crews left service, however the stiff breeze throughout the day soon caused roads to dry. A hard battle was emerging between the Moffett brothers, Josh & Sam, with both looking to claim bragging rights on home territory. Josh held his own but after another 3 stages, Sam brought the difference down to just 1.1 seconds.
A scorcher of a time laid down by Monaghan/Donegal town man Daniel McKenna/Andrew Brennan on SS4 & 5 saw them take the Modified lead by 3.1 seconds over Ballybofeys Damien Tourish/Domhnall McAlaney. Tourish/McAlaney also set some blistering stage times with Gallagher/Conway in the KGP Darrian T90 now in 4th.
Small changes to the class leader board heading into the final service of the day, saw Mitchell/McCrudden move into 1st in class 5, with Aidan Wray and Kilmacrennan’s Niall Burns in 2nd.
In class 16 the battles were heating, Wilkinson/McGinley 1st with 5.9 seconds to spare, Jervis/Mcbrearty now in 2nd with only a 1.4 second advantage over McDaid/Maguire.
A final push on the final loop from Gareth Deazley/ Oisin Joyce saw them claim 1st in Class 2. Class 5 saw Jason Mitchell/Paddy Mccrudden taking the honours with Aidan Wray/Niall Burns in 2nd.
Second place in Class 9 went to Ramelton’s Jason Mooney/Gary Lockhart
A tight battle throughout the day in class 11F, Gavin Russell/Daniel Callaghan claimed 3rd. A serious push on the last few stages saw Kilmacrennan man Damien Sheridan navigate Gary Cassidy to 2nd in class 13.
Daniel McKenna. Photo by Lorna Kennedy
After an intense battle throughout the day in class 14. Daniel McKenna/Andrew Brennan (above) took 1st in class after an astonishing drive. Kevin Gallagher/Ger Conway put in immense effort to claim 2nd with Damien Tourish/Domhnall McAlaney in 3rd.
In class 20, Kieran Roarty/Michael O’Donnell took 2nd.
Another fantastic battle in class 16 throughout the day saw Kyle McDaid/Shane Maguire set the fastest time on ss9 to match the overall time of Jason Wilkinson/Ciaran McGinley. This promoted McDaid/ Maguire into first with Wilkinson/McGinley having to settle for 2nd. 3rd spot went to Jordan Jervis/ James Mcbrearty.
Congratulations to COC Thomas Treanor & Monaghan Motor club on a fantastic and well run event, with almost all competitors getting all stages. Brilliant to see such a large Donegal entry throughout.
A special mention also to all Donegal Motor club volunteers who travelled and marshalled at the event. Events cannot happen without volunteers so, thanks to each and every one for their support.
Mondello Mini Madness – by Bernard Gallagher PRO
Last Friday saw the start of the ICCR Junior Mini Challenge in Mondello Park. There were 3 Donegal drivers taking part in the championship for the first time which saw all 3 take another step forward in their driving careers. The first round was practice on Friday, qualifying Saturday morning with 2 races then on Saturday afternoon.
The Donegal Drivers had mixed fortunes over the weekend. Killyebgs Jayden Mc Breatry got off to a promising start in practice setting 4 fastest times but his luck was about to run during qualifying he developed a gearbox problem which could not be fixed as he had no spares available. As the weekend went on his car eventually lost 3rd altogether and hampered any chance of a podium finish.
Dathi Kennedy also had a weekend of learning the new track in the super competitive field; he was consistent throughout the weekend in racing in the mid field of the competition.
The highlight of the Donegal Crews was Inver Teenager Joshua Henry who had just signed a 3 year deal with The Stables Motorsport franchise of Frosses man Donagh Kelly before the championship. The young driver impressed all weekend in his new Stables Motorsport livery Mini. He took pole position in his first racing starting 2nd of the Grid and went on to lead the second race as well until contact was made with another car which put Joshua into a slide but a determined drive showing great character meant he recovered to 4th position in the final race of the day.
This was a great experience for the young drivers of circuit racing in Mondello.
Tags: