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Midland and Westmeath Navigation Trial - 11-12 Feb 12Posted: February 20, 2012 11:21 AM - 5501 Hits
Reserve Round - 2011/12 National Night Navigation Championship
Report: 3 in a row for Johnston/Kelly in Midland Navigation TrialsPosted: February 20, 2012 11:21 AM
Midland Motor Club crews take the top 1 and 2 places in the Midland Motor Club Night Navigation Trial which took place on February the 11th/12th last. The Venue was Drumlish Community Centre, Drumlish, Co. Longford. The event was Round 4 of the Squealing Pig Border Navigation Trial Championship and also the 2nd Round of the Johnston?s Toy Town Midland Motor Club Championship. Competitors were greeted with a warm welcome in Drumlish on what was a foggy night, which made visibility very tough and left the tough lanes and farm yards harder found than usual. Sam Johnston and Chris Kelly were best on the night taking first place with 67 marks followed by local father and son team Packie Duffy & Colin Duffy with 84 marks and Andrew Mackeral and Liam Higgins in third on 112 marks. With the top three on high marks like this it showed that clerk of the course Michael Reilly picked a tough route even for the top contenders. Midland Motor Club crews did well overall with Jeremy o Connor and Garry Hughes taking 2nd in the beginner?s class and Sean Mullervy and first time navigator Seamus Mc Tigue finishing a fine 3rd in the beginner?s class. Darren Quinn & Nigel McCloughry received the best Midland Motor Club Crew award for their performance. The event unfolded over the thirty five time points on the night. Father and son team Packie and Colin Duffy were in flying form and leading the event up until time point 26 from local lads Chris Kelly and Sam Johnston. The top two runners were followed closely by Andy Mackarel and LiamHiggins at this stage. The night then turned for the local crews as Duffys missed time point 26 and 27 and VIA 5 from getting stuck in one of many tough lanes used on the night. This put Johnston and Kelly in pole position and held this position until the finish, at the end of the night however only a few marks separated the two local crews. Mackeral and Higgins had a steady run all night and finished a credible 3rd overall on the night with Monoghan crew Michael Carbin and Evin Hughes 4th and another father and son team Arthur and Macartan Kierans a fine 5th overall. The top 5 crews all driving Subaru imprezza estates. Night Navigation Trials are now becoming popular and Midland Motor Club had many new crews to add to the field. Further Navigation classes will be available to encourage this trend. Clerk of the Course in charge of running this event was local Drumlish man Michael Reilly assisted by Shane Dalton. They put together a fantastic route and an event that tested the navigation skills and driving of every competitor and the fog just helped to make this event so tough for all involved. Each crew had to plot out the route in Drumlish Community Centre on Ordnance Survey maps, then, navigate the route adhering to a strict average speed limit of 48kph for the entire event. Along the route, there were manned time controls where they must check in. Penalties can be gained for various reasons such as arriving early or late at the controls, or for approaching from or departing in the wrong direction. The purpose of the exercise was to complete the entire route, maintaining the average speed and picking up as few penalties as possible. All rules and regulations are in accordance with Motorsport Ireland. Michael would like to thank the marshals and officials who helped on the night, Monaghan Motor Club for providing results also special thank you to the old village inn who looked after everyone with food, tea and coffee on the night Thank you to the Gardaí and the residents along and surrounding the route for their co-operation and who came out in support and welcomed this event, and a special thank you to all the land owners and farm yard owners who gave permission to use their property and quarry owner Michael blessington of Rhyne Rock for the use of his quarry on the night, only for these people the event would not have been possible or as tough of an event. Full results of the event as well as more prize giving photos can be viewed on www.midlandmotorclub.com.
ResultsPosted: February 15, 2012 5:04 PM
1 Chris Kelly/Sam Johnston (Subaru Impreza) 67 marks,
DetailsPosted: January 22, 2012 1:05 AM
Preparation for the Midland Motor Club final event for 2012 the Night Navigation Trial has been underway and is set to run 11th/12th of February next. Clerk of the course Mehall Reilly and Assistant Clerk of the Course Shane Dalton have been planning the 80 mile (approx) route the competitors will take. |
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