MOFFETT/HAYES WIN TRITON NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP AT GALWAY SUMMER RALLY - Report courtesy of Triton Showers - proud sponsors of the Irish National Rally Championship
Posted: October 28, 2019 9:35 AM
Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes in a Ford Fiesta WRC won the Triton Showers National Rally Championship courtesy of their start to finish victory in the Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally, the penultimate round of the series that was based in Gort.
They finished 37.2 seconds ahead of the Fiesta R5 of Tyrone’s Cathan McCourt and his Cork co-driver Grace O’Brien with Maynooth’s Ian Barrett and co-driver Paul McGee (Subaru WRC) 49.8 seconds further behind in third.
Moffett was quickest through the opening stage where his one and only rival for the Triton title, Roy White retired his Ford Fiesta WRC at the stage finish with a broken transfer box. Moffett was also quickest through the remaining two stages of the loop and arrived at the Gort service with a lead of 30.6 seconds. The Monaghan driver remarked that he wasn’t pushing and that his accident on last week’s Ulster Rally was at the back of his mind. Late entry Tyrone’s Cathan McCourt (Ford Fiesta R5) was second while Ian Barrett (Subaru WRC), who was only 3.7 seconds behind Moffett on the opening stage lost some thirty seconds with a spin on S.S. 2 but recovered to have a steady run on S.S. 3 and slotted into third 21.1 seconds further behind.
Last year’s rally winner Jonny Pringle (Escort) occupied fourth but had a misfire through the second stage, he was also watching the dials as the temperature gauge was high. Fifth placed Niall Maguire (Subaru WRC) was untroubled followed by the rear wheel drive cars of Gary Kiernan (Escort) and Kevin Eves (Toyota Corolla). Just four seconds covered Pringle, Kiernan and Eves.
Hugh Hunter (Ford Focus WRC), Steve Wood (Fiesta WRC) and Stephen McCann (Fiesta R5) completed the top ten. Hunter opted to have a steady outing following a few non-finishes; Wood was off the road briefly on S.S. 2 and admitted that he just couldn’t get into the groove; McCann was untroubled.
Elsewhere, JF Shovelin (Escort) remained on course to win the Mk2 Escort Challenge while Shane Maguire (Mitsubishi) was in a similar situation in his pursuit of the Motorsport Safety Group N award. PJ McDermott had clutch troubles and also spun his Subaru WRC twice on the second stage. James Stafford, third after the opening stage retired his Darrian T90 on the second stage with a mechanical issue.
Moffett powered his way through the second loop and even though Barrett was quickest on S.S. 6, Moffett stretched his overall lead over McCourt to 39.1 seconds with Barrett 33.1 seconds further adrift in third. At the Gort service park, rally leader Moffett commented that he was just concentrating on his drive. McCourt was untroubled in second but Barrett was far too cautious on S.S. 5, especially where he spun previously. Kiernan was fourth and led the two-wheel drive category, his rivals had contrasting fortunes. Eves had an altercation with a wall on S.S. 4 but was still only some 16 seconds behind while Pringle hit a bank and retired. Niall Maguire and Hugh Hunter, both trouble free, were sandwiched between Kiernan and Eves. Wood, Shane Maguire and JF Shovelin completed the top ten.
Moffett went on to secure victory, his sixth from the seven rounds thus far and that was more than enough to clinch the Triton title and the Vard Memorial Trophy. His victory in the Triton series completed a notable treble as he has previously won the Irish Tarmac and Irish Forestry Championships.
McCourt and Barrett completed an unchanged top three. Kiernan in fourth was an impressive winner of the two-wheel drive category, however, his principal rival Kevin Eves was a final stage retirement. Hunter in fifth was pleased to have attained a top finish as Niall Maguire and Steve Wood rounded out the top seven.
Shane Maguire (Mitsubishi), who was eighth overall won Group N and clinched the Motorsport Safety Team Group N award. The Escorts of Frank Kelly and JF Shovelin filled the remaining places in the top ten. Shovelin won the Dunlop Mk. 2 Escort Champions Trophy.
David Armstrong/Podge Newe (Escort) won the Historic category and in the Juniors, the Cavan/Roscommon duo of jack Brunton/Daragh Kelly won Class 16 and the 16A victors were the Kerry/Kilkenny combination of Colin O’Donoghue/Eddie Doherty (Ford Escort).
Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally Press Release 3
Posted: October 28, 2019 9:34 AM
Josh Moffett & Andy Hayes took a start to finish victory in the Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally when their Ford Fiesta WRC had 37.2 seconds to spare over Cathan McCourt & Grace O’Brien in a Ford Fiesta R5. Moffetts win sees him become the Triton National Rally Champion for 2019 after a near faultless season. Third place went to Ian Barrett & Paul McGee in a Subaru Impreza WRC S12 who were almost 90 seconds behind the winner after the 9 challenging stages.
Josh Moffett only needed a top eight result to ensure the title was his, and after the opening stage at Skehanagh his job was made much easier with the retirement of his closest rivals Roy White & James O’Brien whose similar Fiesta completed the stage but retired with gearbox problems. James Stafford was another to be side-lined after the opening stage in his Darrian T90 GTR. Ian Barrett was the closest to Moffett on the opening stage but a big spin on the second stage knocked his confidence and dropped him to fourth. McCourt moved into second overall despite running on gravel spec having made a last minute decision to do the event. By the end of the opening loop Moffett was a comfortable 30 seconds ahead of McCourt. Jonathan Pringle in fourth place was top Escort and leading the battle for the Group 4 Fabrications King of the Mark 2 over Gary Kiernan.
The middle loop of stages saw the event settle down with only one major retirement, that of Jonathan Pringle who went off the road towards the end of Stage 5. This left Gary Kiernan in a very strong position to take the King of the Mark 2 crown. It was just a case of managing the lead for Moffett and that’s what he did, cruising to victory by over 37 seconds from McCourt. McCourt was very happy with second overall and found the car much easier to drive with a change of springs in the second half of the day. Barrett struggled over each run o Francis Gap but took some fastest stage times to finish in third place. Gary Kiernan took 4th place and also the King of the Mark 2 award with the top five being completed by the Ford Focus WRC of UK crew Hugh Hunter and Rob Fagg.
Tom Flaherty & Dylan Donoghue were the winners of the Conroy Cup for the first Galway crew home and they also 13th overall. Other successful local crews included Daragh & Aoife Raftery who finished second in class 2 in a Peugeot 208, Victor Farrell & Garret Burke who won Class 3 in their Honda Civic. David Quigley & Des Sherlock came second in Class 11F with Des Lyons finishing third in that class. In Class 15 Justin & Adrian Comer took a fine second place in their Mitsubishi Lancer while Emel McNamara won the Women In Motorsport Ireland award for best lady junior as she co-drove Cathal Nolan to third place overall in Class 16. Over 40 women competed on the Galway Summer Rally which was the highest number in any Irish event for many years.
1 Jonathan Pringle/Paul Sheridan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
2 Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
3 Roy White/James O’Brien (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
4 Hugh Hunter/Rob Fagg (Ford Focus WRC) [7]
5 Ian Barrett/Paul McGee (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
6 Kevin Eves/Chris Melly (Toyota Corolla RWD) [14]
7 Gary Kiernan/Ryan Moore (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
8 James M Stafford/Jeff Case (Darrian T90 GTR) [14]
9 Steve Wood/Keith Moriarty (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
10 Niall Maguire/James O’Reilly (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
11 PJ McDermott/Niall Burns (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
12 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [7]
14 Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
15 Andrew Purcell/Liam Brennan (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
16 Damian Toner/Denver Rafferty (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
17 JF Shovelin/Emmet Brosnan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
18 Mark Alcorn/John O’ Donnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
19 Richard Whelan/James Whelan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
20 Tom Flaherty/Dylan Donoghue (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
21 Frank Kelly/Sean Hayde (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
22 Jack Newman/Andrew Browne (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
23 Raymond Conlon/TBA (Toyota Corolla RWD) [13R]
24 Mark Dolphin/David Mannion (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
25 Stephen Greaney/Jonathon Folan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
26 Colin O’Rourke/Shane Gilhooly (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
27 Shane Maguire/Conor Foley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
28 Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
29 Paul Barrett/Declan Tumilty (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
30 Tom Holton/Shane Byrne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [20]
31 Pat Price/Andy Curran (Subaru Impreza) [4]
32 Cal McCarthy/Derek O’Brien (Citroen DS3 R5) [5]
33 Richard Moffett/TBA (Toyota Starlet RWD) [14]
34 Keith Lyons/Niall Burns (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
35 Eugene Meegan/Sarah Whelan (Citroen DS3 R5) [5]
36 Ian Roche/Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza WRC S10) [15]
37 Gary McNamee/Brian Brady (Honda Civic) [11F]
38 Cormac Phelan/Katja Auhl (Honda Civic) [13R]
39 David Quigley/Des Sherlock (Honda Civic) [11F]
40 Michael Fitzgibbon/Carrie Moroney (Honda Civic) [13F]
41 Justin Comer/Adrian Comer (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5) [15]
42 Pat Kelly/Jonathan Kelly (Ford Fiesta) [20]
43 Sean Liston/Katrina Walsh Liston (BMW E30) [13R]
44 Lee Hastings/Alistair Wyllie (Subaru Impreza) [20]
45 Des Moore/Martin Byrne (Ford Escort RS1600T) [14]
46 Simon Chapman/Peter Foy (Proton Satria S2500 Millington) [20]
47 Florian Niedermueller/John McCarthy (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
48 Vincent O’Shea/Eoin O’Donoghue (BMW M1) [14]
49 Paul Horan/TBA (Ford Escort G4) [13R]
50 Gareth Black/Connor Dunlop (Toyota Starlet RWD) [13R]
51 Liam Egan/Patrick Brides (Ford Fiesta R5) [1]
52 Daniel Conaghan/Terence Magee (Ford Escort Mk2) [13R]
53 Frank Sweeney/Jane Cogan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13R]
54 Jason Tuthill/Ben Teggart (Ford Escort) [TBA]
55 Brian Armstrong/Aodhan Gallagher (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
56 Vincent Collins/Fintan Kilroe (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
57 Michael McDaid/Daire Maguire (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
58 James Cassidy/Domhnall Lennon (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
59 Stephen Faughnan/Amy Faughnan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13R]
60 John Warren/Ruthann O’Connor (Toyota Corolla Twin Cam) [13R]
61 Christy Gallagher/Lee Cullen (Toyota Starlet) [11R]
62 Des Lyons/Ashling McArdle (Honda Civic EK4) [11F]
63 Declan Callanan/Paraic Callanan (Honda Civic EG6) [11F]
64 Niall O’Sullivan/Stephen McTiernan (Citroen C2) [11F]
65 Lloyd Hutchinson/Willie Fitzpatrick (Austin Mini Cooper S) [9]
66 Daragh Raftery/Aoife Raftery (Peugeot 208 R2) [2]
67 Shay Laheen/Kerrill Dempsey (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
68 Corey Eves/Pascal McCarney (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
69 Paul Manton/Adam Coffey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) [20]
70 Ciaran Phelan/TBA (Honda Civic) [11F]
71 Mike Dolan/Ann Hutchinson (Honda Civic) [11F]
72 Tim Flood/Anthony Smith (Ford Escort) [11R]
73 Mick Forde/Jim Cunningham (Talbot Sunbeam) [11R]
74 William Nolan/Shane O’Mahony (Toyota Corolla Twin Cam) [11R]
75 John O’Rourke/Brian Commons (Opel Corsa) [12]
76 Sean McCaul/Frank Clerkin (Ford Escort G3) [12]
77 Ronan Quinn/Ian McCord (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
78 Rory Thomas/Aidan Thomas (Ford Escort) [13R]
79 Ken Lyons/Paddy McDonnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
80 Hazel O’Callaghan/Tomas Ryan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13R]
81 Kenneth Ryan/Denny Greaney (Ford Escort) [13R]
82 Michael Dowling/Maurice McElligott (Ford Escort Mk1) [13R]
83 Kieran O’Kane/John Frew (Opel Ascona) [14]
84 James Kissane/Tim Kissane (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
85 Gerard Greene/Jamsie Ward (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
86 Brian Kirwan/Mark Kirwan (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
87 Cathal Mulgrew/Darren O’Brien (Ford Escort) [13R]
88 William Kenneally/Finbarr Fogarty (Ford Escort Mk2) [13R]
89 David Armstrong/Podge Newe (Ford Escort RS1800) [18]
90 George Cullen/Pat Cashman (Ford Escort RS1800) [18]
91 Maurice Meskell/Stephen Meskell (Ford Escort) [18]
92 John Coughlan/Sean Walsh (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
93 Micheál Rodgers/Brian Hassett (Honda Civic FN2) [3]
94 Gerard O’Shea/Mary O’Shea (Peugeot 206) [3]
95 Victor Farrell/Garret Burke (Honda Civic FN2) [3]
96 PA Malone/Liam McMahon (Ford Escort Mk2) [13R]
97 Luke McCarthy/TBA (TBA) [TBA]
98 Joe Machugh/Dermot MacHugh (Peugeot 205 RWD) [13R]
99 Dylan Grogan/Keelan Grogan (Skoda Fabia) [2]
100 Mark O’Connor/Dean Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
101 Roy Baldrick/Dermot Friel (Talbot Sunbeam) [13R]
102 Stephen McGurk/TBA (Ford Escort) [13R]
103 Jenna McCann/John McCabe (Ford Fiesta R2) [2]
104 Keith McFadden/Sara McFadden (TBA) [3]
105 Francis Kelly/Doireann Tiernan (Honda Civic) [3]
106 Paul McHugh/TBA (Honda Integra Type R) [3]
107 Ciaran Burke/Mark Parsons (Honda Civic) [3]
108 Katie Quinn/Ciara O’Connell (Honda Civic) [2]
109 Andrew Stewart/Tony Gallagher (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4) [15]
110 Eddie Peterson/Sam Johnston (Honda Civic EK4) [11F]
111 David Healy/Stephen McGing (Honda Civic EG6) [11F]
112 Eddie Kennelly/Timmy Murphy (Ford Escort) [11R]
113 Niall O’Connell/Tommy O’Connor (Citroen C2 R2 MAX) [2]
114 John O’Reilly/Nick Sparks (Ford Escort Mk1) [17]
115 Barry Cuffe/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [1]
116 Des Roche/Micheal Breen (Honda Civic EK4) [1]
117 Erik Honan/John Greene (Honda Civic) [1]
118 Darragh Kenny/Niall Healy (Honda Civic EK4) [1]
119 Gerry Casey/Jane Collins (Ford Escort) [13R]
120 Stephen Gallagher/Niall Gibson (Honda Civic) [1]
121 Alister Peoples/Patrick Patterson (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
122 Joe Moffitt/Eddie Moffitt (Honda Civic) [1]
123 Mark Geraghty/Conal O’Sullivan (Honda Civic EK4) [13F]
124 Michael Tumulty/Barry Talt (Peugeot 106 Cup Car) [1]
125 James Hall/TBA (Audi Coupe Quattro) [19]
126 Paul Carron/Sean Brunton (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
127 Sean McHugh/Kathleen Kennedy (Subaru Impreza N10) [15]
128 James Power/Declan Kelly (Ford Escort Mk1) [18]
129 David Dee/Mary Rita Dee (Austin Mini Cooper) [9]
130 Pat Ryan/Jack Dalton (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
131 Ollie Lynch/Linda O’Neill (Honda Civic) [11F]
132 Davy Hunt/Gillian Gilmartin (Citroen Saxo S1600) [11F]
133 Georgie Bell/Robert Dwane (Honda Civic) [11F]
134 Patrick Messer/Natalie Messer (Peugeot 205) [9]
135 Daragh Mulholland/Neil Mulholland (Suzuki Swift) [1]
136 Keith Ewing/Shane Barry (Honda Civic) [1]
137 Peter Farrell/Shane Farrell (Toyota Corolla) [10]
138 Pat O’Connell/Noreen Stanley (Toyota Starlet) [9]
139 Darren Fallon/Tayto Kilmartin (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10]
140 Gordon Nimmo/Chrystal Culkeen (Ford Fiesta) [11F]
Reserves
141 Karl Fallis/Tony McGovern (Ford Fiesta R2) [2]
142 Anthony Keating/TBA (Ford Escort) [13R]
143 Mikey Walsh/Gene Stack (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
144 Ross Hilliard/TBA (Honda Civic) [11F]
145 Martin McPhillips/TBA (Toyota Corolla Twin Cam) [11R]
146 Gary Meehan/Paddy McCrudden (Toyota Corolla Twin Cam) [11R]
147 Brendan Friel/Jason McCahill (Nissan Micra) [9]
148 Shane Carr/Carr Ciaran (Vauxhall Nova) [10]
149 Stephen Kelly/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
150 Bob Moran/Elaine Ni Shé (Ford Escort) [11R]
151 Mike Murphy/Laura Mulrooney (Peugeot 205 GTi) [13F]
152 David Murphy/John Doody (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
153 Jason Dickson/TBA (Ford Fiesta R2) [2]
154 Brian Comiskey/TBA (Subaru Impreza) [15]
Juniors
J1 Conor Murphy/TBA (Honda Civic) [16A]
J2 David Kelly/Kenny Bustard (Toyota Starlet RWD) [16A]
J3 Colin O’Donoghue/Eddie Doherty (Ford Escort Mk2) [16A]
J4 Brian Moore/Lorcan Moore (Honda Civic) [16A]
J5 Aaron McIntyre/Ben McIntyre (Toyota Starlet RWD) [16A]
J6 Johnny Armstrong/Philly Mitchell (Citroen C2) [16A]
J7 Gareth Deazley/Dean O’Sullivan (Honda Civic EK4) [16]
J8 Nigel Roche/Andrew Cronin (Honda Civic) [16A]
J9 Ryan Moore/Christopher Mofit (Honda Civic) [16]
J10 Stephen Reynolds/Derek McCarthy (Honda Civic) [16]
J11 Cathal Nolan/Emel McNamara (Honda Civic EG6) [16]
J12 Darragh McNern/Trevor Graham (Toyota Corolla) [16]
J14 Ryan Diver/Dylan Baskin (Honda Civic) [16]
J15 Jack Brunton/Darragh Kelly (Honda Civic) [16]
J16 Tom Murphy/Tommy Downes (Honda Civic) [16]
J17 Cathal Keane/Declan Boyle (Honda Civic) [16A]
J18 Jason Murphy/Matthew Murphy (Honda Civic) [16]
J19 Áine Phelan/Rachael McCullough (Honda Civic) [16]
J20 Trevor Roche/Graham Roche (Honda Civic) [16A]
J21 Sean McCaffrey/Jack Kelly (Honda Civic) [16]
J22 Alan O’Sullivan/John Courtney (Honda Civic) [16A]
J23 Robert Regan/Shauna Small (Honda Civic) [16]
J24 Dylan Curley/John Burke (TBA) [16A]
J25 Sean Fergus/Keith Naughton (Honda Civic EK4) [16]
J26 Ruairi MacArtain/David Crilly (Honda Civic) [16]
J27 Daragh Smith/TBA (Honda Civic) [16]
Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally Press Release 2
Posted: August 20, 2019 7:21 AM
The Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally which takes place next Sunday 25th August has attracted one of the biggest entries of the year to date and has the potential to be a cracking event. Over 150 entries have been received for the main field and 26 for the Junior Rally making it the best supported one day rally this year. Top seeds by virtue of their win in 2018 are Jonathan Pringle & Paul Sheridan in their Ford Escort Mk2 and they will be one of the favourites to take the Group 4 Fabrications King of the Mark 2 award. They are followed at two by Josh Moffett & Andy Hayes who can wrap up the Triton National Rally Championship with an eighth place finish or better. Josh will be switching back to his usual WRC Fiesta that he uses for the national series and will be hoping to move on from the accident that out him out of the Ulster this weekend.
Number three seeds Roy White & James O’Brien were national champions in 2016 and have only a very slim chance of stopping Moffett, although Whites pace has increased this year and he will certainly be one of the favourites to win the event. At number four are Hugh Hunter & Rob Fagg in a Focus WRC who are regular visitors to Ireland with Hugh a former winner of the Summer Rally back in 2013. He has had mixed fortunes this season but will still be one to watch out for. Ian Barrett & Paul McGee will be dark horses at five as they have entered in a Subaru Impreza WRC S12; an overall win is not beyond them. Donegal crew Kevin Eves and Chris Melly at six in their Toyota Corolla are always competitive and won’t be wanting for commitment. Gary Kiernan & Ryan Moore are quick no matter what part of the country they rally in, and will provide a stern test for Pringle.
James Stafford and Jeff Case bring their Darrian T90 GTR to Galway with James doing some more rallying this year after a few quiet seasons. Steve Wood & Keith Moriarty are at nine in a Ford Fiesta WRC while 2016 winner and multiple national champion Niall Maguire with James O’Reilly on the notes rounds off the top ten in his Impreza WRC. There is a lot of quality outside the top ten as well with Stephen McCann & Andrew Purcell bringing their Fiesta R5s out to play while Damian Toner fresh from a fantastic top ten finish on the Ulster Rally. The local battle will also be worth watching with Richard Whelan and Tom Flaherty the top seeds but there are many others who could also feature over the course of the day.
The nine stage event begins at 9:20am from the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort with three stages attempted three times on the Loughrea side of Gort. Service will be held in Gort Mart and the first car is due back at the finish ramp just after 5pm.
Photo: James Burke
Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally Press Release 1
Posted: August 8, 2019 10:50 PM
There are less than three weeks to go to the Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally and entries have topped the 125 mark to date. The event is the seventh round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship, the fifth round of the Sligo Pallets Border Championship and the fifth round of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship. Among the entries received to date are Josh Moffett, Hugh Hunter, James Stafford, Frank Kelly and Gary Kiernan. Josh Moffett is in a commanding position and only needs a top eight finish in Galway to be crowned national champion for 2019.
Clerk of the Course Aiden Connolly has laid out a 3x3 format which includes some classic roads not used in a number of years. As well as being the title sponsor the Lady Gregory Hotel is the event headquarters for the rally which takes place on Sunday 25th August, with the service area in Gort Mart and scrutiny will take place at Top Form on the Tubber road on the Saturday. The launch for the rally takes place this Sunday at 2pm in the Lady Gregory Hotel Gort, and all are very welcome.
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