Monaghan (Drumlin) Night Naviagtion Trial - 2-3 Oct 04

Posted: October 18, 2004 5:55 PM

This event counted as the first round of the ‘Executive Logistics’ National Navigation C’Ship; The first round of the ‘Squealing Pig Bar & Restaurant’ Border C’Ship; The Third round of the Monaghan ‘Gary Nesbitt’ C’Ship and the 7th round of the Monaghan Club ‘Traders’ C’Ship. A lot was at stake for the local competitors as many hopefuls were chasing important C’Ship points.

First car away was current National Champions – Derek Coleman and Conor Maguire. Current Border Champions - Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins were next with Ger Gowen and Paul Phelan running in 3rd spot. TP6 claimed the first errors with Gowen/Phelan, O’Neill brothers and Higgins/ O’Donovan dropping 2 points.

Next to falter was car no.1 – Coleman/Maguire. They fell foul to mechanical problems on-route to TP7, and as a result firstly had to skip 8 TP’s, then a further 20 TP’s in the second half putting them well out of contention. By TP 8 Kierans and McAdoo held the lead with the only clean sheet with Trevor Farrell / Noel Hall and Sean Gallagher / Ciaran Coyle jointly in 2nd place on 1 point. TP7 through to TP11 was plot & bash in the Swans Cross-area and provided many tricks for the crews.

TP15 to TP16 was the Speed Regularity Section which included 2 secret ITC’s. Gowen/Phelan were the only successful crew to emerge with no points awarded. Kierans and McAdoo still held to lead after dropping their first score - 2 points, which left them with a 3 point advantage from new joint 2nd placed crews of Laurence Sherry / Gary Hall and Gowen/Phelan (both on 5 points).

The Trial started to head west for the Newbliss area and again more plot & bash to upset the competitors. The lead crew dropped 1 point into TP18 but held their advantage to arrive into service in Scotshouse on 3 points. In joint second place were the crews of Ger Gowen/Paul Phelan and Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall (both on 9 points). In the semi-expert section at the halfway mark, the Donegal crew of Sean Gallagher / Ciaran Coyle were 2nd to Kierans/McAdoo on 28 points; another Donegal crew of Charlie McMonagle / Aidan Friel were 3rd on 39 points. The lead in the Novice class was strongly held by Monaghan’s Gregory McGinnity / Conor McGinnity on 40 points, putting this crew 9th overall and showing an excellent run on a tough Trial. Next up were Monaghan locals Martin Tynan / Ciaran Tynan on 48 points and Janice Mackarel / Andrew Grennan were third on 103 points.

The club held a beginners class for all the first-timers and their results were calculated up to the half-way point. Seamus McBride / Ryan Moore won the class on 260 points; Sean Clerkin / Andrea Clerkin were second on 276; Gerry McGivney / Brian Ruth took third on 279 points and 4th was David Smith / Graham Moffet on 331 points. This was a difficult event for these crew but their efforts were well rewarded and we hope to see them all out again in the Cavan event on the 30th.

The Second half of the Trial started in the grounds of Hilton park in Scotshouse, and with the mud, rocks, fields and indeed tulip plot & bash – many crew dropped points before emerging…..somewhere! The run through Hilton left the O’Neill brothers - Ray and Stephen with some car trouble, which persisted to the end of the event and as a result they lost a considerable amount of time. From Scotshouse, the event moved towards Redhills before heading back beside Drum.

A number of tricky plot & bash sections followed before the dreaded Speed Regularity Section between TP45 and TP46. At TP45 the Monaghan crew of Kierans/McAdoo were still in a dominant position at the front on 11 points. Trevor Farrell / Noel Hall were second on 20 points and 3rd was held by Andrew Mackarel / Liam Higgins on 30 points.

The secret ITC checks yet again annoyed most crews with points being lost. Gowen/Phelan and the O’Neill brothers were the only teams to emerge through this mess with no points - highlighting we all need to learn more if this is the way forward! A clean run to the finish for Kierans and McAdoo, clearly stomping their authority on home ground and emerging as a threat to the ‘weathered’ crews for the remainder of the of the season. They accumulated a total of 15 points throughout an event with over 120 miles and 4 hours of competitive navigation against the toughest in the Country. Their win was deserving and greatly assisted Ashley’s attack on the local Monaghan Traders C’Ship.

Second place was taken by Farrell and Hall on 20 points (1st Expert) with Andy and Liam third (2nd Expert) on 35 points. 3rd Expert and 4th overall was Ger Gowen and Paul Phelan on 66 points. The semi-expert class was won by Sean Gallagher / Ciaran Coyle on 180 points (8th overall); 2nd semi was Charlie McMonagle / Aidan Friel (10th O/A) and 3rd semi was Fintan Larmer and Sean McCaffery on 353 points.

Gregory McGinnity / Conor McGinnity put in a marvellous performance to take 1st in the Novice class and a superb 6th O/A on what was such a difficult event. 2nd novice was Richard McChesney and Colin Brady on 396 points and Janice Mackarel and Andrew Grennan were 3rd on 456 points. The COC would like to thank the County Council, An Garda Siochana, the residents, Station Road Motors and the White Horse Hotel for their welcomed assistance on this event. Thanks to the dedicated marshals who braved the terrible weather conditions, to the results team for their great effort and support, and to all those who helped behind the scenes on the running of this Trial. On the night a Marshals draw was promoted and sponsored by McElvaney Truck Dismantlers Ireland and the following marshals won prizes: Damien Hagan (Fleece Shirt), Tommy Humphries (Polo Shirt) and Garry Highland (Base Ball Cap).

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Arthur Kierans and Ashley McAdoo were the clear winners of Monaghan MC’s Truck Dismantlers Ireland Drumlin Navigation Trial on Saturday night, the opening round of the Executive Logistics National Championship and the Squealing Pig Border series, with their Vectra finishing the tight, challenging route five marks ahead of the Proton of Trevor Farrell and Noel Hall.

Former champions Andy Mackarel and Liam Higgins were third in another Vectra, ahead of the Mazda 323 of Ger Gowen and Paul Phelan, while novice winners Gregory and Conor McGinnity brought their Corolla home sixth overall, in among the experts. Top semi-experts were Shaun Gallagher and Ciaran Coyle, with the former Billy Coleman award winner and Peugeot 206 champion returning to his roots. Derek Coleman and Conor Maguire had a disastrous start to their National title defence, with a host of mechanical problems on their Astra, finishing 22nd after being forced to skip most of the second half.

1 Arthur Kierans/Ashley McAdoo (Vectra) 15 marks 
2 Trevor Farrell/Noel Hall (Proton) 20m 
3 Andy Mackarel/Liam Higgins (Vectra) 35m 
4 Ger Gowen/Paul Phelan (Mazda 323) 66m 
5 Lawrence Sherry/Gary Hall (Corolla) 104m 
6 Gregory McGinnity/Conor McGinnity (Corolla) 120m 
7 Patrick Higgins/Denis O’Donovan (Galant) 161m 
8 Shaun Gallagher/Ciaran Coyle (Sierra) 180m 
9 Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill (Golf) 184m 
10 Charlie McMonagle/Aidan Friel (Mazda 323) 255m. 

Semi-experts: 
1 Shaun Gallagher/Ciaran Coyle 
2 Charlie McMonagle/Aidan Friel 
3 Fintan Larmer/Sean McCaffrey (Mazda 323) 353m. 

Novices: 
1 Gregory McGinnity/Conor McGinnity 
2 Richard McChesney/Colin Brady (Civic) 396m 
3 Janice Mackarel/Andrew Grennan (Cavalier) 456m. 

Beginners:
1 Seamus McBride/Ryan Moore 260m 
2 Sean Clerkin/Andrea Clerkin (Primera) 276m 
3 Gerry McGivney/Brian Ruth 279m. 

• Full results on www.monaghanmotorclub.com
• 2004-05 National Night Navigation Championship