Cork Motor Club’s 1000 Shakes Navigation Trial took place last weekend. The Inchigeelagh based event counted as round four of the National Championship as well as the penultimate round of the Munster Navigation Championship. The all cork team of Derek Butler/Denis O’Donovan scored a commanding win finishing on 13 marks, well clear of Mike O’Connor Jr/Greg Shinnors who finished 2 nd overall on 35 marks. 3 rd place went to Alan Shinnors/George Shinnors who finished on 43 marks. The entire event took place north of Inchigeelagh around the villages of Ré na nDoirí, Baile Mhic Íre, Clondrohid and Cúil Aodha with first six time points being located south of the village of Cill Na Martra. The first farm lane of the night, a short grassy track which had to be used to avoid a double visit at TP3, nearly caught out Darragh Kelly/Oisín Sherlock, they missed a difficult to see left turn half way down the lane and continued further on to a dead end and a field. For a few moments it looked like a tractor and chain job, but luckily the car got enough grip to get them back onto the lane and they only dropped one minute into TP5. The first trick of the night came in the wind farm south of the village of Ré na nDoirí. Recent road improvements through the forest changed the layout of the forest lanes, removing some sharp corners. TP8 was located directly after where the lane had been straightened with the approach across the old overgrown unused part of the lane. Of the twenty entries, Butler/O’Donovan were the only crew to get this right, with every other crew taking a wrong approach as the new part of the road wasn’t on the map. Via 12, TP13 and TP14 had to be accessed using numerous farm lanes around An Rathnach Thiar. The short distance between each check point and the demanding nature of the lanes left everyone down time by the time TP14 was reached. Butler/O’Donovan dropped 4 marks here, while Kelly/Sherlock dropped 3. Shane Dalton/ Ryan Treanor were down just 2 marks at TP14 while Derek Mackarel/Conor Boylan dropped 4. Shane Maguire/Conor Maguire got through this tricky section with the loss of 5 marks. There was some controversy at TP16 where a road goes should have been given for to reach the TP. Butler/O’Donovan did however know a lane existed there, but neither Kelly/Sherlock, Mackarel/Boylan and Dalton/Treanor and a few others knew of the lanes existence so all received 15 marks for a wrong approach. O’Connor/Shinnors had also no knowledge of the unmapped lane, but luckily for them they accidently went up it and avoided a WA. Plot and bash was on the cards at TP25, with all TPs in the mountains between Clondrohid and Carriganimmy. At TP25 grid reference plots were handed out for TP26, TP29, TP 30 and TP31. It was imperative to plot all P & B's together as TP30 lay on the shortest route between TP26 and TP27. Unfortunately for Maguire/Maguire they would receive a WA at TP27 and miss TP30 and TP31 in what would be a very costly section for the father and son team. From TP32 it was into petrol for a well needed forty minute break after a daunting opening half with much more to come. The entire second half of the event was based around the village of Cúil Aodha, which didn’t throw up many problems for the Monaghan entrant’s. Mackarel/Boylan did have a slight scare on the ITC section directly after petrol, after stopping at the hidden check point they went the wrong direction at the following junction. They soon realised their error and corrected themselves but would arrive to the end TP two minutes late. They were fortunate that the missed junction was after the hidden check point, as with ITC sections, they are timed to the second with a 1 mark penalty for every ten seconds early or late arrival to the check point. Arriving two minutes late would have left the team with a massive 12 mark penalty. Maguire/Maguire would receive 20 marks at TP111 for a non signature before missing TP114, TP115 and TP116 which were all p&bs. The p&bs in the second half were also grid references and did not throw up much difficulty apart from time loss due to the short distances and twisty roads and lanes beside Doire Fhínín. After TP116 it was over the penultimate control just outside Inchigeelagh before heading back to the HQ. Sherlock, Treanor and Boylan did try and appeal the WA at TP16 due to a road goes not being given but to no avail. This overall win for Butler/O’Donovan has given them a considerable lead in the National Championship as they have won the Cork Startrek, Skibbereen Carbery and now the 1000 Shakes. The Skibbereen 100 Isles event is up next
on the calendar and a fourth overall win this season will be expected on Denis’s home event.
Top 10
1 st Derek Butler/Denis O’Donovan (Subaru Impreza) 13 marks,
2 nd Mike O’Connor Jr/Greg Shinnors (Subaru Impreza) 35m,
3 rd Alan Shinnors/George Shinnors (Subaru Impreza) 43m,
4 th Shane Dalton/Ryan Treanor (Subaru Impreza) 45m,
5 th Derek Mackarel/Conor Boylan (Subaru Impreza) 45m,
6 th Owen Murphy/Patrick O’Leary (Subaru Impreza) 47m,
7 th Darragh Kelly/Oisín Sherlock (Subaru Impreza) 51m,
8 th Ray O’Neill/Stephen O’Neill (Subaru Impreza) 110m,
9 th James Boland/John McCay (Subaru Legacy) 133m,
10 th Shane Maguire/Conor Maguire (Subaru Impreza) 171m.
