Sam Moffett in search of clean sweep

It’s already a memorable season for Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and it can get even better as he edges closer to becoming the first ever driver to win all three major Irish rallying championships in the same season. 

Tomorrow, he competes in the Trailer Parts and Spares Lakeland Forest Rally in Enniskillen, the penultimate round of the Valvoline Irish Forest Rally Championship.

He has already won the Triton National Championship and only needs to clock in at the first control of the Acesigns Cork “20” International to secure the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship. Only Eugene Donnelly, the self-declared “people’s champion” has won all three championships but in different seasons.

Moffett is only two points adrift of current Valvoline leader Cork’s Gerard Lucey (Mitsubishi) and is favourite to leave the six-stage event in County Fermanagh as the new championship leader. He is the top seed in an impressive entry and while he is listed to drive the Ford Fiesta WRC he campaigned in the Triton championship, he confirmed to the Irish Examiner that he will use his Fiesta R5. That will allow him have an equal battle with his younger brother Josh. It took a tiebreak to separate them in Fermanagh last year where Sam drove the World Car.

Now, he wants to prove a point and hasn’t taken the easier option of concentrating on championship success. Following his exploits in the European Rally Championship last weekend, Josh is eager to turn the tables on his brother on this occasion.

A cracking top ten also includes Belfast’s Jonny Greer (Citroen DS3 R5) and Glengormley’s Derek McGarrity, who will campaign a Skoda Fabia R5. Having driven a Toyota Corolla WRC on the earlier rounds, Tyrone’s Adrian Hetherington will debut a Fiesta R5. The consistent Gerard Lucey seeded at 11 knows there is little he can do to prevent Moffett marching on to the title. David Crossen (Ford Escort) is the top two-wheel drive competitor.

Cork’s Matt Griffin and his Clearwater Racing team mates Japan’s Keita Sawa and Malaysian Weng Sun Mok compete in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Mexico, round five of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). They share top spot in the LMGTE Am category. Griffin is in a rich vein of form having claimed LMGTE pole position and helped the Spirit of Race outfit take a comfortable win in last week’s round of the ELMS in France. Sunday’s race starts at 6pm Irish time.

One of the committees under the umbrella of Motorsport Ireland have ratified a plan that they are hoping clubs around the country will support in a bid to stabilise rallying. Essentially, the Rallies Committee are asking clubs, albeit on a rotational system, to drop around seven events annually that would allow a minimum of two weeks between events. The plan will be discussed at a meeting in Dublin on Tuesday night next and although it still has to be approved by the Motor Sport Commission, it remains to be seen if all the clubs will buy into the plan that is set to run from next year until 2020.

Due to an infringement of the rules Monaghan’s Johnny Treanor has been excluded from last Sunday’s Galway Summer Rally, the penultimate round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. However, he remains in contention for the Triton Junior title along with Donegal’s Michael Boyle and Meath’s Brian Brady.