Moffett ready for Monaghan rally
By Maitiú Monaghan
The pedigree of rally driving in Co. Monaghan has always been one of the strongest in Ireland.
Well, Josh Moffett certainly thinks so- and the Farney native has seen it all in a storied career on the rallying circuit.
He has a handful of local titles to add to his four national rally championships.
This weekend, he once again gears up for his home rally, which always puts a "pep in his step".
"I might sound biased, but the Monaghan Rally is one of the best rallies in the country. I think everybody wants to win their home event, and it's extra special to try and win it.
"Myself and my brother, Sam, have won it a couple of times each - half the competition is, who's going to win it this year? Who else is in the mix? Between the two of us we always want to try and get it."
Albeit rescheduled this year, due to April's fuel protests, the Monaghan Rally is always a standout event for motorsports enthusiasts across the country. This weekend's event will be no different.
Moffett himself is all too aware of the legacy the race holds:
"From a competitor's point of view, it's hard to say. In any county there is a big selection of roads; Monaghan Motor Club does a very good job at picking a nice mixture of stages. They're not all open roads.
"In Monaghan definitely the motorsports pedigree is one of the strongest in Ireland. Donegal and Cork are very strong, but Monaghan are up there in the mix of it.
"There are a handful of families that have been into it for many years, and that rubbed off onto other families. It gives momentum [to the sport]," Moffett explained.
Certainly, rallying has been a part of the Monaghan man's life from an early age.
His first event was on the junior circuit, aged 12, before he made the step up to the big leagues at 17.
Although, his practising may have begun long before that.
"I grew up around rallying; my father and my uncle would have been all rallying back in the day. Myself and my brother started at a young age.
"It's not like I was carting or anything. Even younger than that, we would have been messing in field cars and stuff.
"I remember my first event was the Galway International in a Peugeot 106. That was when we hit the stages; I drove the car prior to that in similar off-road events. The car was the same, it was the event and everything that came with it that was different," he remembered.
Moffett believes that often the mental aspect of the sport can be overlooked by both supporters and drivers.
"The power in the car is one factor, in that you hope that times get better or whatever, but the other factor is how mentally you have to start processing information.
"You're going down the road that much faster, even though some people maybe think it's only 10 or 15 seconds a stage, you are still processing a lot of information a lot faster.
"That's probably the biggest thing. It's just practice; more events and you get better at it."
The Ronnie Hawe Four Seasons Hotel Monaghan Stages Rally 2026 takes place on Sunday, August 2.
For full coverage of the rally pick up next week's Anglo Celt.