Ryan Treanor and Shane Dalton took a tie-break victory at the Midland Motor Club Navigation Trial.
The pair finished joint top on 13 penalties along with Evin Hughes and Packie Duffy. The trial was ran out of Ballinamuck, Co Longford.
While Treanor and Dalton got the win on the furthest cleanest rule.
The 65 mile event set out by Sam Johnston and Colin Duffy was the third round of the National Navigation Trial Championship and the opening round of the Squealing Pig Border Championship.
Treanor/Dalton were first on the road to lead competitors away at 9.01pm. There was little time to settle into the trial. At TP2 competitors were given a route card with the coordinates of the next three timepoints.
TP3, TP4 and TP5 were located on three parallel lanes and required three uses of a road-goes loop around a farm to get the correct approaches.
Plotting was made more difficult by the fact that two of the lanes had already been marked on maps to be used at the end of the night. All crews would drop at least one minute on each of these time points.
From there, the event went towards Drumlish and a farm lane near the Fr Manning Gaels GAA Club. The route out of the farm to TP6 required some nimble steering and eagle eyes to spot the exit between various pieces of farm equipment and round bales.
TP7 was at the end of a mucky lane at Lettergeeragh. Where a tulip diagram would bring crews back in the same lane again before slotting left for TP8.
Some crews would come across TP8 on their search for TP7, while others would miss either one or both of the sequence due to a blockage.
Edenmore Bog
One and a half loops of the Edenmore Bog Walk was required, for the correct approaches to TP9 and TP10. A straight run to TP11, followed by a welcome Time Recovery Section at Control B.
At the end of the first timecard, Treanor/Dalton were on four penalties with Hughes/Duffy on five. Ken Carmody and James Fitzgerald were next on eight.
David McCrudden and Martin Tynan were holding fourth ahead of two Semi-Expert crews of Ciaran Coyle/Niall McDaid and Aaron McElroy/Declan Tynan.
Another tulip diagram at TP12 led competitors across a road-goes loop to TP13. The departure of which was to be found on the route card given at TP2. It wasn't the last time that sheet would be needed.
Another loop of Edenmore Bog Walk was needed to get TP14 and then a farmlane to TP15.
The marshal, informed crews that the information for TP16 had already been handed out. Thus, requiring another use of the route card given at TP2.
Second time recovery stage
By the time crews made it to the second time recovery section of the night at the start of the ITC, many were close to or had gone over their allotted 15 minutes lateness at some point.
The regularity section brought the route to the outskirts of Ballinalee before returning close to Drumlish and sections of road used earlier in the night.
TP21 required a late slot left to avoid a wrong approach and TP22 was back on the same lane as TP6 but being approached from the opposite direction. This time the bales and trailers had been moved to give a different path to the exit. TP25 and Control 26 were back to the lanes of the first plot and bash and from there final control in Ballinamuck.
With Treanor/Dalton taking the overall win, Hughes/Duffy would take 1st Expert with Carmody/Fitzgerald second and McCrudden/Tynan third in Class. McElroy/Tynan won Semi-Expert from Coyle/McDaid with Shane Maguire and Mickey Conlon 3rd.
Cavan pairing Anthony McDonald and Sean McConnell took their second national Novice class victory in as many weeks.
Aaron and Ciaran McGorman were just behind them taking second, with Keith and Damien Sheridan third.
Emmett Sheridan and Sean Og Cahill won the Beginner class. Eoghan Farrell and Peter Deery were second with Joe Finneran and Gerry Kelly third.
