Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1002137
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 JULY 2018 30 SPORTS MOTORSPORTS Rodren Vella maintains championship lead at Pembrey Circuit in Wales Alfred A. Farrugia RODREN Vella succeeded in maintaining his championship lead at the Pembrey circuit in Wales last weekend (June 30/ July 1), when he placed first in class and third overall in the first 12-lap race on Saturday, and finished first in class and third overall again in the sec- ond 13-lap race on Sunday. Rodren has accumulated 86 championship points over six races, gaining 13 points in each of the two races last weekend, made up of 12 points for the class win and an extra point for the fastest lap! Racing his Honda Civic in the Royal Purple Hot Hatch Cham- pionship promoted by the 750 Motor Club of the United Kingdom, Rodren started the weekend well when he finished first in class and second overall in the qualifying session with a time of 1 minute 11.63 seconds in the 9th lap, just 0.46 seconds slower than Stephen Sawley of Class A, who claimed pole po- sition. Rodren races in Class B for competition cars up to 200bhp per tonne. Rodren is the joint leader of the championship with Michael Winkworth who races in Class C – up to 145bhp per tonne – with a Citroen Saxo VTR. Class A is for competition cars up to 260bhp per tonne. On Saturday, Rodren not only won his class but he also set a new lap record for Class B with a time of 1 minute 12.03 sec- onds at a speed of 74.47 miles per hour in the second lap of the race. As a result, Rodren inscribed his name in the list of lap re- cords kept by the 750 Motor Club for the 1.46 miles long Pembrey circuit in Wales. On Sunday, Rodren registered the fastest lap again in his class when he stopped the clock at 1 minute 12.07 seconds in the 5th lap of the 13-lap race. But this was 0.04 seconds short of the time he recorded the previ- ous day, so he did not improve his lap record. Considering the fact that this was the very first time that Rodren was racing at this cir- cuit, his performance was quite astonishing. Rodren's performance caught the attention of the British me- dia, and Ian Sowman contrib- uted a feature on Rodren called "From Malta to Pem- brey: Rac- ing abroad" published by Club Autos- port. The next race is scheduled for 28 July at Cadwell Park. Rodren wishes to thank all his sponsors – Express Trail- ers, Source-R Autostyling, AIM Enterprises, Pit Stop Service Complex, MZ Invest- ment, Frankit Ltd, motorsmt, Vanstock, Wheelspin, Charl- ton Garage, Kuki Garage, TJ Engineering and SJN Photogra- phy – without whose assistance it would be difficult for him to compete successfully at this level. Rodren Vella racing at Pembrey circuit , Wales – race 2, courtesy of SJN Photogrpahy Home hero Hamilton edges Vettel to Silverstone pole AN emotional Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on pole position for his home British Grand Prix on Saturday after giving his all to stay ahead of Ferrari's For- mula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel in a knife-edge qualifying. The difference between the four times world champions came down to just 0.044 seconds at the end, with Vettel 0.057 faster after their first flying laps around a siz- zling Silverstone circuit. Hamilton, who will be chasing his fifth successive home win on Sunday to retake the lead from his German rival, was shaking as he parked up, leapt out and punched the air. His lap of one minute 25.892 seconds was a track record. "I gave it everything I could, but it was so close with these Ferraris," he said, addressing the crowd with their Hamilton ban- ners and flags. "I was just praying I could do it for you guys. "For me it feels like one of the best laps that I have been able to produce," the 33-year- old told reporters later. "It felt like the most pressurised lap I have ever had. "I was shaking through the emotion and the adrenalin rush which was way above the limit of what I had experienced before," he added. "It's my 76th but it's so special." Vettel, who had suffered a cricked neck in final practice that left him unsure whether he would be able to take part in the session, said he had lost pace on the straight but was happy with his afternoon. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen will line up third with Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bot- tas completing the second row of the grid. Hamilton, a point behind fel- low-four times champion Vettel after nine races, has now had six poles at Silverstone and Satur- day was his fourth in a row at the circuit he has come to dominate since his debut in 2007. The Red Bull pairing of Dutch 20-year-old Max Verstappen, winner in Austria last weekend, and Australian Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth and sixth. "We lose more than a second on the straights so this track is getting less and less favourable for us," commented Verstappen. "But the car is strong...it's go- ing to be a struggle with the guys ahead. Last time we said it was going to be a boring race, and it was a very entertaining race, so let's see." Haas drivers Kevin Magnus- sen and Romain Grosjean will line up seventh and eighth with Monaco's Charles Leclerc ninth for Sauber and Force India's Es- teban Ocon 10th. Toro Rosso's New Zealander Brendon Hartley did not take part in qualifying, with the team rebuilding his car after a big crash in final practice. He will start from the back of the grid. The nightmare continued for former champions Williams at their home race, with Lance Stroll bringing out red flags when he crashed at the start of the first phase of qualifying. Team mate Sergey Sirotkin then drew anguished looks from his pit wall after also go- ing off, avoiding the barriers but ending up with the slowest time. Williams said an aerodynam- ics issue had caused both cars to spin, and the drivers were not to blame.