Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/311673
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 14 MAY 2014 Sport 26 MOTORSPORTS YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Zammit excels at Mtahleb ETIENNE GRECH THE third round from the 2014 Grimaldi lines Hillclimb and Sprint Championship held earlier this month saw an entry field of 63 driv- ers, all vying for the honours at the technically challenging street cir- cuit in Mtaħleb. Zach Zammit, the 2012 champion who won this season's first hillclimb race in March produced a flawless drive from start to finish in his Ur- ban Jungle Ralt managing an excel- lent time of 52.359sec. The cloudy weather at dawn yet again looked very unreliable; in fact various parts of the island had light rain precipitation. Luckily at Mtahl- eb the weather turned out to be good and by mid morning the racing was favoured in no time. Mark Micallef who won the 2013 championship came second in his Autotradermalta-MBL Radical Prosport(52.852sec). Jonathon Tonna was third after a fine display in his Fat Harry's Tatuus with an excellent time of 52.947sec. Keith Camilleri, winner of the previous hill climb at Ta'Penellu by- pass, Mellieha managed fourth place (53.360sec) with his Chevron Crea- tive Solutions Radical Prosport. James Dunford on board his Si- mon's Garage Radical PR6 grabbed fifth place (53.983sec) whilst Nikolai Degiorgio grabbed sixth place in his Doda Good Earth Radical PR6. Alexander Zammit won the vet- eran class in his Bali Stuff Radi- cal Prosport, placing 7th overall (54.715sec). Action at Mtaħleb was not only reserved to single-seaters alone as the top saloon cars got engaged in a tense competition, many of them improving personal best times. The honours for fastest four-wheel drive cars went to Steve Baldachino at the wheel of his red Subaru Im- preza. Didier Bugeja (Peugeot) placed first in the front-wheel drive cat- egory with his Peugeot 106 whilst John Zammit's black Lotus Elise was quickest in the rear-wheel drive se- ries, placing 13th overall. The next race from the ICC cham- pionship will take place this week- end at Xaghra, Gozo. The event commences on Saturday afternoon (practice session) and the offi- cial race will take place on Sunday morning. Karl Spiteri onboard his Ray Formula PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID AXISA Hill Climb racers head to Xaghra, Gozo ETIENNE GRECH THE convoy of racing cars com- peting in the 2014 Grimaldi Lines hillclimb and sprint champion- ship of the Island Car Club moves to Xagħra hill, Gozo for a two-day event on the 17th and 18th of May. This will be the fourth round of the club's competition. The Saturday event will be an af- ternoon practice session for driv- ers and comprises two runs up this iconic hill whilst on Sunday first participants will leave the paddock area at 9 a.m. The chal- lenges one faces include a steep long ramp at the start, a 3-point chicane, roundabout, a wide apex and a very tight hairpin just me- tres away from the finish line. One definitely sees a combina- tion of good competition, numer- ous entries, ranging from standard production cars including some classics, stripped-out rally spec race cars to single-seater Formula type racers. Last years overall winner was Mark Micallef in his Radical Prosport who managed a reputa- ble time of 49.107sec. Zach Zam- mit was runner-up in his Ralt with a time of 49.575sec whilst Jason Muscat grabbed 3rd place (51.429sec) with his Radical Club Sport. 'ASSOCJAZZJONI Sport Muturi u Karozzi' will be very busy over this weekend with two main ac- tivities. The 14th Autocross event and the 7th Motocross races will be held on Saturday 17th May at the ASMK Complex at Ta Qali. The Trials bikers will be compet- ing at the hard rock cutting quarry at ix-Xaghra tal-Maghlaq l/o Qren- di. Also on Sunday Enduro Riders Andrew Cassar and Mathieu Salo- mon will be competing in the 3rd FMI Enduro Championship race in Ibleo-Ragusa in Sicily. Both rid- ers will be competing in different classes with an overall competitor population of about 150 riders. A quick look into the Champi- onship scales which end with two more races to go reveals that all can change. Melo Zammit on his Escort Mk IV failed to win the last two events yet he is leading this Class A with 245 points. Vince Far- rugia on his VW Polo is 2nd over- all with 221 points but Josef Grech is very close with 193 points on his Ford Fiesta. Grech is running one point ahead of Mark Galea on a Fiat Ritmo with 192 points. A quick look into the Lucas Oil Aucross Class A Zammit is still leading too and Farrugia and Galea follows in 2nd and 3rd plac- es res[ectively. Class B leader An- drew Pisani on his Vauxhall Nova is followed by Philip Joe Vella on another Nova. The Gozo Autocross Class leader is Domenic Zammit on an Alfa sud. Joseph Agius on a Fiesta is Runner-up. Motocross Lucas Oil Class A is still in Competition though Clay- ton Camilleri on a KTM leads with 150 points ahead of Paul Muscat on another KTM with 132 points. 3rd placed Edward Ciantar on his Kawasaki has gained 110 points. The Motocross Lucas Oil Class B with two races to go is won by young Kyle Camilleri who rides an 85cc Suzuki RM. Kyle has won 150 points to date. French Pierre Jourdan riding a 2 stroke engine KTM is 2nd with 86 points while Karl Micallef is 3rd overall with 62 points on his Honda. Trials rider Robert Caruana is leading the Class A with 87 points. Damon Bonello who is still recov- ering from a road accident is still Runner-up on his Gas Gas with 60 points and is at par with James Zahra who rides a Sherco in Trials competitions. Class B Rowen Bonello riding a Beta leads with 100 points ahead of Joseph Scicluna with 77 points on a Gas Gas. Manuel Camilleri on his Beta is 3rd overall with 61 points. Next Friday 16th May ASMK will be running the Practice sessions under artificial lighting for the Autocross drivers between 6.00pm and 9.00pm. Entrance during Practice sessions is welcomed for free. More information and photos at www.asmk.org.mt ASMK Night Event On Saturday – Trials on Sunday