Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/374383
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2014 Sport 22 MOTORSPORTS FORMULA 1 Muscat records endurance race as Zahra and Jourdan win EnduroCross THE 'Assocjazzjoni Sport Muturi u Karozzi' held the first Summer Event at the ASMK Sports Complex at Ta Qali last Saturday evening. The Pro- gramme was to include an Autocross Endurance Race lasting an Hour and a Lap. The Motocross and Enduro ASMK Sections teamed together and organised the first EnduroCross Races ever. These races drew quite a large number of Motocross and Enduro rid- ers for this special tough competition. In all, 47 competitors participated in the Autocross Endurance Race and in the EnduroCross. The Riders were grouped into two classes based on engine capacity. The Motocross track was also modified as it was laid with man-made obstacles such as riding over wooden beams and laid tyre carpets while the riders had to ride in the opposite direction to normal practice. Racing lasted for 10 minutes each which was hard enough at this time of the year. In the big capacity class James Zahra riding a Yamaha made a very good start with Matthiew Gauci on his KTM while Solomon also fol- lowed close behind in 3rd place. Ed- ward Ciantar riding a Kawasaki soon added pressure on Solomon and soon moved to 3rd place. Soon Ciantar started building pressure on Gauci and in his very few laps managed to win 2nd place. Zahra drove first to the Finish Flag followed by Ciantar and Gauci. Alex Sant Fornier finish 4th in class. In the 2nd group race French Pierre Jourdan riding a KTM took the lead from start to finish. Elvin Debono on a Kawasaki and Vince Farrugia on a Yamaha followed in this formation till the finish. So Jourdan won his class ahead of Debono and Agius. Alviro Borg finished in 4th. At 8.00pm the track was trans- formed into a beautiful laid track all lit with artificial lighting. Soon the car inspections commenced by a number of ASMK Officers and all was under the strict supervision of the 'Malta Records' Judges. The ten Autocross cars made their way on the Start Line for the Hard Endurance Race which was watched by many spectators on site. Though the cars could have been shared with other team drivers the following who made their way on the Start Line were Philip Grima on a Ford Escort, Andreas Zammit on a Ford Fiesta, Darren Magro on a Ford Fiesta, Noel Zammit on a Hillman Imp, Manuel Muscat on an Opel Corsa, Roderick Debono on a Mazda, Rennie Sciberras on a Honda Civic, Ju- rgen Mallia on a Honda Civic, Jurgen Camilleri on an Opel Corsa and Gor- don Johnson on a Ford Escort Mk1. From the Start it was clearly visible that all teams had different race strat- egies. Some drove at a modest speed while other drove at racing speeds to gain the number of laps recorded. On the front line Manuel Muscat on his Opel took the lead though he decided not to share his car with anybody. Johnson shared his Escort with An- drew Pisani. Magro shared his Fiesta with Carlos Mifsud. Roderich Debono shared his Mazda with Manuel Vella and Philip J Vella who later in the race had to slow down due to engine prob- lems. Zammit Andreas shared his Fiesta with Joseph Micallef who also had to slow down due to a flat tyre. Lap after lap the race leaders changed places as they entered the pits to refuel. At the stike of the One Hour racing the Last Lap flag was show to all and soon all remaining running cars stopped on the Finish Line. Soon the Lap Counting Offic- ers issued the Official Result backed by the Malta Records Judges. Manuel Muscat on his Opel No. 60 registered 94 laps on a still healthy engine in the hour. Johnson and Pissani on the Mk1 Escort won 2nd Place with 90 Laps. 3rd Place goes to Magro and Mifsud on the Fiesta with 89 laps. Debono's Mazda is 4th with 82 Laps and Mal- lia's Honda made 76 laps. The ASMK 2nd Summer event is of a completely different nature. A con- siderable number of ASMK members and Officers will be doind a day's vol- untary work at the Dar tal-Providenza in Siggiewi. We will be performing embellishment work on the surround- ing gardens and painting of rooms and halls too. Another Special Event will take place in Gozo. ASMK will be organ- ising Autocross Races on the 20th and 21st September at Sannat (Gozo) to raise funds for Arka Foundation. More details in www.asmk.org.mt This weekend of the 5th to the 7th September two ASMK Licenced Drag Racers will be racing in Santa Pod in England. They will be racing in the FIM-Europe SuperStreet Bike Cup where Shawn Buttigieg is holding 2nd place overall with just a single point less than the Championship Class leader. Luke Farrugia is placed 12th as he earlier missed some races. We wish our Maltese Drag racers the best of luck too. Julian Abela Darren Magro Ferrari open to Ross Brawn return FERRARI'S new Team Principal, Marco Mattiacci, has said that he would welcome back Ross Brawn, should the latter desire to return to Formula 1 and take on a new role with the marque in the future. Brawn has been linked with a Ferrari come- back since stepping away from Mercedes at the end of last season, having played a part in the outfit's dominant run of title success with Michael Schumacher from 2000-2004. "Ross Brawn is an iconic figure at Ma- ranello," Mattiacci said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN. "Everyone would like to have Ross or see Ross back at Ferrari. He's one of the most re- spected personalities in Formula 1 with the highest knowledge and pedigree. Everybody would be happy with someone like Ross." Mattiacci confirmed that he has spoken to Brawn "several times" this year, includ- ing when Brawn visited the team's factory with friends, but the Italian insists any fu- ture move would not alter his position at the helm. "At the moment I am the number one on the team," said Mattiacci, who replaced Ste- fano Domenicali in April. "We are building a very strong team with a medium, long-term plan. My role is to short- en as much as I can this plan to make it effec- tive as soon as possible. We are building the foundation for a very successful story." James Allison, who re-joined Ferrari from Lotus last season, continues to lead the re- organisation of the team's technical depart- ment, with further changes expected after the departure of engine chief Luca Mar- morini. "As I said, at the moment I'm building a new team," Mattiacci explained. "James is the Technical Director and I want to start from this point. To tango you have to have two. Maybe Ross is happy with what he is doing." Ross Brawn