Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/476647
21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 11 MARCH 2015 MOTORSPORTS James Zahra wins ASMK Enduro in Qrendi Trials at Mgarr and Motocross at Ta' Qali on Sunday PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMUEL SCICLUNA ON Sunday, 8th March 2015 'As- socjazzjoni Sport Muturi u Karozzi' organized the fourth Enduro race at ix-Xaghra tal-Maghlaq quarry at the limits of Qrendi. This event was supported by Dunlop, KTM and Pasta Poiatti and thanks too to 'Heritage Malta for their coopera- tion with regard to this event. The event started at 10: 00am when 28 motorcycle riders in full uniform registered for this event. During the classification the rid- ers were divided into two classes:- those riding with motors up to 250 in Class A, and Class B for riders on motorcycles with cylinder capacity greater than 250cc. During the pole position on a track of 4 kilometres it was Joseph Scicluna on a Honda 125cc 2T who recorded the best time of 5 minutes 8.16 seconds fol- lowed by James Zahra on a 250cc Yamaha with a time of 5 minutes 14.05 seconds. Following the Pole Position the race for the best time performance started to decide the Overall and Class A and B winners and Runner-Up during the follow- ing two (2) Timed Laps which also count for points. All made their best to better one's Lap Time. In the first Heat Damon Bonello of Class A on a Suzuki motorcycle 250cc registered the best time of 4 minutes 59.44 seconds followed by Clayton Schembri on a KTM 250cc who registered his best time of 5 minutes 10.11 seconds. Yet, the Second Heat changed the whole situation where Terence Az- zopardi on a Kawasaki 250cc reg- istered his time of 5 minutes 4.65 seconds, Joseph Scicluna on Honda 125cc lapped in 5 minutes 6.76 sec- onds and Theo Micallef on Honda 250cc did his best of 5 minutes 6.91 seconds. Yet Bonello ended up winning the class A with his first lap time fol- lowed by Azzopardi and Scicluna respectively. Micallef finished in fourth place while Schembri fin- ished in fifth place. In Class B an unusual situation developed where the majority of riders who did well in the first Heat failed in the second Heat. Yet James Zahra on a Yamaha 250cc improved on his first lap-time and registered a time of 4 minutes 45.43 seconds to win first place ranking. Zahra was followed by Alex Sant Fornier on a KTM 450cc with his best of 4 min- utes 52.58 seconds and Matthew Salomon on a KTM 530cc with an improved time of 4 minutes 55.15 seconds. Only Zahra improved his Second Heat timing who managed to im- prove his time to 4 minutes 41.32 seconds to close the day winning the Overall position. Sant Fornier and Salomon placed 2nd and 3rd re- spectively. Andrew Cassar finished in fourth place on a KTM 300cc with 4 minutes 55.24 seconds while Victor Bajada on KTM 300cc with a time of 5 minutes 5.36 seconds won fifth place. James Zahra on 250cc Yamaha motorcycle registered a best time of 4 minutes 41.32 seconds and his 3rd consecutive Overall win of the ASMK Enduro Motorcycle champi- onship events sponsored by Dunlop Tyres. Runner-up is Alex Sant Forn- ier on his KTM 450cc with a time of 4 minutes 52.58 seconds. More ASMK events are pro- grammed to take place this Sunday when the Trials Championship 4th competition sponsored by ASMK – Pasta Poiatti 2014/15 will be held at the Quarry at Tower Falka in Zeb- bieh within the limits of Mgarr. The programme starts at 9:00 am. Also this Sunday ASMK will be organizing the 3rd Motocross Championship event at the Sports Complex of the Association at Ta' Qali. This event starts at 11.00am weather permitting. Otherwise the event will be cancelled due to the safety of the competitors riding their bikes. Besides the two Motocross classes A and B ASMK will be also organ- izing a non-Championship race for Vintage Motorcycle riders. This class will be run on a Fun Race ba- sis. More information can be seen at the ASMK Official website of the As- sociation www.asmk.org.mt. FORMULA 1 Räikkönen boosted by Ferrari atmosphere KIMI Räikkönen says there is an improved atmosphere at Ferrari ahead of the 2015 season. The Italian marque slipped to fourth in the Constructors' standings last year, fail- ing to record a race victory for the first time since the 1993 campaign and registering just two podium finishes. This prompted major changes, with Ser- gio Marchionne replacing Luca di Mon- tezemolo as President, Maurizio Arriva- bene arriving as team boss and Sebastian Vettel taking over from Fernando Alonso. After the pre-season phase, Räikkönen claimed that Ferrari is a happier place to work. "I've known the team for a few years now, but I have to say, this year the atmosphere is very good," said Räikkönen. "The people are happy and working together in a very close-knit way. I think that's a good sign. "On top of that, it seems that a good car has been produced over the winter period. Now the time's come to go racing, which is when we will really understand where we are." Räikkönen is confident that Ferrari will enjoy a much stronger season with the new SF15-T, which is the first car to be overseen by James Allison since his return to the team. "I think that compared with last year, we have done a great job as a team," he said. "We are pleased with what we achieved over the winter and with the level of com- petitiveness that we expect to have reached, even if we will have to wait until we're on track to get the real verdict. "Anyhow, we will continue to push to im- prove all the time. I am confident that we will manage to achieve the results we de- serve and want." James Zahra