Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/621909
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 JANUARY 2016 53 Sport ATHLETICS FORMULA 1 MOTOGP House of Sport 10k Race Series kicks off next Sunday in Valletta THE House of Sport 10k Race Series kicks off Sunday 10th January in Valletta and will be the first of a three 10k race series, which will be held in various locations on the island throughout 2016. Starting and Finishing in St. Anne's Street, Floriana, athletes will undertake a circular route along the scenic Valletta Bas- tions as they proceed to Great Siege Road heading towards St. Elmo in the direction of Medi- terranean Street onto Ta' Liesse. From there athletes will run up Crucifix Hill towards Castille Place before heading down for the second loop of the route. "We are very excited about this route, which has been re- vived after quite a long absence. The response from athletes has been extremely positive and we are looking forward to welcom- ing a good sizeable crowd on the day", said Charlie Demanuele, Race Organiser and Director. "The House of Sport 10k Race Series ties in with the Inter- national Franchise's drive to be part of new and innovative events, and for this we thank them for their support". The Race is made possible through the support of Urban Jungle - House of Sport, emvi- gee pr & marketing and Star- max. In order to ensure athlete safety, parts of the course will be closed to traffic and assist- ance from the Police will be available throughout the dura- tion of the race. Route can be viewed on ht- t p://ujr r.emv ige e.com /a s s et s/ STA R M A X _10K _ series-Flori- ana_Valletta_Route.pdf, whilst registrations are to be done online via http://ujrr.emvigee. com/open.php. Race Fee is €8 and includes a goody bag and T-Shirt. Registrations are lim- ited. Race numbers and goody bags are to be collected on Saturday 9th January from Nike Store, Level 0, Tigne Point from 1pm - 6pm. No Registrations will be accepted on Race Day. The second edition of the se- ries will be a Ladies only race and will take place on Sunday 31st January at 7am. Race will start and finish at Tigne Point. Registration can be effected via - http://ujrr.emvigee.com/ ladies_only.php Minardi: Power unit costs are 'crazy' Ferrari chief wants Ecclestone exit strategy GIANCARLO Minardi, who ran his own squad in Formula 1 for several years, says that the money which customer teams must pay manufac- turers for power units is "crazy." Minardi competed in Formula 1 between 1985 and 2005 and peren- nially competed towards the back of the grid, before it was sold to Red Bull and renamed Toro Rosso. The costs of power units for cus- tomer teams has been a contentious issue since the regulations were in- troduced at the start of 2014, with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone keen to address the situation. Minardi reckons that spending in Formula 1 has spiralled out of con- trol. "Spending over $400 million, hav- ing a team made of 1000 people to build two cars is absurd," Minardi posted on his website, making refer- ences to the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari. "Like it is crazy paying $25 million for the power unit, only a few years ago the engine price was $5-6 mil- lion. "Today, $20 million makes the difference and it is difficult to find them [sponsors] in the market." Minardi also reminded the lead- ing outfits of the importance of backmarker teams, stating that "without the difficulties of the little Manor [Marussia], McLaren would have been last [in the 2015 champi- onship]." Indonesia edges towards MotoGP return INDONESIA'S Youth and Sports Minister has revealed that the country is set to make a return to the MotoGP calendar for the 2017 season. Indonesia's Sentul Circuit hosted the sport in 1996 and 1997 and the venue is likely to be renovated, with the nation eyeing a three-year deal to hold an event once more. "Indonesia is certain to host the MotoGP in 2017, 2018, and 2019," Imam Nahrawi is quoted by the Jakarta Post. "We plan to renovate the Sentul circuit. It [the agreement] will be signed within days." The most recent top level motor- sport category to visit Sentul was the now-defunct GP2 Asia series in 2008. The return of Indonesia would mark a further tweak to the Mo- toGP calendar, with Austria's Red Bull Ring hosting the sport next August for the first time since 1997. FORMULA 1 boss Bernie Eccle- stone needs to finalise a succes- sion plan to ensure he leaves the championship in good health, ac- cording to Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne. The 85-year-old said last year that he has been asked to stay on as chief executive by the three parties interested in acquiring a control- ling stake in F1. He also said he was not interest- ed in selling his 5.3 per cent stake in the series. But Marchionne said: "Eccle- stone knows that he is not going to be there forever and maybe this is also connected to the future of FOM. "The real challenge for Bernie is to get organised. "He needs to come up with a sys- tem where maybe some responsi- bilities can be developed differ- ently. "We have a responsibility to de- liver a certain level of sound man- agement continuity of Formula 1 with FIA and with FOM. "So we really need to make the most of Bernie's ability to develop this sport in the best possible way. Believe me it is not easy. "Bernie is quite a character, but he is a very nice guy and has an in- credible strength. "I don't know what I will do when I'm his age. "What he has done over the last 10 years is incredible and he's still there." Marchionne says it is important Ecclestone starts developing a plan for the future that will involve en- couraging younger people to take an interest in F1. "Bernie should pave the way to prepare the future of the F1 world," said Marchionne. "This age issue is there, so we should ask ourselves: are we ap- pealing to young people? "This sport has great potential which has not been expressed yet. "We need to make it entertaining because if everything is predict- able, it gets boring. "We should try to deliver more unpredictability, so to speak, so that results are unpredictable." Bernie Ecclestone