Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/745623
22 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2016 Sport WEIGHTLIFTING FORMULA 1 Good start for Malta in Commonwealth Championships qualifiers in Malaysia MALTA Weightlifting's quest for Qualification for the Commonwealth Games in 2018 got off to a great start at the first qualifying event this past weekend. Yazmin Zammit Stevens and Kyle Micallef were the two athletes representing Malta at the Commonwealth Championships held in Penang, Malaysia. They were competing against 22 other countries, all fighting for a qualifying position at the 2018 Games, which are to be held in Australia. First to take to the platform was Zammit Stevens, who had an excellent performance, despite it being her first major international competition. She com- pleted all her snatch attempts to end with a maximum of 75kg. Following a stellar performance in the snatch portion of the competition, she kept the momentum going into the clean and jerk, making 2 out of her 3 attempts with her maximum being 91kg to give her a total of 166kg. This was an important milestone to reach for Zammit Stevens as, not only did it put her in 6th position out of a group of 11 athletes, but also earned her MQS for next year's Mediterranean Games to be held in June/July in Tarragona, Spain. To add to this great achievement, by the end of her competition, she had also broken a total of 7 National Records in the 63kg category. Yazmin will now be preparing for the European Under 23 championships in Israel in the first week of December. Kyle Micallef was next to perform. Having built con- fidence after his performance at the Rio Games in two previous competitions, he started well making 2 out of 3 of his snatch attempts and in the process, set a new National record in the 85kg category at 122kg. Following a good start to his competition, he left it until his last attempt in the clean and jerk to secure a total, making the lift at 149kg and finishing with a 271kg total which put him in 6th place overall out of 17 athletes. The performance was good enough to secure one of the qualifying places to the Commonwealth Games and set 3 new National records in the process, one of which stood for over 10 years. Over the next few months, he will be looking to maintain his position in the rankings and also aim to gain qualification to the Mediterranean Games next year. The team was accompanied by Malta Weightlifting National Coach Jesmond Caruana who helped the ath- letes with their preparation leading up to the compe- tition. Mr. Caruana was also appointed as technical official for both the Commonwealth Championships and the World Youth Championships, which were or- ganized in conjunction. Williams' 2017 car to be named the 'FW40' WILLIAMS has announced that its 2017 For- mula 1 car will be designated the 'FW40', to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the outfit's first event in the sport. Williams' first race came at the 1977 Span- ish Grand Prix, after previous fruitless efforts, when it entered a March 761 for Patrick Nève at Jarama. Williams soon emerged as one of Formula 1's leading outfits in the 1980s and 1990s, win- ning nine Constructors' championships and taking seven Drivers' crowns, most recently with Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. Williams' current chassis is the FW38, con- tinuing the pattern of FW – the initials of team founder Sir Frank Williams – followed by a number. Instead of continuing the current naming pattern, next year's car will be known as the FW40, in order to celebrate the team's anni- versary. Williams added that a 'series of exciting events and special content' is also planned for next season. The team will announce its 2017 driver line- up on Thursday, with European Formula 3 champion Lance Stroll poised to join incum- bent Valtteri Bottas. Kvyat now four points from one-race ban TORO Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat is only four points away from a one-race suspen- sion after he collected another penalty point during the Mexican Grand Prix. Drivers will receive a one-race ban should they collect 12 penalty points dur- ing a 12-month period, and Kvyat's latest transgression in Mexico brings his run- ning total up to eight. Alongside his five-second time drop, Kvyat was handed one penalty point for passing Haas rival Romain Grosjean off- track around the outside of Turn 12 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Kvyat was handed three penalty points in Russia for his antics at the start, two for colliding with Kevin Magnussen in Mo- naco and two for hitting Sergio Pérez in the United States. Should Kvyat, who has been retained for a further season by Toro Rosso, pick up another four points before May 1 2017, when he will drop the three points he re- ceived in Russia, he will be banned. Meanwhile, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel is halfway towards a race ban after he was deemed to have driven dangerously while defending against Daniel Ricciardo. Vettel and Ricciardo duelled on the approach to Turn 4, with the four-time champion retaining his position, only to be handed a 10-second drop post-race, as well as two penalty points. Vettel was handed two penalty points in Britain for forcing Felipe Massa wide, and a further two in Malaysia for spinning Nico Rosberg into the first corner. Therefore, the first two of Vettel's six points will not be wiped from his racing record until next July. Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Jr. was hand- ed a single penalty point for forcing Fer- nando Alonso wide exiting Turn 3, bring- ing his 12-month total to five. Sainz Jr. was given two penalty points in Russia for forcing Jolyon Palmer wide, and a further two for impeding Massa during qualifying in Germany. Max Verstappen received a penalty point for the first time in 2016, bringing his 12-month total to four, with the previous three set to be dis- carded in Abu Dhabi later this month. Kvyat now leads the table with eight penalty points, in front of Esteban Gutiér- rez, on seven, with Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Nasr and Nico Rosberg all on six.