Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/941670
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 Sport 20 SPORTTODAY MOTORSPORTS Success for Nicky Gauci in Sicily ALFRED A FARRUGIA 16YEAR old Nicky Gauci won the first round of the 2018 Sicil- ian Regional Karting Champi- onship at the Kartodromo Pista del Sole, at the Circuito di Villas- mundo, near Syracuse in the 125 Rotax Max category on Sunday. The category was made up of eight competitors, four Maltese and four Sicilians. The three phases of the event were very competitive. This is not the first time that the Maltese drivers have raced together on this track battling our neighbours. The Si- cilians have the added advantage of racing on home ground in ad- dition to having multiple karting circuits on which to practise. In the qualifying session, Mal- tese driver Jake Agius claimed pole position (45.884 secs) with Nicky Gauci close behind him in 2nd place with a time of 46.042 secs – a gap of just 0.158 secs from pole. The other Maltese driver Neville Zammit came in 6th place, while Luke Muscat had engine malfunction and fin- ished 8th. In the 8-lap pre-final race, starting from 2nd place on the grid, Nicky Gauci moved up to 1st position at the start after Jake Agius was penalised for a false start, a penalty that cost him a drop to 6th place. During the race Nicky Gauci defended his position well all the way to the finish, and completed this first race in 1st place with a lead of 5.35 sec over the 2nd placed An- gelo Massimino. Luke Muscat gained positions from the last place on the grid to finish in 4th place, while Nev- ille Zammit fin- ished in 8th place. In the 13-lap final race, Nicky Gauci now start- ed on pole, as the starting grid is deter- mined by the position gained in the pre-final race. Nicky made an excellent start gaining a precious five metre gap that allowed him a certain peace of mind when approach- ing the first hairpin. He main- tained this position from start to finish. Despite being chased by Michele Puglisi who finished in 2nd place, he still managed to increase the gap and finished 1.526 seconds ahead. 3rd placed Angelo Massimino was 15.309 sec behind the leader Nicky Gauci. The other Maltese driv- ers also performed well. Luke Muscat crossed the finish line in third place, but was dropped to 4th after incurring a penalty, and Jake Agius finished in 5th place. Unfortunately, it was not a lucky weekend for Neville Zam- mit who had a brake failure after the second lap, which resulted in him spinning off the track and being unable to complete the race. Nicky Gauci now leads the Sicilian Regional champion- ship in the Rotax Max 125 Cat- egory, having scored maximum points in the first race of this championship. Nicky Gauci at Melilli with his 125 Rotax Max racing kart Ad-Hoc Committee formed MALTA PARALYMPICS FOOTBALL AN Ad-Hoc Committee was recently formed, on the initia- tive of Oliver Scicluna, Chair- person of the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Dis- ability, and a number of other individuals involved in sport disciplines catering for persons with a disability, with the intent of reviving the Malta Paralym- pic Committee. The task of this Working Group is to focus on the con- solidation of the statute, in- forming the local Sports As- sociations about membership with the Malta Paralympic Committee, as well as strength- en relations with the International Paralympic Com- mittee and local governmental and non-governmental organisations. This Ad-Hoc Committee is made up of athletes, coaches, administrators, parents and other officials representing a diversity of Para-Sports, name- ly Para-Athletics, Para-Swim- ming, Wheelchair Basketball, ParaVolley, Special Olympics, the Deaf Sports Association and other disciplines. The Executive Committee of the Malta Paralympic Committee will be elected according to the Statute during an An- nual General Meeting targeted to be held in June 2018. Sport Associations and Fed- erations, clubs, organisations, other interested parties and individuals are encouraged to contact the working group on maltaparacom@gmail.com. West Brom sack chairman, chief executive after poor results WEST Bromwich Albion have sacked chairman John Wil- liams and chief executive Martin Goodman after the club's poor results this season, the relegation-threatened Pre- mier League side said yester- day. The club, owned by Chi- nese investment group Yunyi Guokai (Shanghai) Sports Development Ltd, added that Mark Jenkins would reprise his role as CEO, having re- cently been appointed as a di- rector of the club's controlling company WBA Holdings. "We would like to thank John and Martin for all their efforts since their appointments and wish them well for the future," a club spokesperson said. "There is much to do but for now the focus must solely be on the remaining games of this season," said Jenkins, whose previous stint as CEO lasted 14 years. West Brom are bottom of the league after 27 matches, with 20 points after three wins, 11 draws and 13 defeats. They have lost their last three league games.