
Championship Wide Open at Last Race
The Island Car Club revisited Mtahleb for the seventh race of the 2011 Hillclimb Championship last Sunday, in what turned out to be an intense event that resulted in the championship being thrown wide open again, with three drivers now in contention for top honors.
The initial feedback from drivers was that the water streaming down the valley was causing patches of dampness. With the result that grip was inconsistent and sporadic, this led to drivers erring on the side of caution, waiting for the conditions to improve before pushing their cars to limit. Nonetheless, times put in at this juncture were comparable to the final times of the previous event , which was held in perfect conditions and with a much higher asphalt temperature, indicative of the ongoing improvement in the level of driving in the championship.
Once the practice run was done and dusted, drivers began to tackle the road in earnest. With times dropping by as much as two seconds per run, it was evident that drivers were gunning for victory in this penultimate race, with spectators regaled with some demonstrations of superb car control.
Final ranking was as follows: Alan Curmi, Zach Zammit and Jason Muscat in first, second and third overall. Group four was led by Joseph Cutajar, followed by Teddy Aquilina and Philip Tabone. Nicolai de Giorgio, Edward Calleja and Evan Abela Scolara lead group three in that order, whilst Anthony Bernard, Andrew Cassar and Didier Bugeja where the fastest three in group2. James Dunford was the fastest in Group 1, followed by Fabio Baldachino and Terrence Vella.
The Island Car Club would like to thank the rabat local council, in particular the major; Mr Sandro Craus for making this event possible. The next event will be held next Tuesday the 13th December at Gnejna. More information and the full ranking of the event maybe found at www.islandcarclub.com