Zammit and Vella win ASMK Autocross Classes

Maltese and Gozo drivers totalled thirty cars registered for the day’s events which included an ‘S’ shaped bend and some muddy areas on the track whose surface constantly changed from very damp to dry surfaces as time passed by.
 
Manuel Muscat on his Opel Corsa was the only one to win all the qualifying Heats on the day thus secured his place for Class A Finals. Other Class A finalists were Christian Mark Galea on a Fiat Ritmo, Melo Zammit on a Ford Escort, Patrick Cassar on an Opel Corsa, Kurt Sammut on a Ford Ka and Josef Grech on his Ford Fiesta. Muscat made a very good launch and took the race leadership. Cassar and Sammut followed close by when Cassar was warned by the referee for touching Sammut who now was overtaken by Zammit who started adding pressure on Cassar who was following and trying to find the right time to take the lead from race leader Muscat. Soon before the 9 Laps race finish Cassar fouled on leader Muscat who lost his lead. Obviously, Cassar was Black Flagged, Zammit took the lead to the Finish Line followed by Muscat and Farrugia on his Polo. Grech and Sammut finished in 4th and 5th place respectively.
 
Class B finalist were Matthew Borg, Philip Joe Vella and Andrew Pisani all on a Vauxhall Nova, Vince Farrugia on his Volkswagen Polo, Carlos Mifsud and Duncan Delia both on a Ford Fiesta. Vella, Farrugia and Borg made a very good start and they held this formation for most of the race when Borg was forced to retire for a mechanical failure and made way for Mifsud followed by Delia both on Ford Fiesta cars. Earlier during the race Pisani was also forced to retire due to a mechanical failure. Though Vella had some difficult times during the Heats he was very happy for winning the hard race of the Class B Final.
 
The Gozo Autocross section Heats and Finals Race were dominated by Domenic Zammit on his Alfa-Sud. During the Final Race Zammit was constantly followed by Joseph Agius on his Ford Fiesta and by Marvin Grima on an Opel Corsa. All these 3 drivers defended their positions right to the Finish though they demonstrated high speed combined with precise control of their vehicles. Joseph Vella on a Ford Fiesta finished in 4th place.
 
With regards to the Demolition Race of the 22nd December 2013 the ASMK Executive / Board of Discipline decided to eliminate Leo Butler for foul play by being assisted by team helpers to continue his race which resulted in his winning 2nd place. Also, Clive Butler and Brian Grech were officially warned for breach of rules from their end following Marshals’ Instructions. The Final Official Result reads that Larkin Butler is the 2013 Demolition Winner and Brian Grech is Runner-Up. Both driver won on Hillman Hunter cars.
 
Besides the high risk of bad weather conditions at this time of the year ASMK is renovating the Motocross track by a foreign experienced MX track builder. The works carried out includes track modifications to create an MX track to satisfy the needs of both novices and experts in Motocross racing. Also, the track will create less personal fatigue on the riders but is more technical from start to finish. This is made possible to sponsors of heavy plant and efforts from the ASMK Executives to create the best track possible for our riders who will also be competing in the FMI Motocross Championship events from next February.
 
Next Sunday 2nd February the ASMK Trials Riders will be competing their sections at l-Ahrax tal-Mellieha quarry by kind collaboration of AWDC.  First Sections start at around 9.00am