Keith Camilleri dominates Mellieha Hill Climb

By Etienne Grech

Keith Camilleri, driving his Chevron Creative Solutions Radical Prosport, proudly climbed to the highest step of the podium for the first time after clocking the hill in 56.852sec. He showed he was on top of his form from the beginning as he stormed up the hill in a startling manner to secure his first ever overall victory.

Camilleri recently attended a professional test session with Malta Formula Racing supervised by a top Italian Formula 3 racing team. The 21 year-old successfully completed 60 laps in a Dallara F3 racing car at the Franciacorta Race Track in Milan and he showed many that he is a talented driver that can deliver a promising F4 championship in the near future.   

The weather turned out to be good seeing that the early morning showers made this event precarious. A total of 72 cars participated, varying from standard production cars, classic cars, stripped-out race cars and single-seater Formula type racers.

The organisers again made sure that all aspects concerning the safe and efficient running of the race were in place. The incident-packed session saw minor crashes, numerous mechanical failures and occasional drifting but by the end of this exciting event, the club was congratulated profoundly for a professionally run event that was above all safe and attractive, considering the large crowds of local motorsport enthusiasts that attended. The hillclimb ran smoothly also thanks to the co-operation of the Mellieħa Local Council and the army of volunteers and race marshals.

Zach Zammit, who drove impeccably in his Urban Jungle Ralt (57.153sec), was runner-up just over three tenths of a second away from the leader grabbing yet another podium finish.

2013 champion Mark Micallef in his Autotradermalta-MBL Radical Prosport had to settle for third place (57.470sec). He performed well and was just over three tenths of a second behind Zammit.

This particular venue has always proved to be a dramatic race up the top of the steep, demanding hill which is considered by many as one of Malta’s best race-suited roads.

Fabio Baldacchino made a great comeback after being absent for some time. He steered his Tony’s Bar OMS 200M to fourth place clocking a time of 59.625sec. Nikolai Degorgio attained fifth place in his Doda Radical PR6 (60.004sec) ahead of James Dunford at the wheel of his Simons Garage Radical PR6 (60.855sec).

Alex Zammit won best performance in the veteran category, achieving an excellent time of 60.922sec in his Bali Stuff Radical Pro Sport, ranking 7th overall.

Noel Galea was fastest in rear wheel drive group ranking 13th overall. He produced an thunderous performance in his Ford Escort Mk2 edging off John Zammit in his turbo-charged Lotus Elise by a narrow 5 thousandth of a second. Edward Calleja also driving a Lotus Elise managed a reputable comeback under a second away from Zammit to grab third place. 

Chris Aquilina, in his Subaru Impreza claimed fastest four-wheel drive time ahead of Anthony Bernard in his Mitsubishi Evo6 and Simon Tabone (Toyota Celica GT4).

Another excellent drive came from Roswell Bugeja. He was fastest of the front-wheelers in his flamboyant Peugeot 205 Gti. His brother Didier Bugeja took the runner-up position in his Peugeot 106 GTi whilst Jeremy Cassar placed third in his Volkswagen Golf Gti.

The next championship race is scheduled for this coming Sunday at the prominent Mtahleb Hill, limits of Rabat.

Over 60 drivers are expected to race against the clock.

The first run of the day commences at 9am.