The local go-kart enthusiast, Rueben Mifsud, who is also the winner of various local Karting Championships was again in Sicily last month where he participated in an official event (held at Pista Duetto di Besi, Triscina di Castelvetrano) which forms part of the Campionato Regionale – Sicilia Karting, organised by FIK (Federazione Italiana Karting).

In fact this was the seventh meeting of these regional championships out of a total of 12 seasonal meetings. In this meet in which Mifsud actually raced his go-kart, there was good participation from the Sicilian teams as well as teams from mainland Italy and even international teams.

Rueben Mifsud participated in the Classe Nazionale 100cc, that is a class made up of karts which are motored by a 100c water-cooled engine.

Mifsud, racing with the number 33 kart, experienced some problems in the qualification races where, according to reports, he met some problems with the frame and got too much grip with his new tyres. As a result his performance was somewhat disappointing and finished in the 8th place out of eleven drivers. In total he drove 9 laps with his best timing being of 50.175 seconds opposed to the 49.082 obtained by the pole position driver Emmaneule Priulla. Mifsud’s top speed was of 91 km/h.

His team started working immediately on the frame after this qualification stage and decided to make some different settings for the official race.

Mifsud made a great start to the race and started gaining positions and was quickly up in 4th place. After 6 laps he went up to the 3rd position and for a number of laps defended his position.

The 16th lap saw Mifsud jumping to the second spot after the driver in front of him experienced technical problems. The local driver took his opportunity and then kept his runner-up position till the end for a prestigious second placing. This is the second time that Mifsud has placed second after his first participation this season in the same Sicilian championships. In fact he had taken part in the 5th seasonal meet in the Pista Del Sole, Mellili.

Motivated by this second successful participation, Mifsud will again compete in these championships this coming weekend when he will be taking part in the 9th seasonal meet to be held in the Kartodromo Internazionale di Gela. For next Sunday’s race, Mifsud will be racing with a new team, namely Taccetta Racing, and will use a new chassis frame, GP Racing.

An example we could follow to get success

If one catches a glimpse of the Icelandic gold-medal winning squad in the last edition of the Small Nations Games (I am making this analysis because if we, as Malta, ever want to start cashing on similar successes, we need to start working to create the right environment and have the right foundations as a sound base for selection) one can see a number of players who play outside the country.

From the outset I want to make it clear that the level of Icelandic local basketball is not low and has been improving considerably in the past 5 years or so. Proof of this is the fact that the top teams have lately advanced quite significantly in the FIBA European Cup competitions.

I have also been three times to Iceland and I have seen some good talent around which is usually nurtured in a somewhat professional-minded environment, thus making it easier for the young player/s to develop their skills.

The sport of basketball is very popular in this country where there is a special stronghold in the Rejkjavik area. An inspiration to many is definitely Petur Gudmundsson. The latter was the first to play in the NBA where he played for the Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs and even had a short spell with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Five players out of the twelve-man roster used in the Monaco Games, three weeks ago, in fact play outside Iceland. Two guards, Sigurdarson (192cms) and Gunnarsson (190) play in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayreuth respectively. Gunnarson had a 31 points game against Monaco in the Small States Games whilst Sigurdarson (who played in the NCAA first division with Birmingham Southern and then also in the Spanish ACB league with Vigo) had 22 points versus San Marino.

A big name in Iceland is Jon Stefansson (195cms), a very talented and accurate player who I personally saw playing and can vouch that this is a good player. This guard, who distinguished himself in Monaco (14 points a game) and who today, plays in the top Spanish league with the famous Pamesa Valencia, made a big name for himself when he became one of the first players from Iceland to play in the Euroleague with the Italian side of Lottomatica Virtus Roma.

The two other players who play outside the country are forwards. Helgi Magnusson (198cms) plays in Switzerland with Boncourt and Hlynur Baeringsson (199) who plays for Leeuwarden in Holland.

The Icelandic team had one naturalized foreigner, the American-born Brenton Birmingham,a 195cms guard. Birmingham, who was also present in the last Malta edition in 2003, who has an Icelandic passport and cannot be termed a foreigner in the games is now 34 years of age yet he averaged over 20 points per game and also almost 7 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

The team had also other players who play in Iceland with the Njardvik team supplying two of these players namely the 217cm centre Jonasson and the guard F. Stefansson (195). Keflavik also had two players, M. Gunnarsson (184) and Hafsteinsson (196).