What a way to finish a superb championship. Gnejna on Sunday was the eighth and last round of the 2007 Hill Climb and Sprint Championship of the ICC, and a fitting finale to a great season.

Gnejna is an interesting hill with a fast and flat first section, but one hell of an incline to the finish. Get the last 2 corners right and you’ve got it made. Get one of them just slightly wrong and you’re nowhere. That’s how close it is these days – so close that the top five overall were split by less than 4/10ths of a second. Positions changed with every run, and most drivers improved their own times with every run too.

At the end of four runs on Sunday it was the 61 year old 2006 champion Lino Brincat, driving superbly with his Dallara Alfa Romeo who had the fastest time, by the most miniscule of gaps (0.028 of a second).

Second overall, and delighted to have just clinched his 9th Hill Climb Championship was Hubert Camilleri driving his Chevron Cosworth with his usual determination, whilst third overall again, but this time with the added satisfaction of a class win was young Paul Deguara with his homebuilt, but extremely effective Motoflash Yamaha.

Young Zach Zammit was fastest at the end of run 3 with his Jagger Ralt Honda, with Joshua Anastasi fifth driving his John Bull Racing / Dunlop JBR3 Kawasaki, and Steve Zammit Cutajar sixth with his Tatuus Hyabusa. First to sixth were separated by less than a second.

The battle at the top was so intense and exciting that one could be excused for thinking nobody else was there, but in fact there was plenty going on in the lower ranks. Mark Galea was quickest touring car with his Subaru Impreza WRX, and Joseph Cutajar was his usual self, winding that Escort up to produce the sort of times people simply don’t associate with Escorts.

Alan Curmi had a good day to put himself in the same elite company with his Mitsubishi EVO 7 in the 40 second bracket, and Daniel Vella redeemed himself after a terrible run of bad luck with the timing equipment – it just wouldn’t recognise his car – to post a fantastic 41.5 for 13th overall.

Charlie Cutajar won the competitive Group 2 class 2 with his Escort, and Joe Vella again posted the fastest Group 1 time with his red Honda CRX.

Well done to the officials, marshals, security personell, and of course the competitors who all put on such a great show, and of course thanks also to Liaco – local Subaru distributors, who sponsored the championship.