The penultimate round of the 2010 Island Car Club Hillclimb championship took place at Gnejna last Sunday. The last races in any championship feature close battles between contenders, however no one expected the top three drivers to be clocking times within the same half second.

Paddock talk following the practice run revolved around the high levels of grip throughout the course. This gave drivers the confidence to push harder in the timed practice run, with Hubert Camilleri clocking a 35:471, followed by Joshua Anastasi and Steve Zammit Cutajar in second and third, with gaps of 0.042 and 0.333 respectively. This run also saw Joseph Cutajar place the fastest time for saloon cars at 40.223.

The first timed run saw Anastasi take the lead with a 34.586, with Zach Zammit and Zammit Cutajar hot on his heels. This run also saw David Galea snatch top spot for saloon cars with a sub 40 second run. Further down the time sheet Philip Tabone and Teddy Aquilina where locked in a stiff battle for group four honours. Meanwhile Edward Calleja was heading group three, whist Didier Bugeja was performing at his usual incredible pace to lead group two. Other group leaders were Jason Muscat for group 5 and Terrance Vella for group 1.

The stage was set for a showdown in the final run. This saw Hubert Camilleri bounce back from fourth place to first with a time of 34.387, breaking his own record of this hill, followed by Anastasi and Zammit in third . Zammit Cutajar placed fourth with a gap of 0.659.

Notable performances were David Galea who posted the fastest road car time and placed 7th overall and dominated group two, whilst Edward Calleja and Joseph Cutajar retained their first placing in group three and four respectively .