The ASM organised the 13th Autocross event and the 6th Motocross races respectively at the ASM Racing Circuits Ta’ Qali last Sunday.
These races attracted an increased number of Autocross and Motocross competitors though some Gozo riders didn’t cross the Maltese channel due to bad sea conditions.
Patrick Cassar excelled both during the qualifying heats and also during the prestigous Class A, 9 Laps Championship Final race.
The best six cars of the day were driven by Malcolm Borg (Opel Corsa) Carlos Mifud (Escort Mk 1) Manuel Muscat (Opel corsa) Christian Galea (Fiat Ritmo) Melo Zammit (Escort Mk3) and Patrick Cassar on another Opel Corsa.
Despite the fact that all six cars made an impressive good start, Patrick Cassar who took a marginal lead over the rest of the competing drivers crossed to his right ahead of time and caused confusion among three cars.
Cassar took the race lead through the nine laps race but cost him three penalty points from the nine points earned. Cassar was followed by Borg and Muscat also on Opel cars while Christian Galea battled to improve his position but it-took him five laps to beat the fifth competitor.
The race went on with Cassar in the lead. Borg and Muscat followed in second and third place while Melo Zammit held his fourth place. Right before the finish of the ninth Lap, Zammit gave way to Galea so the latter will gain an extra point in the ASM-pasta Poiatti Championship scale.
During the Finals B, the starters on the line were Vince Farrugia on a VW Polo, Joseph Martin on a Ford Ka, Guzi Pace on his Ford Escort Mk1, Matthew Borg on a Nova, Mario Scicluna and Keith Borg on Opel cars.
Mario Scicluna, who was followed by Martin and Farrugia, all made an excellent start. During the second Lap Farrugia overtook Martin now in third place and ahead of his cousin Borg in fourth place.
By the end of the third lap, something went wrong for Martin who probably hit the tyre barrier and was forced to retire due to his overturning his Ford Ka.
The race went on under control with Borg progressing ahead in third place. Soon Scicluna Opel started to lose speed due to engine problems during the punishment of the nine laps final.
All raised their eyes as Scicluna’s Opel lost speed but continued to the finish flag in third place as Farrugia and Matthew Borg crossed the finish line in first and second places respectively.
The Motocross Races were run in between the Autocross heats.
Seven competitors battled in Class A. Clayton Camilleri took the lead ahead of brothers Chris and Paul Muscat. All these three front line competitors ride KTM 250cc MX bikes.
These Motocross races are run on 12 minutes timed races when under ideal conditions, the top riders manage to cover as much as 10 laps on the one kilometre per lap track.
During the second heat race Clayton took the lead again but after the third lap, Paul Muscat overtook his brother Chris and now started challenging Camilleri’s lead.
Paul Muscat finished ahead of Clayton Camilleri between the last lap and the finish flag.
This race was very sportingly battled between Paul and Clayton right to the end of the 12 minutes. During the third heat, Stefan Dimech took the lead on his Honda while Camilleri and Chris Muscat followed only with marginal gaps.
A few laps from the start Paul Muscat overtook his brother Chris and now increased pressure on Camilleri’s second place while Camilleri was pressing on Dimech’s lead. Soon Camilleri took the lead over Dimech who now had pressure from Paul Muscat who in fact managed to overcome Dimech too.
This heat finished with Clayton Camilleri winning best points of the day and Paul Muscat placed second. Both Clayton, Paul and other riders will soon be competing in the ‘MX2-Over 21’ Motocross Sicily Regional Championship events.
Seven riders challenged the Motocross Class B races on the day. During these three heats, all races were dominated by James Zahra, on his Yamaha, and Trever Muscat, on his KTM. Both ride an 250cc bikes.
In all the three races Turu Micallef offered little pressure over James but Trever gave a very good display of handling his powerful KTM and finished second to James in all the three heats. Micallef was followed by Gabriel Farrugia (Kawasaki) and Hughston Ciantar (Honda) and young Kyle Camilleri on his Suzuki 85cc.
Next Sunday’s races will only include Moto-Trials. This Trials event is a non-speed event but it will be an excellent display of the riders abilities performed over different natural and man-made obstacles on the arena. First races start at 9am. Saturday afternoon is dedicated to training and practice sessions at the ASM race circuits.