Mtahleb hosted the sixth round of the ICC Hill Climb and Sprint Championship last Sunday, with 51 entries vying for victory in one of the most technically challenging runs around.

The hill comprises a steep winding road, sharp “Ambulance Corner”, the tricky and fast “Farmhouse corner” through to the kinked straight under the trees which is often taken at speeds in excess of 100kph after which drivers decelerate rapidly to negotiate a sharp left-hand hairpin up to the ultimate sharp apex to finally cross the finish line.

For the spectators the picturesque locality had several vantage points where the action was safely visible in its entirety, whilst being within earshot of the running engines and screeching tyres.

Early morning concerns about the weather were worrying as the sun started to shine brightly and the heat was incremental as the first run approached. One could not forget to mention the hard work that was carried out the day before by the ICC committee who with the help of some of the members cleaned the said road hence the high grip levels after the first practice run.

After four exciting runs, it was 25-year-old Fabio Baldacchino, in his striking Satariano Properties OMS, who grabbed pole position to win this exciting hill climb in style with an excellent time of 53.340sec.

As the competition commenced, defending champion Hubert Camilleri was leading the way on the second of four runs followed closely by Matthew Zammit and Alan Curmi.

It became evident that the result was going to be a close one and that it would be a battle fought to the last run but circumstances changed dramatically after the third and fourth runs. In the end, Baldacchino clocked the fastest run and dominated the competition.

In second place overall, Mark Micallef marked his first podium finish, grabbing a remarkable time of 53.736sec in his Auto-Trader Malta Radical Prosport. Micallef showed his true form bringing his powerful Group 5 car on the podium just four tenths of a second away from the top place.

Third position on the day went to Zach Zammit (Urban Jungle Ralt) despite having engine trouble he muddled through to secure a podium finish with an excellent time of 54.219sec, narrowly outpacing Matthew Zammit in fourth place by a miniscule 16 hundredths of a second.  

Alan Curmi managed fifth place ahead of Hubert Camilleri in sixth place. Camilleri who currently holds the record time at Mtahleb suffered a small collision into the barrier of a tight hairpin half way up the hill due to an understeer which slightly damaged the front of his car but after endless effort by his team he was back behind the wheel and managed to complete the fourth run.

The action hand in hand with the excitement was not only focused on the single seaters. All eyes shifted on the saloon cars that showed intense competition, many of them improving their personal best times.

The honours for fastest four wheel drive car went again to the young and dynamic driver David Galea who never seized to impress and attract all the attention on track as he steered his Subaru Impreza in a striking magnificence, rallying his way to win best time in Group 2 and an outstanding 11th place overall.

He outpaced Dr Anthony Bernard (Mitsubishi Evo 6) in second place by nearly three tenths of a second. 3rd place went to Steve Buttigieg (Ford Escort Mk1 Cosworth) who showed a remarkable performance notwithstanding this was his first appearance in many years. 

In the front wheel drive series the competition results remained the same with Didier Bugeja (Peugeot 106 GTi) placing first, Etienne Grech (Citroen Saxo VTs) in second place and Jeremy Cassar (Vw Golf Gti) in third.

For best rear wheel drive, John Zammit (Lotus Elise) repeatedly secured his first position followed by Edward Calleja (Lotus Elise) and Ryan Mangion (Ford Escort Mk2) in third.

Back to the sharp end, Jason Muscat (Radical Club Sport) achieved seventh place overall ahead of veteran driver Alex Zammit (Radical Pro Sport) in eighth place.

One must mention that Zammit, a professional driver of great experience was only a tenth of a second away from Muscat hence the sportsmanship this pair reflects is what the organisers, spectators and teams enjoy profoundly.

Once more, the ICC provided a magnificent motorsport spectacle with all the talented drivers and their dedicated mechanics showing their capabilities.

The Hill climb races will halt throughout summer and will resume next September.