The 2012 Island Car Club (ICC) hillclimb championship roared off last weekend with the season-opening race at Ġnejna.
An entry of 47 cars was registered with drivers eagerly assembling for competition in the morning first practice.
Among the participants was Italian Ignazio Cannavò who came over with his Peugeot 205 1400cc to race in the hillclimb.
Cannavò is currently participating in the Italian Gran Turismo Championship in his Ferrari F430GT and is ranked among the favourites for the prestigious title. He has already achieved a string of successes, winning the Formula Challenge and also numerous hillclimb races including those at Acireale, Vecchia Avola Antica and the famous Catania Etna.
Cannavò, who is also involved in assembling a Peugeot 106 GTi for hillclimbs in Sicily along with his team, is expected to participate in other ICC races this season, particularly the one in Mtaħleb.
“I enjoyed racing at Ġnejna,” he said. “I felt very welcome and although the route was short, I enjoyed the road tremendously, notwithstanding poor grip levels. I would love to participate in more Maltese hillclimbs this year.”
The feedback from the drivers after the first run was that the sand deposited by heavy rain in previous days was causing extremely low levels of traction as the race organisers also struggled to divert rainwater that seeped from nearby fields into sections of the two-kilometre stretch.
The second timed practice run saw most drivers running lower tyre pressures in an attempt to scrub more heat into the rubber. As the race progressed, temperatures rose, improving grip levels which resulted in significant better times.
On the last run, conditions were so good that drivers could push their cars to the limit.
The leaderboard showed Luigi Mifsud ahead in Group 1 inside his Honda. David Galea (Subaru) led Group 2 with Nikolai DeGiorgio fastest in Group 3 with his Lancia.
All eyes then shifted to Group 6 as drivers were also battling each other for the overall positions.
Here, Zach Zammit (35.634), in his Ralt Honda, clinched victory after outpacing defending champion Hubert Camilleri (36.318) in his Chevron.
Camilleri found it hard to improve his time after being hit by a faulty steering rack due to a slight oversteer in the double chicane.
Third place went to Matthew Zammit (36.825) in his Van Diemen F1000. He was followed by rookie Ivan Deidun (37.968) in his IDR 1300.
The next race from the hillclimb and sprint series is scheduled for April 1 at Mtaħleb, limits of Rabat.