Autocross and Motocross championship continues next Sunday

The 3rd round of the ASMK – Pasta Poiatti Enduro championship was held on Sunday 16th February at a disused rock cutting quarry in Fawwara l/o Siggiewi. Competitors and spectators began to appear on location where they found the organizers on site and a very technical and professional track set up.
 
By 10:00am sharp the entry list was closed with 34 competitors who were divided into three healthy classes that for under 250cc m.cycles, Class B for over 250cc & a Trials bikes class too. A look at the starters list predicted close competition amongst the riders and irrespective of the engine capacity classes.
A free untimed lap in groups of five riders was set for the riders. This was followed by a timed round ‘pole position’ run which determined the starting order for the remainder of the enduro race.
 
During the pole position runs Alex Sant Fournier on his KTM 450 came out on top by  putting in a 5mins. 33.60 run followed by young James Zahra on his Yamaha 250 with a 5mins. 35.83. Joseph Scicluna riding his Honda 125 placed 3rd with a 5mins. 37.50. Just 3.9 secs. separated the top 3 riders in the ‘pole run’.
 
Alex Sant Fournier was first off in Round two counting towards the final race results. He was determined to make his mark with a safe and clean run on the course which stopped the computer clocks at 5mins. 19.48.
Next was Zahra who had to borrow a friend’s bike after his Yamaha developed technical engine problems before the 1st Timed Run. Despite all this James crossed the finish line in 5mins. 01.43 while Matthew Gauci on his KTM 300cc crossed the line at 5mins. 05.36. At the end of this 1st round it was Zahra in first place followed by Gauci and Sant Fournier in third.
 
Determined to improve his time Sant Fournier was first off on his last lap. The course slippery rocky sections had dried out thus offering the riders more grip to push even harder in the difficult areas.
 A ten second improvement and his best time of 5mins. 09.23 placed Alex Sant Fournier in the 2nd place but was not enough to catch with the top two riders. Gauci was off on his final super run and clocked a 4mins 55.69 and putting him in first place.
 
James Zahra the last competitor on the Start Line needed to improve his best time in order to better Gauci’s time.  He did an amazing 4mins 54.83 recorded on the Timing computer and this was enough to put him in 1st place overall by just 0.86 of a second.
James Zahra on a Honda won 1st Overall on a Honda 250cc, Gauci in 2nd and Sant Fournier in 3rd both riding on KTM.
Class A under 250cc was won by James Zahra on a Honda, Joseph Scicluna is placed 2nd on another  Honda and Mario Micallef is 3rd placed on a KTM.Class B for over 250cc results:- Matthew Gauci placed 1st, Alex Sant Fournier 2nd  and Andrew Cassar is 3rd placed. All riders in Class B ride on KTM’s.Trials Class results:- Rowen Bonello is 1st on a Gas Gas 280cc, Robert Caruana is 2nd on a Beta and Manuel Camilleri is 3rd on a 300cc Gas Gas.

Trophies were presented to the top 3 in each class and to the overall winner. A Dunlop MX51 motocross tyre was also presented to the overall winner by event sponsors Dunlop Tyres.

ASMK thanks all participating Enduro riders, the Marshalls for their help, Dunlop sponsor, location owners Schembri Barbros and Polidano Group, Thomas Smith Insurance and the authorities for issuing the necessary permits for this Enduro location.  Next Enduro race is scheduled in another interesting location in about 6 weeks time.
 
The 9th Round of the Autocross and the 3rd Round for the Motocross ASMK-Pasta Poiatti National Championship races will be held next Sunday 23rd February at ASMK Race Complex at Ta Qali. First race starts at 11.00am. Saturday Practice sessions are open for all and attendance is for free. More information in www.asmk.org.mt