ICC championship race at Ta' Qali on Sunday

The fourth round from the 2009 Hill Climb and Sprint Championship of the Island Car Club takes place at Ta' Qali on Sunday. This will be the last of the eight-round championship before the summer break.

Following the domination of Hubert Camilleri and his Chevron Cosworth in the early rounds, more competitors are clicking into gear and none more so than young Zach Zammit who took a dominant win at Xagħra in the third round last month.

The Xagħra event always attracts a good entry with numerous Gozitans taking part too, but this year's race also had the added bonus of attracting the first female competitor in a long time - Steffi Calleja.

She will be joining the boys again at Ta' Qali this weekend with her potent Group 2 Peugeot 206.

There's quite a history of women racers in local hill climbs.

In the 1960s, Joan Borg Cardona was always a force to be reckoned with, driving her Mini Cooper, while in later years it was Eve Arnett, with a number of interesting cars including a fabulous little Zagato bodied Abarth 1300, who was in the limelight.

In 1977, British driver Val Hardman drove a Group 5 Mini in a hill climb at Mtaħleb that was won by her husband Don. Maris Zammit, with her Group 2 Alfasud, was a regular competitor in the 1980s, placing consistently among the top placings.

Bernadette Libreri, Mandy Galea Naudi and others also made regular appearances with considerable success, but for many years women racers had been conspicuous by their absence.

On Sunday, the event starts with the first of two practice runs at 9 a.m. These will be followed by two timed runs which will determine the result.