Etna test for Grimaldi Team

Five young drivers from Grimaldi Team Malta, all members of the Island Car Club, will be taking up the challenge of Mount Etna this weekend when they return to Sicily to participate in the famous hill climb organised by Salerno Corse.

This will be the second hill climb for the Grimaldi team drivers this year, though a number of them are also participating in the Campionato Nazionale Siciliano di Velocità in Circuito where three of the four events have already been held at the famous Racalmuto circuit, with much success for the Malta boys.

The five cars entered for the Etna race are all single-seaters, competing in three different classes within the Gruppo Formula.

Matthew Zammit hopes to have his Van Diemen Suzuki running after the recent disappointment at Racalmuto. He will have plenty of stiff competition from the many other runners in class F2 for under 1000cc cars.

Included among them will be Sicilian favourite Maria La Rosa, very much at home in Nicolosi, and Predator constructor Corrado Cusi.

The F4 class for under 1400cc single-seaters will have three Maltese competitors, just as it had recently at Cesaro.

Patrick Gauci has made a few improvements to his 1200 Kawasaki-engined Hawke and will be hoping for a better result, while Alan Curmi will be very happy to repeat his Cesaro success and finish first again in his JBR-3 Kawasaki.

The third Grimaldi driver in this class will be Joshua Anastasi who has also made some improvements to his new JBR-4 Kawasaki to try and make it more "hill climb friendly".

Zach Zammit, 20, was a potential winner at the Etna last year but started the day on the wrong foot when he hit a wall on the damp morning track, even before racing started, then lost all his radiator coolant in his first and only run.

With a much improved car Zammit hopes to change all that this weekend.

Practice for the event, which is expected to attract over 200 starters, will be held on Saturday, with the two timed runs on Sunday being those valid for the result.

The team will as usual be managed by Joe Anastasi.