The first in a series of Enduro meetings, sponsored by Dunlop and KTM, was held recently in Żebbiegħ. The idea of organising such events started over a year ago when eight Maltese riders participated in the famous Erzberg Trial in Austria.
The first step was to find a suitable location. Members scoured the island looking for a place which would not damage the environment, would not bother the public, and would be challenging yet safe.
Paul Xuereb, of Hardrocks, had the ideal place - his disused quarry at Żebbiegħ.
Members of the group set to work and a superb course was laid out. By the appointed start time of 10 a.m., 35 riders, quite a few from Gozo, were ready for action.
And there was plenty of that as the first rider to start, Deo Gauci, set off on his first of two timed attempts. Each run consisted of two laps, and an early indication of lap times suggested around 4.30 minutes for an average lap.
Veteran Victor Bajada had other ideas and stopped the clocks at 7.55 for the two laps, but that time, too, was soon to be demolished when Matthew Miceli popped a 7.36 run, and Michael Camilleri bettered that with 7.31.
But the two favourites hadn't run yet, and true to form Gozo's Jonathan Attard did it in 7.27 and Alex Sant Fournier had an outstanding 6.39.
The times tumbled on the second run with more than half the field producing runs under eight minutes.
Attard improved to 6.44 but there was no stopping Sant Fournier who stopped the clocks at 6.15 to record the fastest time overall.
The officials on the day were Charles Dingli and Gordon Bugeja.
Top 10 riders: 1. A. Sant Fournier; 2. J. Attard; 3. V. Bajada; 4. E. Sant Fournier; 5. M. Camilleri; 6. D. Bonnici; 7. M. Miceli Demajo; 8. M. Salomon; 9. J. Anastasi; 10. M. McTabish.