Two Maltese teams, members of the All Wheel Drive Club Malta, competed in the second leg of the Italian Championship of WTI 2017 that was held in Calabria for the first time earlier this month.

This championship consists of two categories, the Limited 38 and the Extreme.

The Italian championship is considered by motor sport enthusiasts among the most extreme events in Europe.

Team Wild Crawler, formed by Robert Caruana and Alan Zahra, and Land Malta, composed of siblings Josef and Stefan Borg Grech, represented the country in the Extreme category.

The race was spread over two days.

On Saturday morning, competitors where all lined up after the drivers’ briefing for the pole position.

In stage 2, competitors had to show their skills both in speed and rock crawling.

The opening day concluded with the third stage which consisted of a 14 kilometre speed racing on the beach.

Team Wild Crawler ended the day in sixth place while the Borg Grech brothers placed eighth.

The second day of competition kicked off with another three stages that had to be completed.

Team Wild Crawler managed to clock very close timings with the top three Italian drivers in the fourth and fifth stages to put themselves in contention.

The sixth and final stage turned out to be crucial for Wild Crawler as this was held in tough conditions that included rocky terrain and treacherous paths with only two teams making it to the finishing line.

It was here that Caruana and Zahra showed their mettle as inspired by the competent driving of Caruana and the navigation skills of Zahra they managed to finish the race and take top spot in the overall standings to bring the trophy home.

On the other hand, Land Malta placed eighth overall.