Noel Baldacchino 6th at world harness driving championship

The World Harness Drivers Championship came to an end with four pace races at Charlottetown Driving Park on Prince Edward Island. Maltese driver Noel Baldacchino scored another 28 points after he finished 2nd, 5th, 6th and 10th for a total of 148 points which placed him 6th in the overall standings meaning he also received $1,000 in prize money.

James MacDonald was declared the new champion in his home province. Incidentally he only became a participant in this championship after Canada's representative Brandon Campbell was withdrawn from the competition due to a doping suspension.

This championship, in which the world’s 11 best drivers according to their results are invited to participate, consisted of 22 pace and trot races in 5 different tracks over four Canadian provinces.

Baldacchino did himself proud when he managed to win one race and finish twice in 2nd place, three times 3rd, once 4th, twice 5th, four times 6th, three times 7th, twice 8th, once 9th and three times in 10th place.

When we consider the fact that he was competing with world renowned drivers, in completely different racetracks and condi- tions than he is usually accustomed to and that the majority of races were with pacers, apart from the fact that he was not that lucky with horses drawn, Noel Baldacchino certainly held his own and made us all proud.

2017 World Driving Championship Leaderboard (final)

Rank - Driver (Country) - Points

1. James MacDonald (Canada) 211

2. Mika Forss (Finland) - 193

3. Marcus Miller (United States) - 181.5

4. Dexter Dunn (ITA/New Zealand) - 166 5. Björn Goop (Sweden) - 152 6. Noel Baldacchino (Malta) 148 7. Eirik Høitomt (Norway) - 136 8. Shane Graham (Australia) 135 8. Gerhard Mayr (Austria) - 135 10. Mark Purdon (New Zealand) - 124.5

11. Rik Depuydt (Belgium) - 107