A large and fanatical following supported the two Maltese teams when they travelled through Europe in 2000 and 2001. Manty Bugeja and John Ellul impressed on the track and, while the British fans welcomed the European summer in T-shirts and shorts, the Maltese team members and supporters attracted plenty of attention wearing wool caps and winter jackets. In 2011 the Maltese fans will have the Smart Racing team to cheer on and a good reason to leave their tropical island and come to the ‘cold’ of northern Europe. “The reaction in Malta has been very positive. Since our population is so small there are very few team sports where we stand any chance of doing well at a team level. However at an individual level, then things change and if we can have a Maltese team that wins the Formula 1 Power Boat Races, then why not have a Maltese driver do the same in drag racing. So there is a lot of support for Oliver and there will probably be record attendance of Maltese at Santa Pod as many of his fans are planning to attend,” says Ann Caruana Montaldo, the team’s marketing and PR manager.

With 316 square kilometres of land, 405,000 residents and one million tourists a year, the small island of Malta is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and not the most obvious place in which to find a drag racing tradition. But Malta has considerable background in the fastest motorsport on earth. Drag racing is one of Malta’s most popular sports and, in Hal-Far Raceway, the island has a permanent dragstrip too. “The Maltese love their cars, they love driving fast and are very competitive by nature. Boy racers are to be found everywhere in Malta, especially on the main roads – just ask the tourists who have a heart attack when they hear tyres squealing past them and they’re overtaken by a Mark 1 Ford Escort going at 90mph! Since the island is so small, drag racing is one of the few sports where they can get to experience all the things they love best about cars,” Ann explains.

Malta’s location in the middle of the Mediterranean and its distance from mainland European tracks makes travelling, logistics and accommodation difficult as both sea and overland travel are involved. So after Manty Bugeja and John Ellul left the European tour, things went quiet for many years. But things will change in 2011. Smart Racing is the newest Maltese team to enter the FIA European Top Methanol Dragster Championship. “The team’s determination to compete overcomes all issues,” says Ann. The driving force behind the team are the two brothers, Oliver (43) and Edmund (44) Azzopardi, both involved in the meat processing industry. Supported by his brother, Oliver started in hill climbs in a self-built Mini Cooper. After seven years the Mini was replaced by a Formula 3 car and Oliver was one of the frontrunners in the Maltese championship. At the same time Edmund built a Lotus Sunbeam for drag racing at Hal-Far and, once entered, the two brothers were hooked. “I am a speed junkie, I just love the adrenalin rush I get from drag racing – there’s nothing else that can beat it,” says Oliver.

Oliver Azzopardi enters in FIA Top Methanol Dragster 2011

The next big step was taken in 2007 when Oliver went to the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School and obtained his Top Alcohol licence. That same year the team bought the Jason Cannon Top Alcohol Dragster from the States, a top-ten car in the NHRA championship with a 5.38-second ET and 265mph terminal speed to its credit. A year was spent preparing it and, in 2009, Oliver made his first runs in the car at Hal-Far Raceway. In the last race of the season the team clocked a 5.93sec pass to beat the Borg Brothers’ dragster and take the win. Last year was spent updating and testing the car and, in 2011, Smart Racing plans to step up to the next level and make a dream come true by entering the FIA European Championship. “It really is a dream come true for both Oliver and Edmund. They have both worked so hard for it and invested so much of their own time and finances over the years, that competing professionally will be the pinnacle of their achievements to date. And expectations are very high for the car’s performance after all the investment and upgrading of the last two years. From a personal perspective, competing at this level is a major satisfaction for Oliver and great results will be the icing on the cake,” says Ann.

Oliver Azzopardi will make his European debut at The Main Event and will also run at Hockenheim and maybe the European Finals. “Ideally we would like to test the car both in Malta and in the UK before the Main Event at Santa Pod. However, time is an issue as there is still a lot of work to be done on the car.” Returning from a trip to the Winternationals at Pomona (where they bought the latest parts and technology for their dragster), the brothers also confirmed that the renowned Randy Anderson will be their consultant to assist crewchief Edmund for the 2011 season. After the European season the car will go back to Malta for the main drag racing event at the Hal-Far track in November. “Hal-Far is a good track and comparable to most European ones, the only drawback is that, owing to the limited number of events held there, there is not a great deal of rubber that has been laid down and this obviously affects performance,” says Ann.

To have a Maltese team back on board is a great asset to the FIA European Championship. The Azzopardi brothers are sure to receive a warm welcome from their racing colleagues and a great round of applause from the fans.