Insider Special Edition: As a
professional drag racer, what has
prompted you to instil drag racing
into Malta, and the Mediterranean
region?
Leif Andréasson: Malta has been
involved in drag racing ever since
the 60s, and my first connection to
it happened about fifteen years ago.
I therefore have a good understanding of the country’s capability in being an excellent venue for the sport.
Drag racing is pretty much a ‘summer sport’. When it’s raining, or
even when the track is a bit wet, we
can’t race. We have to close it down.
It’s not the first time that we’ve been
to England and would have to stay
there for a whole week - it would
rain for the whole week and then
we would have to go home without
racing. More than the crews being
demoralised, it’s the visitors who
end up being disappointed about
these no-shows.
This makes drag racing in Malta a
win-win situation. Malta is an excellent venue for drag racing, and
the sport in turn can bring in an
immeasurable quantity of active
tourists. So this is a dream for
everyone to go down to the Mediterranean.
I: Last year you said that you were
to do your utmost to get drag racing
to Malta. Has anything happened
since then?
LA: Absolutely! We’re going to
be releasing something big at the
Mediterranean Tourism Forum.
Up here in the North we have a full
crew working at this. There’s tons
of paperwork to process but things
are moving ahead really well and
are looking really good right now.
I: What has helped you, or hindered you, in your efforts in promoting professional drag racing in
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Malta and in the Med?
I have experienced no hindrance
at all, and lots of dynamic assistance from the MHRA, as well as
the Government, the Malta Drag
Racing Association and the Malta
Motorsport Federation. They have
all been most supportive towards
my efforts in getting things going.
I: What are the negative elements in
drag racing?
LA: There are none.
I: Well then, how dangerous is drag
racing?
LA: I think that driving on the
Mediterranean roads is much more
dangerous, as several drivers seem
to have a wild streak in them. That
scares me! Joking apart - as a professional drag racer you obviously
can’t be scared to drive. But you
need to have respect for the sport,
in much the same manner as a fisherman ought to respect the seas.
That is why the FIA is so important. Once everything is run under their regulations the chances
of anything going wrong are highly
remote. And even if they do, issues
are greatly contained. The worst
case scenario is that a vehicle recently crashed into mine during a
race and yet we both walked off the
crash scene unaided.
In Sweden we have a book of rules
and a report must be submitted to
the police for every drag race. The
police then check the track along
with the Motorsport Federation.
It’s always about safety.
It’s also through my experience in
such matters that I intend to assist
Malta to establish itself as a serious
and stable partner to FIA for drag
racing motorsports.
The Maltese Sports Federation has
been invited by the Swedish Sport
Federation to their offices so as to
share with them their knowledge
on safety and logistics, and other
matters. And Lars Pettersson, the
worldwide Vice President for drag
racing is also registered to attend
the Mediterranean Tourism Forum.
Drag racing is a safe sport for
the spectator too. A lot of people around the world are scared to
travel for love of sports, but I reckon that there has never been a fight
recorded in the history of motor-