Newly-crowned FIA European champion Duncan Micallef is delighted with his title triumph and “doesn’t want to lose rhythm” as he plans for continued success with his current team.

The Top Fuel drag racer won his first continental championship last month on a wet and windy Sunday at the Santa Pod racetrack in England.

Despite his final race against former champion, Finland’s Anita Makela, being called off due to inclement weather, Micallef still topped the leaderboard after nearest rival Antti Horto was eliminated in an earlier round and unable to overtake the Maltese pilot in the final standings.

“When I woke up the next day (after winning) I couldn’t tell whether it was Monday or Sunday all over again because I just couldn’t believe that I’d won it,” an elated Micallef recounted to Times of Malta.

“It hasn’t been easy, but the rewards finally came for myself and my team, who pushed for every second, and I think it was well deserved.”

Micallef believes his intricate knowledge of the car that he and the team worked on over the season earned him the honours on the day.

“It was very delicate. If I had lost it could have opened the door for Antti Horto to come in and take the title. During one race I noticed a tyre shake, I managed to get on top of it and still exceed 300mph. This is where I think my maturity and experience with this car helped.”

Micallef heaped praise on his team, whom he feels are the best he’s worked with.

“The three most important things are the driver, the team and the tuner; and I knew from the beginning that this was the best combination I’ve had in six years,” he said.

“We actually got off to a bad start in the season with some engine hiccups and didn’t perform so well in qualifying. But we stepped up the car each time in order to be ready for the Sunday elimination rounds.

“Every track is different, you have to take into account changes in temperature, changes in altitude… so when we won in Sweden, in Finland and then again in Hockenheim (Germany), which had never been done before, those were the three most important events that gave me an advantage of 111 points.

“The car was consistent, we only lost one elimination round out of 15 over the last year, which is quite something when you take into account all that can go wrong.

“So, I have to be grateful to my team and my tuner.”

It is acknowledged that Micallef has a significant following on the island, and he takes great pride in what his achievements have done for the image of motor sports.

“Everything started out with trying to earn respect from the spectators, which I didn’t feel I was getting when I used to compete in Top Methanol,” he remarked.

“I would respect and help out everyone; no matter if they had smaller engines, or raced in lesser categories, I was always willing to help out. So I went to Top Fuel to prove my capabilities and that is why I am where I am now, because I received help in return, and I got what I wanted.

“I feel proud because I am sure that I have helped the Motor Sport Association, but there are other drivers who are also extremely capable and we need more support from the authorities.”

Micallef believes that he can go even faster, and says he has many things to discuss with his team, but his short-to-middle term plans for the future involve keeping his current team in place, setting more records and continuing to raise the sport’s profile at home.

“Being the number one driver, I now have a decision to make if I stay in Europe or go to the United States… but I don’t want to lose this team now.

“Having won the Sportsman of the Year award, I don’t want to lose my rhythm, we have some local objectives for later in the year.

“I would also like to reach the 3.9-second barrier which would be huge. The reason I have these targets in mind is to demonstrate that we can host FIA events here in Malta.”

 

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