FROM MALTA TO PEMBREY: RACING ABROAD
For motorsport enthusiasts in one of the world’s smallest and most densely populated countries, the opportunities to compete are limited – which is why the joint leader of the 750 Motor Club
Hot Hatch Championship, Rodren Vella, travels from Malta to the UK to race.
“Motorsport is very popular in Malta, especially drag racing and hillclimbs.
It’s just the race tracks that are missing,” says Vella, a web designer by day. “My father used to race go-karts. Back in those days there were temporary tracks for karting, but they went away so I couldn’t do that. I started to go to Sicily, competing in Time Attacks there.”
Vella’s desire to put his motorsport activities on a more professional footing led to him making his first foray into racing in the then-750 Motor Club-run Civic Cup. “I was interested in it as I owned Honda Civics in Malta, so I got into it in 2015 and only moved away from it because last year I was sharing the drive. I’d done some upgrades for endurance racing, like bigger brakes to last the distance, so Hot Hatch is the right place for me now as my car meets the regulations.”
Vella had a win at Anglesey in his first year in the Civic Cup, and enjoyed class success alongside fellow Maltese driver Bernard Galea in the 750MC Roadsports series last term. Galea continues to play an instrumental role in Vella’s racing.
“My mate Bernard lives here [near Leicester] and he keeps the car and looks after it for me,” explains Vella.
“We prepare it together but there’s not much time because he is busy and I’m not here, flying over every time.”
Vella, who lives in the town of Rabat, always aims to take in a pre-event test day before every round to “get prepared for the race day” and is often accompanied by Galea, who “he can’t thank enough”. With an eye to his own development,
Vella has a keen interest in tin-top racing in particular, and pays close attention to the Clio Cup and British Touring Car Championship. “It’s interesting because you can see the progression people are making and moving into the higher categories, people like Ash Sutton –
I liked to follow him when he moved up.”
Other than having two lonely races, things could have gone little better for Vella when he made his debut at Pembrey, which he describes as “a nice flowing circuit as long as you get the car set up right”. He took his Civic to two more victories in Class B – the up-to-200bhpper-tonne split – picking up fastest lap in both races. Michael Winkworth did likewise in his Saxo in Class C, however, to leave them tied.
Up front, Steve Sawley took the first race in his Class A Civic, although after qualifying dramas Ben Rushworth had climbed from the back to second on the opening lap. The Integra driver passed Sawley on the inside at Brooklands on lap two of the second race, before reeling out a 5s gap, aided when Sawley went off at Senna to avoid a backmarker collision.