2012 Malta Auto Racing Awards

Some of these changes are based on the exchanges shared on Facebook last year.

One of the main differences this year is that drivers from different disciplines of motor sports do not have to be compared with each other. Instead, the Awards for 2012 are covering the different disciplines involved in speed events.

For the Year 2012, there will be a total of seven awards covering the disciplines in which Maltese drivers participated successfully, either in Malta or abroad. These are:
Malta Auto Racing Driver of the Year 2012 - drag racing
Malta Auto Racing Driver of the Year 2012 - circuit racing
Malta Auto Racing Driver of the Year 2012 - hill climbs/sprints
Malta Auto Racing Driver of the Year 2012 - autocross/off road racing
Malta Auto Racing Driver of the Year 2012 - karting,
Malta Auto Racing Junior Driver of the Year 2012 - 16 years by 31 December 2012, and under, and
Malta Auto Racing Legend Driver of the Year 2012 - 60 years and over (open to active and retired drivers).

While Manty and Joe's Team were successful in the SportMalta Awards, and Gianluca Dingli reached the Final, and Clinton Mizzi was nominated, there were other successful drivers in other disciplines, hence the need for these Awards of the Year 2012.

The motor sports clubs and associations that promote these disciplines - where applicable - are being invited to nominate a representative to join the promoter of the awards and start building this process into a collective effort, if they wish to do so.

The third interesting modification is the introduction of locally made original trophies produced by Alka Ceramics' well-known artistic talent led by Paul Haber in the form of ‘Golden Helmets'

Nominations

The auto racing fans are once again being invited to submit their nominations for these awards in the various disciplines through the social media, that is the Malta & Auto Racing page on Facebook.

To be eligible for the nomination in each discipline, every driver nominated needs the support of at least three racing fans, who could also include other competition drivers. A nomination may be based on the performance of the driver in the respective discipline, or his sporting spirit, or any other positive trait related to auto racing. A nominated driver needs to signify the acceptance of his nomination through the same page on Facebook.

Drivers who are interested in these Awards are invited to post three brief sentences - highlighting their results or performance in 2012 in the first sentence, their best results in their racing career in the second sentence, and any other remarks in the third. Drivers who do not use Facebook may invite a family member or a friend to post such information on their behalf. Their preferred photo may also be added.

Nominations will be received by not later than Saturday, January 26, at 12.00 noon, Malta time. Voting will then open on Saturday, January 26, at the same time - 12.00 noon and will end on Saturday, February 2, at 12.00 noon as well. Multiple votes by the same person for the same driver will be ignored, as well as those posted later than indicated.

Once again, these awards are not meant to substitute the awards to the winners in the various championships promoted by the motor sports clubs and associations. They are meant as a supplement to such awards in which racing fans are provided with an opportunity to express their preference in a sporting way.

Among other things, these awards are meant to build a ‘supporters' structure, in the same way supporters in other sports disciplines follow their favourite sportsman or woman. This scheme is also meant to recognize and provide another opportunity to those successful drivers who did not feature in other national awards, where that is the case.

Mr. Clean Carwash Centre of Iklin is kindly offering a carwash to the seven winners. Other sponsors who are interested in associating themselves with these Awards - or a specific discipline - may submit a notification to the Malta & Auto Racing page on Facebook.