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On and off the track, a close friendship has been playing a key role in the success of PremiAir Hire and PremiAir Racing for almost two decades.

PremiAir Hire owner and racer Peter Xiberras and his workshop manager Adam Attard have been friends for 18 years after a mutual love of drag racing brought them together.

“I first met Peter when my younger brother’s girlfriend worked for him as a receptionist about two years after he started his business. My brother had a T-bucket and Peter came over and saw it and immediately fell in love with hot rods. We were introduced and I was looking for work at the time, so he put me on,” Adam explained.

“I started off in the wash bay and driving trucks and it just evolved from there. The more we spent time together the more we got along, and we really found that common interest in motorsport and started racing together – Peter in his little green Capri with Cabbage Racing on the door and myself in a pink Torana he helped me find. We used to go racing at Bodangora Drags in Wellington.

Soon Peter stepped up to his Supercharged Outlaws car. He had Maurice Fabietti do the engine work on it and I used to maintain it and keep it running. We qualified first a few times in that car and Pete was really comfortable in it and I think that is what pushed him to Top Fuel because he really, really loved the dragsters.

It is a funny story as we went to look at John Mancini’s truck and trailer for transporting that dragster up to the Winternationals, and we ended up coming home with a full Top Fuel package!”

The purchase of that first Top Fuel package began a new chapter in their friendship.

“Pete brought it home and set it up and every Wednesday everyone would come over and we would go through it. I always wanted to learn about it but I kind of stood back, but when Pete wanted to get in the saddle himself and start racing that was when I got involved,”.

“We are always pushing which is a good thing, and I love going racing. The attention to detail is something that always gets remarked on – you will see Peter at the track with (crew chief) Tim always chasing him because he will be polishing the wheels or something instead of putting fuel in it, I always say he would rather make it look good than make it go.”

“We’ve had some great racing moments over the years, both racing my own car and taking out an event win and then as part of the PremiAir Racing team taking out the Top Fuel victory at Willowbank in early 2018.”

With almost two decades of friendship under their belts, there is no doubting the pair are close.

“PremiAir Hire is a real family environment and you get to know people really well, sometimes more than your own family, as you are side by side with them day in and day out,” the 49 year old said.

“As the Workshop Manager I am in charge of around eight people and I look after all of the service technicians, the wash bay and equipment turnaround, the fleet and also customer service. We are always just doing the very best that we can.

Peter and Carmen are very close to their workers as well and we have a good foundation.”

“At the track, I look after the right hand side of the engine and help with servicing, set-up, pack-up and so on and between events if I can get to the service workshop I help as much as I can.

“When it comes to my own racing, I still have my Torana which I run in Top Sportsman – it is in parts at the moment but I am hoping to have it together to run at the Gulf Western Oil Mega Race in April.”

For more information on PremiAir Hire Racing, please visit https://premiairhire.com.au/ or follow the team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/

The Sydney teenager has been helping out with her dad’s PremiAir Hire Top Fuel Drag Racing team for years and can often be found at the race track helping out the crew – in between doing her Year 12 homework. Seventeen year old Hayley Xiberras is following in the footsteps of her father, Peter Xiberras, when it comes to developing a passion for all things drag racing.

“I think from the very first time I went to watch dad race, I became fascinated by the entire world of drag racing,” Hayley explains.

“Learning all about the car has been really fascinating to me. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes and even though I only help out with a small part of it all, I really love watching the more experienced crew members working on the car, it lets me learn so much more about this amazing sport every time I go to the track.”

The PremiAir Hire crew don’t let Hayley’s young age stand in the way of her pitching in to help.

“After each run while the crew take apart the Top Fueler I stand by the wash bay and take apart, empty and clean the sump and the puke tank. I also clean the cylinder heads and other small parts which may have a lot of grease and oil stuck on them,” she said.

“In between runs there isn’t a lot for me to do, so I usually do some homework or help out with lunch or dinner for the rest of the crew.

“In the future I would love to learn more and more about the car and maybe step up to some bigger tasks – I love learning about how the car works and how each part helps it get down the track.”

While she loves the mechanical side of things, that isn’t the only part of the drag racing game that draws Hayley to the track time and time again.

“I love the passion and the atmosphere at the drags. I love watching the crew and the spectators and of course my dad upholding this incredible passion for drag racing and together it all creates such an amazing experience,” Hayley explained.

“There is so much that goes into this sport, the crew work so incredibly hard and there are a lot of very late nights/early mornings; they put 100 percent into everything they do and through the good and the bad they still manage to pick themselves up and look at the positives.

“I am very proud and inspired when I get to watch dad race, he is never without a smile on his face and it really makes me happy seeing him so passionate. I feel nervous often too right before he races, but I think that’s pretty natural when you are watching your dad drive at over 500 kilometres an hour!”

For more information on PremiAir Hire Racing, please visit https://premiairhire.com.au/ or follow the team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/

The team at PremiAir Hire was recently very pleased to be invited to the Italian manufacturing facilities of two of its core suppliers to check on new trends and availability of event equipment.

The trip was a successful one as it strengthened the relationship between PremiAir Hire and its Suppliers, and it provided the opportunity to discuss in detail with them PremiAir’s requirements, current market demands, and its customer’s needs.

It also allowed PremiAir to reconfirm for its customers ahead of any roll-out, that a new line of Generators and Lighting Towers are everything they would expect from PremiAir. Reliability, environmentally conscious, low in noise and complete with a PremiAir twist.

As part of the visit, the PremiAir Hire team travelled across Italy to visit four facilities over a three-day period. The factories were located near Milan in the north and Naples in the south. Modes of transport included a high-speed train from Milan to Naples, crossing through Tuscany and Rome, and travelling from the west coast of Italy to the East Coast, driving through beautiful towns and countryside, passing by hundreds of olive groves and lemon trees, of which the area is well known.

The days spent with the Italian suppliers were extremely busy, taken up with office meetings, product viewings and presentations, factory tours and close-up looks at the various manufacturing processes.

The added highlight was getting to know the Italian suppliers personally. Hearing about what life is like in Italy, its history and how it sees itself on the world stage. Then on top of that, personalised tours of nearby towns, visiting historical buildings and enjoying the best food Italy has to offer in traditionally family run Italian restaurants.

As well as sight-seeing and the chance to check on the progress of PremiAir Hire’s new line of equipment, the visit to Italy also allowed a look at how others in the Hire Industry do things. The opportunity to see fleets of equipment of other rental companies and the markets and sectors they play in was very enlightening. Power shortages are a common issue in the summer in Italy so the demand for stationary and portable power solutions is understandably in high demand, very similar to Australia.

For example, one particular rental company in Italy held a contract for emergency response with more than 40 gensets and 20 lighting towers on permanent hold in their yard for when issues would arise – such as the earthquakes which can be a regular occurrence in Italy.

As PremiAir Hire heads into the new event season, this trip to beautiful Italy has certainly helped us to gain a new perspective and we will continue as always to strive to go above and beyond to satisfy our customers whether they need assistance with power supply and distribution, lighting, traffic management or refuelling solutions.

In the meantime, we look forward to new equipment arriving for our event fleet – so stay tuned for more updates!

Ciao!

More Premiair Hire Does Italy images are available …..here

Peter Xiberras may not be competing at this week’s Gulf Western Oil Winternationals, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be keeping a keen eye on what is the largest championship drag racing event held outside of the US.

In particular, Xiberras will be keeping close tabs on how the Top Fuel title fight concludes at what is the final round of its 17/18 championship.

“It would have been great to attend the Winternationals as winning that event is the next best thing to winning the whole championship,” Xiberras said.

“With us being third on the championship points ladder for Top Fuel currently it would have been great to do battle with Damien Harris and Kelly Bettes at the final round of the season.

“While that isn’t to be, we can’t wait to see how the battle unfolds and are looking forward to what could be an Australian-first for the professional drag racing ranks if we see Kelly take out the title.

“As Brittany Force was only the second woman to win the NHRA Top Fuel Championship last year, how great would it be to see for the first time an Aussie woman breakthrough for a professional national title – and in Top Fuel and in her rookie year no less!

“At the same time, Damien is also a very tough competitor – whoever takes it out will be a very deserving winner, and everyone at PremiAir Racing is sending their best wishes for a safe and successful event to each of the 498 racers taking part in the four-day event.”

The PremiAir Racing crew continue to work to repair the damage inflicted on its Top Fuel dragster at the recent Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event at Sydney Dragway.

“As our recovery continues we can look fondly back on the season that was, including our first event win earlier this season (Willowbank Raceway), setting the MPH track record at Sydney Dragway (319.14mph) and becoming the bracket MPH record holder for the 1000-foot distance in Sydney (319.14mph),” Xiberras said.

“I continue to rest up and the team are working hard to fix the damage to the front and rear of the dragster. We will also be working on the cockpit but I am undecided as yet as to whether I will repair that or replace it.”

“I want to thank everyone for keeping in touch and for their messages of support, everyone at PremiAir Racing greatly appreciates them.”

For more information on PremiAir Hire Racing, please visit https://premiairhire.com.au/ or follow the team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/

Top fuel pilot Peter Xiberras had his challenge for the 400 Thunder Top Fuel Title well and truly underway at the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event at the weekend, reducing the gap between he and title leader Damien Harris with a round one victory.

Unfortunately, a race two incident which saw Xiberras hit the left-hand wall in his PremiAir Racing dragster now sees his championship hopes in tatters.

“The weekend started out really positive for us – we came to Sydney third on the ladder, 20 points shy of second-placed Kelly Bettes and 22 away from the leader, Damien Harris,” Xiberras explained.

“We had our eyes on closing that gap right up, and with a race one win we were on our way to that goal, reducing the gap to Harris to just 16 points with two more races ahead of us for the event.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. In the second race, we were in the right-hand lane and early in the run the dragster shook the tyres very hard, with the car turning to the left and making contact with the left-hand wall.

“Thankfully, we didn’t make contact with Wayne Newby who was racing in the left-hand lane and I was able to extract myself from the car on my own and walk over to see the ambulance, which took me over to the hospital to be checked out.

“Unfortunately, when they have run a CT scan they have found some spinal fractures which will mean I will be in hospital for a couple of weeks. At this stage we are hopeful of avoiding surgery and a MRI tomorrow will give us some more information on whether we will be lucky in that regard.

“It isn’t the news you want of course but I am going to be a-okay, and that is the main thing. The fact that my injuries aren’t worse is a real testament to the safety of these cars. Unfortunately, while I will make a full recovery, I will be missing out on the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals so our championship title for this season is well and truly over.

“We will just have to come back next season bigger and better to make up for it,”

“In the meantime, I would like to send my thanks to all of the track staff and officials at Sydney Dragway as well as the medical staff who are looking after me, the racers that have checked in with me, to my sponsors, and to all of the fans and supporters who have been sending their well wishes – all of your support is very much appreciated.”

For more information on PremiAir Racing, please visit https://premiairhire.com.au/ or follow the team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/

A dark horse in the unfolding 400 Thunder Top Fuel Championship, Top Fuel racer Peter Xiberras is ready to make his play for the title at the upcoming Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs (May 4 and 5).

Heading to what is the penultimate event of the current championship chase, Xiberras sits third on the points ladder just 22 points shy of leader Damien Harris, and 20 points away from the second-placed Kelly Bettes.

With consistently strong showings all season-long and a razor-sharp focus on preparation, Xiberras and his crew cannot be discounted from the championship battle.

“Ahead of Sydney we have been working very hard on all of those ‘one percenter’ items in our set-up, to make sure that absolutely nothing is left to chance as we look to battle for the championship,” Xiberras explained.

“We have enjoyed some success at Sydney in the past with both my personal best ET and personal best speed set there (3.90s and 319mph respectively).

“On top of that, we have been at the pointy end of each event so far this season and have picked up an event win along the way, so we know we have the package to put in a good showing in Sydney.”

Xiberras and his PremiAir Hire Top Fuel dragster enjoy the support of Gulf Western Oil, for whom the next two events are particularly special.

“Gulf Western Oil are a valued supplier for our team and they are sponsoring the final two events on the 2017/2018 400 Thunder Championship calendar, so it would sure be great to bring home some event wins for them at these events,” Xiberras said.

“You can rest assured we are doing all we can to make sure that happens, including planning to run in both available test sessions at Sydney Dragway on Friday before the racing gets going on Saturday.

“Our truck will leave it’s Brisbane base for Sydney on Tuesday, and right up until that point we will be checking and re-checking, making sure that absolutely everything is as prepared as possible for us to take a swing at the event win, and hopefully the title as well!”

The Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder event will be held at Sydney Dragway across Friday May 4 and Saturday May 5. For event information, please visit www.sydneydragway.com.au

For more information on PremiAir Racing, please follow them Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/