Mal will be taking part in the Liberty Cup, a part of the Taree Easter Classic from April 14-16.

The Cup is named after Liberty, the boat raced by Australian speed boat legend, and former Tamworth resident Brian McCosker, who hailed from Boggabilla.

Tragically Brian, the man they called “the Peter Brock” of speed boat racing, was killed while taking part in the Easter Classic seven years ago.

“There’s not much more I can say about Brian. He was a top bloke, a top racer, a great mate,” Mal said.

Brian and Mal both began racing in the early 1980s.

The “boys from Bogga” quickly made a name for themselves and were soon being invited to attend big races.

They worked on their boats at Brian’s mechanical workshop in Boggabilla while an early sponsor was Lowes Petroleum, now one of the largest fuel distributors in Australia..

“About 1982, Mal McColl and Brian McCosker set about creating the iconic “Liberty” racing - although at the time they never thought about the test of time that this boat would stand,” Joh Paynter from the Taree Boat Club said recently.

“In 1996, Mal and Brian became opposition with Mal going to drive the Chase for Tony Kemp (which he later purchased) and Brian remaining in Liberty.

“Thirty-five years later, the Liberty boat, Brian and Mal are all household names in our sport,” he said.

Mal and Brian’s success can be attributed to many things but mateship, a distinct lack of ego born of their bush origins, determination, a willingness to have a go against the odds and necessity are perhaps the main ones.

Necessity is the mother on invention and Mal and Brian knew all about that.

“I do all my work on the engine. I learnt from Brian early on and have carried that on through the years,” Mal said.

You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on speed-boats, even millions. That was never an option for Mal, or Brian.

Both were renowned for being virtual, mystical bush mechanics, for their ability to wring out every drop of extra horsepower from their engines.

It propels Mal around any given course at 230km/hr-plus.

While Mal has no plans to stop racing soon, the 61-year-old admits the time is coming.

“The next couple of years might pull me up,” he said.

But for now, he’s only concentrating on one thing: heading to Taree for Easter and winning for a mate.