Malta Classic 10th-13th October
Words and Images Colin Porter
The small and beautiful island of Malta is located in the Mediterranean Sea, just sixty miles from the coast Sicily. With a population of just over half a million, it might be hard to believe that what we perceive as a wonderful holiday destination is in fact a hot bed of classic cars.
The passion of the local classic car community is unrivalled anywhere I have experience in the world. Given Malta was under British rule from the early 19th century until independence in 1964, it’s less of a surprise to find that British cars accounting for a high percentage of collected vehicles here. With its proximity to Italy, Italian cars are the other staple in the Maltese classic car diet.
Equally of surprise is the passion for motorsport, there are few facilities, no racing circuit and very little space to create one. This doesn’t however dull the hunger and the ‘need for speed’.
At the NEC Classic Motor Show in 2022, our effervescent Central & West Midlands regional chairman Geoff Johnston introduced me to his good friend from Malta Chris Cachia. Chris is a well-known and successful architect on the island. With an excellent eye for detail and form as you would expect from an architect. In 2015 Chris turned his energy and enthusiasm to the classic car scene and it wasn’t long before he was regularly collecting concours trophies for the faultless restorations produced by a small team from his garage. At that meeting in 2022 which included our club technical director and racing driver from Swallows Racing Tom Robinson, a seed was sown. In October this year what was planted in 2022 came to fruition.
As I said previously, Malta has little motorsport facilities apart from the Halfar Raceway Drag Strip, however that hasn’t stopped the Maltese putting on a wonderful four-day motoring and racing festival. The Malta Classic, which includes a hillclimb at Mtahleb on Thursday. A Style & Elegance show on Friday in the beautiful harbour at Valleta next to the yacht club, where dress is as important as the cars. At Mdina (The Silent City) a UNESCO world heritage site (one of three on Malta) on Saturday, a speed trial (qualifying), climaxing with the Malta Grand Prix at Mdina, a street race on Sunday around the outside of the historic walled city. It’s unlike any motorsport event I have witnessed in the UK or anywhere else in Europe for that matter. The Malta Classic is unique in character and not without an element of risk. The event was the vision of French entrepreneur Thierry Giovannoni, who organized the first Classic Car Grand Prix on the Valletta ring road in 2007, but it moved to Mdina in 2011. The competition is regulated by the Maltese Motorsport Federation which was also formed in the same year 2007.
With an invitation for Tom to fly out and compete in one of his cars, Chris generously also hosted Tom’s father Gary and me. With a stable of beautiful cars Chris has made connections throughout the Jaguar community, and we found ourselves among the great and the good at a reception which Chris hosted. This included former Jaguar design chief Ian Callum, TV car restorer Paul Cowland, famous for Salvage Hunters Classic Cars, Turbo Pickers, and Motor Pickers and Guy Broad owner of the classic spares’ specialist on Brown’s Lane. Later in the week we are joined by creator of the beautiful XJR-15, McLaren F1 and many other exotic creatures Peter Stevens. On our Racing Architects team, led on track by Alex Brundle a successful Le Mans racing driver and son of Jaguar racing legend Martin Brundle. Alex like his father can also been seen presenting for F1 on Sky. Alongside Alex, Chris’s son Marcus who made his successful racing debut the previous year when he secured a class win. Returning to the team were local champions Lucas and Michael Pace. Lucas was the outright winner of the event in 2023 in Chris’s XK120. Completing the driver line up, our own Tom Robinson the 2022 Jaguar Challenge Champion.
Chris and his hard-working team of mechanics led by the very talented Noel Scicluna prepared a stellar line up of cars for these drivers include a Lister Knobbly, XK120, D-Type and E-Type Low Drag. All these cars are prepared to the highest possible standard with extraordinary attention to detail and they would grace any show field or racetrack anywhere in the world.
With very strong local competition and a sprinkling from Italy and the UK it all makes for a heady mix of petrol adrenaline fuelled fever. Classes start from the vintage pre-war cars and include such classic as an Austin 7 Ulster, a range of Rileys, a Rover 14 Special and an Alfa Romeo 8c. There is a very strong 60’s and 70’s element, Mini’s, Triumph’s, several Alfa Romeo’s particularly Alfasud’s that survive well in the dry Maltese climate, but my favourite non-Jag was one of two Lancia Montecarlo’s. The Montecarlo with its striking wedge shape and mid-engine was designed by Pininfarina in the mid-seventies. The eye-catching example here came with suitable period Martini racing decals.
Mtahleb, the venue for the hillclimb on day one of the Classic is on Malta’s rugged west coast. Rising steeply and with a backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea the snaking course provides a stiff challenge to even the most experienced drivers. Speaking to Alex Brundle, I was surprised to learn that his only hillclimb experience is at Goodwood Festival of Speed. Similarly, Tom Robinson has only driven a hill on our TrackSport event at Harewood. Being talented racing drivers however, they can adapt quickly, which is just as well as with only two practice runs prior to the two-timed efforts there is no chance to ‘bed in’. Both Alex and Tom were instantly up to speed in the E-Type Low Drag and Lister and not far off the times set by the Pace brothers and Isaac Burlo’s Mini. When it came to the competition runs it was Lucas Pace in Chris Cachia’s XK120 who set a new Malta Classic Hillclimb record of 65.309 seconds to take the win, with brother Michael also on the podium in third place in the Jaguar Lister Knobbly only separated by Burlo’s Mini. Tom Robinson narrowly missed out on the podium places by only tenths of a second also driving the Lister with Alex not far adrift in the slightly less competitive Low Drag and alongside teammate Marcus Cachia in the same car. An impressive start then to the Classic for the Racing Architects team.
The Style & Elegance show on Friday in Valetta’s swanky marina is not a concours as such, as points are not deducted for patina and competitors are encouraged to dress in clothing to match the period of their cars. Indeed, you gain extra points for style and dress. With a day off for our drivers it was a chance to mix and socialise as well as exploring the city of Valetta. On the judging team and handing out the prizes were Ian Callum, Peter Stevens, Paul Cowland and his wife Emma.
You sense that the Mdina Grand Prix is something that the Maltese drivers wait for all year long, a bit like a child waiting for Christmas, such is their overwhelming enthusiasm for the event. The circuit, around the streets outside of the ancient city varies from the narrow, hardly a car’s width at the pinch point where it plunges downhill until it expands out onto the dual carriage way before rising back through a tight road to the finish line. Straw bales offer limited protection on the tightest corners. The marshal posts are manned by many British marshals who have regularly been coming over for several years to help train and support their Maltese counterparts.
The race uses a slightly complicated handicapping system which involves age of the car, engine size and a couple of other factors. This gives a strong opportunity to the older and less powerful pre-war cars.
In the Saturday ‘speed trial’ the qualifying order is established for Sunday where the cars race wheel to wheel in small groups. For the Racing Architects team, the trial went well. Lucas Pace was again the man to beat and quickest in the XK120, behind, brother Michael and Tom Robinson are closely matched, Michael is sharing the D Type with Alex Brundle and the Lister Knobbly with Tom, meanwhile Chris’s son Marcus is sharing the E Type Low Drag with Alex. The D Type qualified well despite Alex and Michael struggling for third gear. The only car that matches the team’s speed is again the Mini of Isaac Burlo with the Triumph Spitfire Mk3 of Nicholas Mallia a little further back.
Saturday’s trial set up a captivating final quick group with Lucas on pole in the XK120, brother Michael is alongside in the D Type (now shifting better) with Isaac Burlo’s Mini behind, Tom Robinson in the Lister with Nicholas Mallia’s Spitfire at the back. Prior to this race Alex Brundle collected a comfortable group win in the D Type.
With bated breath and a little anxiety, the cars lined up for the final race. As the race got underway, and the road narrowed slightly there was heavy contact between the Mini and the Lister resulting in a red flag. Sadly, the Lister was badly damaged and unable to continue, the XK120 had also sustained some damage. The race was restarted but the Mini was withdrawn after a lap and subsequently disqualified. The outcome is a bit of an anti-climax with the XK120 not a hundred percent, Michael in the D type was able to round off a good weekend for the Pace brothers with the Spitfire third.
The final act of the four-day festival was the presentation dinner at the Dolmen Hotel, Qawra at Doubletree. A glitzy end to the Malta Classic with stunning hand-crafted trophies created by event sponsor Mdina Glass. The Racing Architects team scooping no fewer than ten trophies. The outright winner on handicap the Austin Seven Ulster of Gordon Vella.
Huge thanks to our hosts in Malta, Chris, Josette and Marcus Cachia and for the wonderful support from Geoff Johnston and the Central and West Midlands crew.
