Mdina Grand Prix, 2018

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Mdina, October 13-14 The alarm on my phone has gone off far too early and I pull back the curtains to find that the weather does not look too bad; I can even see the sun through the clouds. Maybe the dire weather forecast for Sunday was wrong.

I get dressed and grab a quick breakfast downstairs. Surprisingly I am not the only person having breakfast at this ungodly hour but then I remember that many of the competitors in the Mdina Grand Prix are staying in the same hotel. With typical British optimism about the weather not being too bad I make my way to the bus stop. The bus arrives shortly after and we head off for the short steady climb up to Mdina.

Shortly after departing, the city on the hill comes into view, but alas the sky behind the city is dark and brooding. Then the thunder starts and we drive into the rain. This time I have remembered to take an umbrella. Upon arrival I make my way to the pits area, which is situated next to the bastion walls in what would have once been the moat, to find the press office but I am too early, so I make my way to up to the VIP area where most people are sheltering from the rain.

In Malta many people speak English, and those that don’t speak the international language of old cars, so a pleasant time is spent talking of cars that we have owned, or cars we would like to own. The weather has delayed the start but eventually several of us photographers are taken down to the start line ready for the first heats of the day. It is a sign that the organizers want the event to be not just successful but more professional; they have recruited British race marshals who normally work at F1 events around the world, and Patrick L Young to commentate on the day’s proceedings, a task he completed admirably from his loft outpost out of the rain.

The heats and races are run over five laps of track, or as it says on the stickers on many of the competitors’ cars “the Mdina ring” and it is a race, not a sprint, as the cars, normally five or six at a time, form up on a grid and all depart together. The entrants are somewhat varied; split over six groups, they include a Ferrari 212E and a Citroen 2CV6(surprisingly competitive) but it is that kind of mix that makes it fun.

Perhaps not so much fun, I overheard a message on one of the marshal’s radios advising that the keys to the ambulance had been locked in the ambulance and that the driver had go off to try to find something to break into it. A later message told us that all he could find was a crow bar, but all was well in the end.

A short lunch break followed the heats, which allowed me time to walk back up the track to the paddock area so as I could photograph the cars at the chicane. The grouping system worked well as the cars as a whole were very closely matched with no car heading off into the distance. By about 4:30 the races were done with the overall winner being announced as Joseph Huber in his 1934 Riley TT Sprite, and it had finally stopped raining. It was but a short bus ride back to my hotel by which time I looked like a drowned rat and smelled like a wet dog, but now sitting in the warmth typing this, I have to say I rather enjoyed it as it was so different to the normal motor races I attend in the UK. Mdina is just people enjoying themselves with their old cars.

Oh, and by the way Monday morning dawned sunny and warm, typical! Below are a few more photos of the races at Mdina, Malta.

Website: https://maltaclassic.com/

MDINA GRAND PRIX, MALTA