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Malta Classic
2027 dates to come · Mdina, Rabat and Mtarfa ring
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2027 dates to come · Mdina, Rabat and Mtarfa ring
You come for Sunday, when race cars built before 1985 run on closed roads under Mdina's walls, and a Paddock ticket lets you walk among them between rounds.
Event guide, Malta. Meridian Dispatch.
The Malta Classic runs Thursday to Sunday in October, on a weekend that moves between the first and the last of the month. The organiser posts each year's dates at maltaclassic.com, so hold the flight until they are out.
The Malta Classic is a four-day event in October, Thursday to Sunday, and the weekend can move several weeks between editions. Each edition's dates appear at maltaclassic.com, and the 2027 date is the one to wait for before booking.
Four days, three events. Thursday is the Hill Climb at Mtaħleb and Friday the Style & Elegance show. Saturday and Sunday are the Mdina Grand Prix: practice and timed drives on the first of those days, the races on the second.
Partly. Thursday's climb and Friday's show are free and need no ticket. The Mdina Grand Prix sells three kinds of ticket for the Saturday and Sunday, through the event's ticket page: Paddock, Grandstand and VIP.
Paddock admits the holder to the racing paddock to see the cars close up, take pictures and speak to drivers. Grandstand adds a raised stand at the end of the starting grid, with a view of the first corner, a food stall and toilets. VIP adds the Tomba Gardens above the paddock, with food and refreshments, and covers both of the other areas.
Pre-1985 cars only, in classes A (Standard), B (Period Modified), C (Reproductions and Replicas), D (Modified out of period) and E (Exception Vehicle). Cars in class E are guests and compete only with others in their class.
On a temporary street circuit outside the fortified walls of Mdina, known as the Mdina, Rabat and Mtarfa ring. The Thursday Hill Climb uses a separate course on Mtaħleb hill, away from the ring.
Transport Malta sets the closures each year, and the organisers tell road users to follow its directions. The Mtarfa Bypass is usually shut in both directions, Friday night through Sunday night, along with parts of neighbouring roads and the Mdina Ditch.
By bus to the Mdina stop; publictransport.com.mt has the current timetable. Between the viewing areas a dedicated shuttle loops from the Grandstand to Roman Villa, Saqqajja and Olive Gardens and back. Event parking is set each year in a Transport Malta notice.
Yes. A child under 12 with an adult enters the Grandstand free. Nobody of any age needs a ticket for the Hill Climb on the Thursday or for Style & Elegance on the Friday.
The Grand Prix closes a loop of roads between Mdina and Mtarfa: up Triq Għajn Ħamiem, along the Mtarfa bypass and back down Triq l-Għarreqin under the walls. Pick a place to watch and the map lights it.
Four nights, Thursday to Monday. Land in time for the hill climb's timed sprints, keep the show and both Grand Prix days, and fly home once the roads reopen.
Vintage cars race the clock to the top of Mtaħleb hill, one at a time.
Come after lunch, for the runs that count. A taxi from Mdina or Rabat takes you the 4 km out to the hill.
The show moves to Villa Bologna in Attard. Pre-war and post-war cars stand beside classic motorcycles, close enough to read the dials.
The judges score style, not condition, so a worn original car can score as well as a restored one. Entrants in period dress earn points too.
Be there by 3pm to see which cars win.
The Grand Prix opens with a day of practice on the ring. The timed sprints at the end of it set Sunday's starting order.
Stay near your room on Saturday night. After the racing, traffic round Mdina is sent towards Mtarfa, and the queues can last until close to midnight.
Each group runs once in the morning and again after lunch, with a parade of the cars between the rounds.
| Group | Round one | Round two |
|---|---|---|
| Group 4 | 09:30 | 13:45 |
| Group 3 | 10:00 | 14:15 |
| Group 2 | 10:30 | 14:45 |
| Pre-WarThe oldest cars on the grid | 11:00 | 15:15 |
| Group 1 | 11:30 | 15:45 |
| 12:15Track parade between the rounds | ||
The winner is decided on corrected time. The formula weighs best lap against engine size, cylinders and age, so the fastest car need not win. A 1930 Austin 7 Ulster with a 747cc engine has taken the win.
The entry runs to rare sports racers, such as a Ferrari Dino 206 SP, a Porsche 910 and a Jaguar Proteus C-Type, and draws drivers from Sicily, the United Kingdom and Germany.
A camera for the paddock, and cover for sun or rain: nearly all of it is outdoors.
The hire car, on Saturday and Sunday. Bus route 202 stops at Mdina, and publictransport.com.mt has the current timetable.
The roads. They close round Mdina for the race weekend. Follow Transport Malta's notice for the year and the marshals on the road.
The neighbours. The closed roads run past homes below the bastions. Keep clear of their doors.
Your ticket. Check which race day it covers when you buy it.
Book the room with the flight, once the dates are out. Our pick is The Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux, inside the walls. Check with the hotel how guests and bags reach its door while the roads are closed.
The walled city at the centre of the ring, quiet again by Monday.
A floor of marble tomb slabs, for a morning off from the cars.
A terrace on the walls with the view across central Malta.
The clifftop on the same coast as Mtaħleb, at its best at sunset.
The town outside Mdina's walls, on the same ring of closed roads.
The official pages this guide was checked against.
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