16 replies to this topic

[Barry Boor]

No gentlemen, this is not an April fool gag.

This may be common knowledge among Ferraristi but it was news to me.

Yesterday I was down at the Smokey Wheels Slot Race club in the eastern town of Ghaxaq (you try pronouncing it!). On the wall of their club room there is a large map of a race circuit. At the bottom it had the name Hal Far. As I looked at it, one of the members came up to me and I asked the inevitable question, "What is it?" I was very surprised to be informed that it is a map of the circuit that Ferrari planned to build down on the south-east corner of the island.

This all happened about 15 years ago, apparently, and the idea behind it was that Ferrari felt they needed somewhere further south to test their cars when the weather up at Fiorano was less than suitable. Sadly and perhaps inevitably, nothing came of it, mainly due, it appears, to governmental apathy and lack of interest in all things motor sport.

My chauffeur drove me down to Hal Far when we left Ghaxaq and showed me the area that was ear-marked for this circuit. What they do have there is a drag strip, that can be seen very clearly on Google Earth. Prior to this I had no idea that there was a full working quarter mile track on Malta. To emphasise the lack of interest in four-wheeled sport here, my friend drove a short distance to show me the disused kart track which seems to be gradually being absorbed into the huge container terminal. Not far from there is a neat little remote control car race circuit, complete with red and white kerbs and just crying out to be used. It is surrounded by a wire fence and I am told that despite the fact that there appears to be no reason why it is not being used, the remote car fans of Malta are not allowed on it.

Of course, as Steve will confirm, there is some hill climbing here but the road surfaces are so poor there is a certain reluctance on the part of non-Maltese competitors to venture over and risk damaging their cars.

It really is all very sad.

[David McKinney]

Not the same thing, but at Stoneleigh they were handing out fliers for the Mdina Grand Prix, to be held in October

[Barry Boor]

By a remarkable coincidence, that event is organised by the man who ran the tile shop that I worked for from 1981 to 1986 in Bangor, North Wales. Small world i'nt it?

[arttidesco]

I was talking to Colin Cooper who built the 'Kayne Specials' on Thursday and in a conversation with Tom Killeen many years ago, Tom told Colin that when he was stationed at an RAF base in the centre of Malta, he was so impressed with the structural integrity of the Spitfires after numerous crash landings during WW2 that he decided to build his first K1 MG special using a similar monocoque construction method when he started building the K1 in 1950.

Malta is obviously an inspirational place for fertile minds

Edited by arttidesco, 26 February 2012 - 11:37.

[Phil Rainford]

Tom told Colin that when he was stationed at an RAF base in the centre of Malta, he was so impressed with the structural integrity of the Spitfires after numerous crash landings during WW2 that he decided to build his first K1 MG special using a similar monocoque construction method when he started building the K1 in 1950.

Malta is obviously an inspirational place for fertile minds

Off topic but Barry et al if you ever see this book .....

http://www.amazon.co...e...9259&sr=8-1

....well worth a read. Excellent historical drama/thriller

PAR

[Allan Lupton]

I remember Hal Far as an airfield, even used by civil aeroplanes when Luqa was being resurfaced.
As it was quite similar in layout to a number of English airfields that became motor racing tracks (two runways and a complete system of peri-tracks), if the will had been there when it closed in 1978, it could have been one of the oldest tracks in Europe.
It looked like this:

Edited by Allan Lupton, 26 February 2012 - 12:57.

[Barry Boor]

The north-west to south-east runway IS the drag strip and was part of Ferrari's projected circuit.

Edited by Barry Boor, 26 February 2012 - 13:09.

[RS2000]

I think Hal Far was the Royal Naval Air Station (therefore officially "HMS something" in quaint RN "stone frigate" terminology). As has been mentioned above, use switched between the various airfields on Malta during runway resurfacing and many roads were used in WW2 and later to move aircraft (taxi them in some cases) between them.

[Alan Cox]

Yesterday I was down at the Smokey Wheels Slot Race club in the eastern town of Ghaxaq (you try pronouncing it!).

It didn't take you long, did it, Barry?

[Barry Boor]

Second visit, Alan.

I'm afraid I cannot understand people who move to live in another country then seem to want to spend all their time with other people from their old country who have done the same thing.

[arttidesco]

Second visit, Alan.

I'm afraid I cannot understand people who move to live in another country then seem to want to spend all their time with other people from their old country who have done the same thing.

[Stephen W]

Of course, as Steve will confirm, there is some hill climbing here but the road surfaces are so poor there is a certain reluctance on the part of non-Maltese competitors to venture over and risk damaging their cars.

Mr Boor, my man on Malta, will be ferreting out chassis numbers/previous owners once the Maltese finally get round to putting together a calendar of events - Malta is very much like Ireland but with more sunshine!

[Barry Boor]

And more wind, I would say, certainly in February.

Then again, maybe not.

Edited by Barry Boor, 27 February 2012 - 11:09.

[Johnbull]

There have been numerous attempts over the last 50 or so years, to set up a circuit in Malta, but to date, we still have nothing, and the chances are even more obscure.

In the early 60s when the British services left the airfield at Ta Qali, we had a "ready made" Silverstone, the perimiter track looking very similar to Britain's premier circuit. A friend, who was the secretary of the local federation at the time, MACRA (Malta Automobile & Cycle Racing Association) had even invited John Webb of Brands hatch fame to discuss the possibilities with the government of the time, but they weren't interested.

Come the 70s and Hal Far came available after the Fleet Air Arm had finished with it, and again it was a ready made circuit. Shortsightedness prevailed again on behalf of the local "powers that be" and that was another chance lost. F1 teams were travelling all the way to South Africa because of the favourable weather. Had we had a circuit here, they may have saved themselves the hassle and come here, where we drive on the same side of the road .... sort of, we had the same currency at the time, and we speak the same language.

It's alot more difficult now. Malta has become far more built up, and today we have such modern phenomena as noise polution, environmentalists, etc, which we didn't have in the good old days.

So we go to Sicily to do our circuit racing, and guess who lost out?

[Stephen W]

In the early 60s when the British services left the airfield at Ta Qali, we had a "ready made" Silverstone, the perimiter track looking very similar to Britain's premier circuit.

During the Second World War the RAF built airfields all over the place. My cousin's father-in-law was called-up into the RAF despite being a stone mason - apparently his knowledge of the location of quarries was the key to this posting. He was part of the team that went round the UK putting down the foundations for the runways and he told me that there were half a dozen basic plans. So there must be several Silverstones out there!

[Giraffe]

Second visit, Alan.

I'm afraid I cannot understand people who move to live in another country then seem to want to spend all their time with other people from their old country who have done the same thing.

Expats from all countries do that everywhere, Barry. I have visited Malta many times over the years on my way from the Gulf to Rome generally, & always stayed at the now demolished & replaced Hilton at St.Julians, often frequenting the casino nextdoor! I even made a presentation to George Bush Snr at the American Embassy years back when he was VP!

I do remember fondly hiring old Ford Zodiacs & the like during my visits, and they were still running all the pre-war buses in those days which were a hoot! There were many interesting old road cars to be seen about on Sundays as there is alot of money on the island, older Ferraris, proper GT40s & a lot of vintage stuff. Great place, but so hot & dusty in the high summer months.

[Johnbull]

There were many interesting old road cars to be seen about on Sundays as there is alot of money on the island, older Ferraris, proper GT40s & a lot of vintage stuff. Great place, but so hot & dusty in the high summer months.

Two GT40s ever visited Malta. The first was in 70 or 71 when a friend bought the yellow GT40 which had been road tested by all the magazines, from Willie Green. It spent most of the time in my care, in my garage, and there were plans to do the Targa Florio with it. When those fell threw and she sold it back to Willie Green I built up a 1400 Mini with which I entered the 1972 Targa in the 1600 prototype class.

The next appearance of a GT40 in Malta was in 2008, for the Grand Prix de Malte. This was a light blue car belonging to a Frenchman, which I am told is quite a regular on Classic events around Europe.

I suppose that driving the GT40 in the 70s, and doing the Targa Florio in 72 must count as two of the highlights of my many decades playing with fast cars and bikes.