Name: Malta Classic 2026
Start: 2026-10-01T02:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-04T23:59:59+02:00
Location: Mdina - various venues

What it is

Malta Classic is the island's big classic-car weekend, run around the old walled city of Mdina from Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 October 2026 by the Valletta Grand Prix Foundation. It packs three different events into four days and is free to watch for most of the weekend, which makes it one of the best motorsport experiences a visitor can catch on the island.

The weekend opens on Thursday 1 October with the Malta Classic Hill Climb at Mtahleb, a few minutes west of Rabat. In this oldest form of motor racing, vintage and racing cars take a timed climb up the Mtahleb road one at a time, against the clock, with the cliffs and the little island of Filfla behind them; it runs from around 9am to 4pm. Friday 2 October is Style and Elegance by Mdina Glass, a concours-style show where pre-war and post-war cars and classic motorcycles are judged not on mechanical condition but on style, elegance and the period dress of their owners. Patina and small blemishes are not marked down, there is a prize for the judges' choice in each class, and owners are encouraged to turn out in period dress, with entertainment through the day from 10:30am to 4pm.

The headline is the Mdina Grand Prix, fuelled by Enemed, on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October. Now in its 16th edition, it runs on a closed street circuit just outside Mdina's fortified walls - a circuit of tight turns, fast curves and steep climbs that wind through a valley of vineyards and terraced fields. Saturday is for practice and timed runs that set the grid; Sunday is race day, when cars grouped by speed, power and era go wheel to wheel to the finish, with the medieval skyline right behind the action.

The event has real history. It began in October 2007, when French classic-car enthusiast Thierry Giovannoni organised the island's first classic-car Grand Prix on the Valletta ring road, bringing many of Europe's best classic cars over to race. The enthusiasts behind it founded the Valletta Grand Prix Foundation in 2009, and in 2011 the whole event moved to its present home at Mdina, where it has stayed. The 2025 edition drew more than 55 pre-1976 cars, several of them genuinely rare, with owners travelling from across Europe to take part - a number the organisers expect to grow.

For a visitor it is an unusual chance to watch real motor racing in a historic setting, with the cars, the crowds and the old city all in one frame, plus a vintage-styled show day in between. Getting there: Mdina and Rabat are in the centre of the island and easy to reach by bus, then a short walk to the circuit; the hill climb is out at Mtahleb, west of Rabat, where roadside space is limited, so arrive early and wear shoes for rough ground. Most of the weekend is free to watch from the public areas - check the organiser's programme for the running order, any grandstand tickets and road closures before you set off.