With the European Drag Racing Championship just around the corner, in April 2023, Malta could indeed host the famed event, following the completion of the drag racing track in Ħal Far’s industrial estate.

Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that a track will be built in the area, and added that the €20,000,000 project would not take up any ODZ land. The track was designed by German professionals and will be built away from residential areas in Birżebbuġa. In fact, the track will be in the Ħal Far industrial estate, adjacent to a drag racing track and a karting circuit.

Duncan Micallef, president of the Malta Motorsport Federation, welcomed the news, saying that it was like a dream come true. “I had to look at my watch to make sure I’m not sleeping and dreaming,” said sports minister Clifton Grima.

Later in the day, Micallef said that the plans for the three race tracks – circuit training, drag racing and karting – have already been submitted with the planning authority. If the project is finished by next year, a realistic aim, Malta may actually be in a position to host the FIA Drag Racing Championship in 2023. The sports facility will generate 220 full-time jobs, will measure 80,000 square metres and will be, according to Grima, the best in the Mediterranean.

Motorsport enthusiasts have, for a long while, been longing for a professional race track, something that has been included in many an electoral manifesto of the major political parties.