As our fearless leader Brian Lohnes is quick to point out, drag racing takes place all over this country. This includes a number of unlikely countries, but Hal Far Raceway on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta is a pretty out-of-the-way place to see side-by-side drag races on a full quarter mile. Nevertheless, the Maltese love their racing and their races flog a bit of everything, from diesel hatchbacks to one of the most badass Ford Escorts ever built.
TheFord Escort Mk.I (That’s “Mark 1” to those unfamiliar with British nomenclature) is best-known for its use in rallying and road racing, but Justin Muscat and his Mk.I Escort call the quarter-mile strip at Hal Far home. Muscat long ago ditched the Kent four-cylinder engine from his Escort, however, and instead he makes huge power from a healthily ported Mazda 13B rotary engine. The high-revving Escort is a great and unique piece that runs deep into the 7s (as shown below with a visit to Santa Pod in England). Even though he put it in the wall earlier this year at Hal Far, you’ll likely see him ripping big-speed again in Malta.
We’ll also show you some other Fords knocking out quick passes, including a bunch more Escorts and Ford Sierras. Curiously enough, we haven’t seen any Maltese Falcons, but we’ll take what they’ve got and enjoy another unlikely country with a vibrant drag-racing scene.
Malta is probably smaller than Northumberland where I live – but it has at least one drag strip. In fact there is only one drag strip in the whole of the North East of England near York.
Why is this I ask myself?
Because we’ve got loads of great corners to go around instead! Especially up here.
Low calcium.