Thousands of local motor-sport enthusiasts flocked to Valletta yesterday afternoon to watch the races in connection with the inaugural Grand Prix de Malte.
Despite all the problems encountered during the previous few days, it all ended in a huge success for the organisers.
The four races for different classes were all incident-free and several were those who made the most of the vantage points around the course to take pictures of the over 60 cars and their drivers who took part.
There were races for the Classic pre-War cars, the post-War till 1960 cars, another class for classes from 1960 to 1975 cars and another event for Maltese hillclimb drivers which attracted 10 locals.
After this race, some of the participants took to the course once again to parade their cars for the last time.
At the end of the event, Joe Anastasi, chairman of the Malta Motorsport Federation, which cooperated with the organizers to stage the event as smoothly as possible, said crowd control had been the major problem throughout the event. "We knew that the results were not so important after all, but we really wanted this first event in Malta to be as successful as possible. I think we have succeeded in reaching our aims," he said.
Anastasi was full of praise for the helpers, including David Arrigo and Commander Clive Benington, who worked hard for the success of the event even if it had to be organised in a short period of time.
Commander Benington said the event was unbelievably successful. "The course was fantastic, excellent. Perhaps nowhere in the world is there such a scenic route. The drivers say it is a prettier course than that of Monaco, used for the Formula One Grand Prix. And I think it is true.
"The thousands who made their way here to Valletta to watch the event continued to enhance its success. As from tomorrow we will start working again for we definitely want next year's event to be better than this one," he said.
Asked how many were involved in the organisation of the race, he said he could not say exactly, but there were at least 50 marshals who did a great job around the course.
"There were many unsung heroes. Thanks to them we have had a good start here and we have achieved a very good result. At first, some thought Malta could never organise such an event. But they have now been proved wrong.
"One could see the great enthusiasm of the local fans. Everyone seems to love cars here," he added.
Asked whether they had expected such large crowds for the event, Commander Benington said one had hoped to see so many. "Of course, before an event, one can never predict what is going to happen. We just kept our fingers crossed. We were amazed with what we achieved. It is a great credit to Malta," he said.