High Standards: Malta’s Oldest Motorsport Club Is Dedicated To Hosting Exciting And Safe Races
Malta’s oldest motorsports club is dedicated to hosting safe and exciting events for the entire family – but not just that, they also make sure to give back to the communities and areas they host their events in.
Jeremy Cassar, the General Secretary of the Island Car Club, spoke to Lovin Malta about the 60-year-old club’s vision for motorsports on the island.
“Spectators love the scene of racing cars speeding up hills and managing corners on their limits, the highlight of the day is seeing families as spectators and families in the paddocks helping and supporting family members,” Cassar told Lovin Malta.
The nature of Hillclimb Competition Races is based on cars in their respective categories depending on the group and class they fit in, which is distinguished by the level of modifications and engine size.
However, each driver races against the clock and not against an opponent on a track.
The fastest time will be the winner of that particular category, whilst on the day there are also overall standings for the fastest overall times, which is a category on its own.
The sheer thrill of the races can’t be ignored.
“You can see the tension in the eyes of parents when their sons or daughters leave the start line, and vice versa when kids see their dads or mums leaving the start line – but its all part of the excitement, and all I can say is that we have never taken any shortcuts when it comes to safety,” Cassar said.
“On the contrary, I usually add safety features over and above the safety plans just for peace of mind and based on the experience we have.”
To organise a racing season which features eight events, ICC need to have the latest updated safety plans, alongside a renewed insurance policy and a good number of members and finances.
“We would like to thank all our sponsors here, in particular our main sponsors Medirect, England Insurance, Enemed and The Point, who have renewed their sponsorship for the past few years which have allowed us to keep a low entry fee for our drivers and enabled us to invest in improved equipment at the same time.”
ICC is currently run by a committee of six members, with around 100 active members/drivers.
“The ICC always had very high standards in the past, especially where safety is concerned,” Cassar pointed out. “Things had to go up a few gears between 2015 and 2016 when local motorsport was at a temporary standstill due to an overnight change in specifications that the authorities required , and rightly so.”
“Although the ICC had high standards of safety and were very organised, the authorities required certified safety assessors to design safety plans ,which through MMF (Malta Motorsport Federation), who are the FIA representatives for Malta, worked hard to link up with an FIA safety assessor who designed and documented our safety plans.”
To organise these events, ICC has an “excellent relationship” with authorities, including Transport Malta and Infrastructure Malta, and has made security a key feature of their events.
“We managed to get Ġnejna re-tarmaced, Miżieb re-tarmaced, and more safety barriers in Mtaħleb, Ġnejna and Miżieb,” Cassar noted.
“The road improvements and safety features serve us once or twice a year, but also benefit the general public 24/7. It is very nice to receive help and feel appreciated, and all drivers and members are aware of everyone’s help and efforts.”
Now, organisers look towards International Hillclimb in 2024, “which requires unbelievable amounts of work and investment”.
Going from strength to strength alongside a strong reputation in the sector, readers can rest assured that they’ll be seeing more from ICC on their roads – whether it’s hosting exciting races, upgrading roads or cleaning up areas for the benefit of the general public.
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