Updated 8.56pm

The King of Europe Malta drifting competition, due to be held between this evening and Sunday at Montekristo Estates, is being moved to the Hal Far Race track.

The European competition, which had been due to start at 3pm today, was in danger of being cancelled as a permit was not issued due to an objection by the planning authority.

Organisers and participants were left disappointed as Mepa informed organisers during a meeting this afternoon that it did not intend to budge from its position. The authority would not even grant a temporary three-day permit.

But the Malta Drag Racing Association, which uses the Hal Far race track, offered the organisers use of the site so as not to further disrupt the event.

Adrian Figallo, from event promoters FM Promotions, said the organisers decided to take up this option to contain the damage being done to Malta's reputation abroad and to ensure that the race was not disrupted any further.

Several enthusiasts from other motor sport organisations turned up at Montekristo later in the day to help the competition organisers dismantle and later at the Hal Far site to help them set up for the competition.

The event is ironically sponsored by two government organisations - the Malta Sports Council and visitmalta.

Addressing a news conference this morning, Mr Figallo said this was a massive event which included the participation of 13 foreign teams some of whom had already arrived. Others were on the way. It also had a potential audience of 65 million television viewers.

Mr Figallo noted that Mepa had originally said that it would have no objection to the event if the place where it was to be held was licenced. However, it filed an objection on September 30, saying there was an enforcement order on the site.

He said that the authority was pressuring Polidano, the owners of the place, to pay outstanding fines for them to withdraw the objection.

Mr Figallo said the organisers had spoken to the Prime Minister about the matter, who insisted that this was an enforcement issue.  

He said the organisers filed a judicial protest this morning and promised they would continue to do their utmost for the permit to be issued.

“We will do everything in our power for this event to go ahead,” he said.

Motor Sports Federation president Tonio Cini said it was unfair that motor sports enthusiasts were being used as guinea pigs for Mepa to get at Charles Polidano.

The event, he said, had been launched in August in the presence of Sports Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius.

Mr Cini said that this was a serious step backwards from a government that was elected on a pledge to support motor sports.

If the event was not held, he said, damages could run into hundreds of thousands of euros apart of the bad publicity for the island.

The organisers also insisted that the area where the event was to be held had the necessary permits. It was the same site where the Fiera l-Kbira, which had not been stopped, as well as other events had been held.

Asked about the matter, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted this morning that Mepa was an independent authority and in this case had been asked by the police for its views.

He denied the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing, adding that when the trade fair had been held at Montekristo the police had not asked Mepa's advice.

"Mepa has asked for an illegal zoo to be closed and other structures to be removed," he said, adding that Mepa would have been criticised had it not filed an objection.

Referring to Dr Muscat's statement that the police had sought Mepa's views, Mr Figallo said in the afternoon the organisers wanted to know who was responsible for this decision.