Mallorca Classic Week (and more) roars into Port Adriano

PETROLHEADS and sailing fans, take note: Mallorca Classic Week is back, and you've got the whole weekend to catch one of Spain's biggest displays of some of the oldest and most spectacular cars and yachts in one of the country's most modern and best-equipped ports.

You can still get there in time, even if you're not based on the island – ferries run from Valencia, Barcelona, Dénia (Alicante province) and Gandia (Valencia province), where you can take your car or go on foot, for a far lower price than you'd expect. Or grab a last-minute flight and be there within an average of an hour from almost anywhere on the mainland.

It's the most international classic car and yacht show anywhere on the Mediterranean, and private and commercial owners from at least a dozen countries will be competing for prizes. Categories include Historic Cars, British, American or German Sports Cars and Cabriolets, Driving in Style, Celebrity Cars, Big Happiness in Little Cars, Iconic Design, Elegance, and Most Adventurous Trip to Mallorca.

And yes, big happiness, iconic design, elegance, and celebrity-spotting – the rich and famous often pop along to Mallorca Classic Week – are practically guaranteed.

 

What's happening and when

This morning (Saturday) kicks off with a Classic American Car Show, complete with food trucks selling US-style grub, and starting the party at an unusually early hour, DJ Xema takes to the decks from 11.00. Swing Dance and Lindy-Hop demonstrations follow – the latter is all the rage in eastern Spain right now, so you can watch what the pros do and whet your appetite for learning to give it a whirl yourself.

The Mallorca Grand Prix, the Catwalk Pin-Up Girl competition, and the Elegance competition take up the afternoon, then a dinner-dance is held at Bruno's Restaurant on the El Toro urbanisation in Calvià.

Sunday starts with a Mallorca sight-seeing drive from 11.00 – described by the organisers as a 'not-too-serious CrimeDrive' that takes you on a tour of some of the island's most stunning landscapes, 'following the tracks of Master Detective Nick Nickerbocker under the heading of From Russia With Love'. A bit of a 'Bond moment' and a great way to see the bits of Mallorca that rarely figure in the holiday brochure, as well as several others which do and which are worth visiting as many times as you can fit them in within a lifetime.

A very welcome and eagerly-awaited lunch is served up for the crowds at Restaurante La Terraza at 15.30, before the final prizegiving concludes the festival.

This year, for the first time ever, kids can pedal their way to victory in the Mallorca Kettcar Grand Prix – which is not only enormous fun, but could actually be the first rung on the ladder to a fast-paced, buzzing, adventure-filled future as a racing driver.

Seven-times world Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher's firm conviction was that pedal-cars were an ideal initial step on the long journey into mainstream motorsport – as well as being 'a moment of freedom on wheels'.

Anyone aged six to nine who wants to enjoy this 'freedom on wheels' can enter the Kettcar Grand Prix, where they will be 'driving' replicas of 1969 versions of non-motorised Kettler Silver Star Classic go-karts, provided by the German brand of the same name exclusively for the children's version of the main Mallorca Grand Prix.

Numbers of Kettler racing participants are limited to 18, so those who want to join should enter as quickly as possible.

 

Port Adriano: Forthcoming events

Set in Port Adriano, an exclusive marina created by the globally-acclaimed interior designer Philippe Starck, Mallorca Classic Week also gives you the chance to visit one of the Mediterranean's most fashionable waterfronts. Yachts galore, of every size and right up to the most expensive on earth are always found moored off the edge of the boardwalk and, if any family members or friends with you think cars and boats are just a bit 'meh', they'll still have a brilliant weekend mooching around the highly-polished 'shopping city' with its designer chains and one-off boutiques, chilling out in one of the top restaurants or cafés in the harbour, or even having a crack at jet-skiing, scuba-diving, paddle-surfing or kayaking.

Once Mallorca Classic Week is over, Port Adriano has a string of unmissable events over the autumn – it's the number one hotspot for shows, activities and festivals, because of its lively, bustling, chic and modern setting and facilities.

Next Saturday (September 28), you can take part in a sunset yoga masterclass for just €10 – as well as being guided by top yoga master Xuan-Lan to get you off to the best possible start in the most expert hands, you'll also be given a commemorative T-shirt, a bottle of Solán de Cabras mineral water and a tube of Secretos del Agua body lotion.

Pooch-lovers, owners or not, cannot miss the Port Adriano Doggie Race on Saturday, October 5 – stalls run by rescue shelters, accompanied by their dogs seeking loving new homes, and all other types of pet services and accessories will be lining the marina throughout the day, which culminates in a two-kilometre fun-run where you can take your pup on with you. The event (more details at Doggierace.es) is a regular feature at Port Adriano and aims to raise awareness of pets' needs, responsible ownership, and animal sanctuaries' work, as well as encouraging adoptions and campaigning for more parks and gardens suitable for domestic animals and for dogs to be welcomed in more places.

Clearly, the marina is already one of those pet-friendly places the Doggie Race event is seeking more of, so you can take your waggy-tailed friends with you to Mallorca Classic Week – and even to the Street Food Festival over the weekend of October 11-13 inclusive.

Masses of stalls selling meals and snacks cooked up by great restaurants and chefs from the island make this gourmet fair among the most famous in Spain, and one it's impossible to go home hungry from. Vegetarian options are available on almost every stand, and a huge al fresco seating area lets you enjoy your grub in the sunshine with fabulous views of the seascape and of luxury yachts bobbing on the waves.