Montreal: CCWS out NASCAR Busch in

[luke]

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...66def1&k=46373

The Champ Car World Series, which will stage its fifth annual Montreal race on Aug. 27, is the odd car out, unless it returns as a companion or support race to the NASCAR event, whose date is not yet known.

But that spot could go to the Indy Racing League, Champ Car's main competitor.

The renewal of a 10-year lease for racing on Ile Notre Dame, a contract between the city of Montreal and motorsport promoter Normand Legault, is the final turn to be negotiated, one that's expected to be rounded in the next couple of weeks.

And I thought Legault being the new promoter was meant to be a good thing...

[astinus4]

Originally Posted by luke

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...66def1&k=46373



And I thought Legault being the new promoter was meant to be a good thing...

I assume you meant Labrosse not Legault? Legault is the one who want Champcar out and Nascar Busch in.

This is really bad news if true. I really enjoyed the Montreal Champcar race last year and was hopeful it'd be on the schedule for years to come. What are the chances of a 3rd race being allowed at Circuit Gilles Villenevue from 2007?

[BobHWS]

Originally Posted by astinus4

...What are the chances of a 3rd race being allowed at Circuit Gilles Villenevue from 2007?

There's no chance of a third race, i.e., a Champ car or other race on Ile Notre Dame (site of the F1 race). Legault's contract with the city only allows two races per year on that site. It's also clear that Legault has no interest in continuing with the Champ car race, which drew a relatively small crowd last year--partly because it was poorly promoted. The low key promotion of the race was perhaps intentional--to send the mesage to Champ cars that they were not wanted anymore.

Here is a link to an article from today's Montreal Gazette about NASCAR in Montreal:

Busch Series will provide excitement
It took 40 years, but Normand Legault finally succeeded in luring NASCAR north
The Gazette
May 15, 2006

...Born with a racing pedigree fuelled by entrepreneurial blood, Normand Legault, head of Grand Prix F1 du Canada Inc., and Brian France, chairperson and chief executive of NASCAR, are bringing roofed race cars to Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007...

[astinus4]

Legault's contract with the city only allows two races per year on that site.

This is the part I'm still not clear about. Are you saying that Legault is the only promoter with the rights to host a motor race at Ile Notre Dame? Or is it possible for another promoter to negotiate with the city to hold another race?

[BobHWS]

Originally Posted by astinus4

Are you saying that Legault is the only promoter with the rights to host a motor race at Ile Notre Dame?

Yes, and only two race weekends per year.

Originally Posted by astinus4

Or is it possible for another promoter to negotiate with the city to hold another race?

No, it's not possible. Because of the city imposed limit of 2 races per year on Ile Notre Dame, no other promoter would be given permission to hold a race on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

Ile Notre Dame is a city park which has many uses. It has a casino, an amusement park, a beach, gardens, etc. The city does not want to turn it into a semi-permanent venue for auto racing. Also they do not want to inconvenience people who live within earshot of the island with the noise of a weekend of auto racing more than twice a year.

So there is no chance that Champ cars will return to Ile Notre Dame unless they are part of a NASCAR weekend, and that seems unlikely.

[BootsOntheSide]

It's unfortunate for ChampCar to lose this race, but it says a lot about NASCAR's desire to expand north of the border - I'm sure they're paying Legault a lot more than ChampCar could hope to. We can pretty safely bet that Tracy and perhaps Carpentier will be in the race as well, unless it clashes with ChampCar.

[luke]

What's to say thought that NASCAR will be big in Canada? It had poop crowds at Mexico City compared to the CCWS one.... yes they may get good viewing figures but they thought the same with Mexico...

[coyote9999]

Hello Everyone,

Being from Montreal I would like to correct some of the information that was provided in this link.

1. True only two races can happen on Ile Notre Dame.

2. True Normand Legeault was once promoter and had rights to two events.

3. False is the claim he still has the rights to both events. Legeault sold his rights to Alan Labrosse 3 years ago.

4. These promotional rights for both Legeault and Labrosse end this year and must be renewed.

4. Important factor: The city council of Montreal must decide on whether they give the rights to the same people (Legeault and Labrosse) or give everything to Legeault knowing very well Nascar would take over for Champ Car.

There you have it and nothing is signed yet

[BobHWS]

Originally Posted by coyote9999

3. False is the claim he still has the rights to both events. Legeault sold his rights to Alan Labrosse 3 years ago.
4. These promotional rights for both Legeault and Labrosse end this year and must be renewed.
4. Important factor: The city council of Montreal must decide on whether they give the rights to the same people (Legeault and Labrosse)...

I stand corrected about Legault still having rights to the Champ car race.

But I think it's true that Legault's sale of the rights is part of a plan to get rid of Champ car in Montreal and replace it with NASCAR.

I also think it's very hard to imagine anyone other than Legault getting the rights to promote future races on Ile Notre Dame. Legault is held in very high esteem in Montreal and in the racing world. Legault is the man who built (over the last ten years) the F1 race in Montreal into one of the world's most successful F1 races.

The city government and Bernie Ecclestone have no desire to do business with anyone else. And based on his success with F1, he is the natural choice to promote NASCAR. While it may be true that nothing is official yet, I would bet my money on Legault as the future promoter of both F1 and NASCAR races in Montreal.

[Amar7605]

This really stinks because Champ Car really needs to have a consistent schedule right now, and this situation doesn't help matters one bit.

[luke]

Well in theory why not race at Calgary next year? Oh well yet another street race but it could just as popular as Edmonton...

[coyote9999]

Sorry luke but a Calgary race would help kill the Edmonton race. We need a race in the east. Let it be Mont Tremblant, Québec City or some place else we simply need to have a foothold in that market. The American North east is also a region which should have more expossure.

[Amar7605]

I agree. The Northeast needs to be in the Champ Car schedule, be it in Canada or the US.

[macdaddy]

luke:

What's to say thought that NASCAR will be big in Canada?

It already is, luke. VERY big.

[BobHWS]

Tuesday's Montreal Gazette reports that Montreal F1 race promoter Normand Legault is very close to finalizing the deal to bring a Busch Series race to Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007...which means that Champ Cars will be gone from Montreal after this year. After last year's poorly promoted and poorly attended Montreal Champ Car race, I even wonder whether this year's planned race might get cancelled.

He'll pave the way
NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton is eager to test the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve next month
DAVE STUBBS, The Gazette
Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Eighteen-year NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton...probably will be the driver chosen to test a 750-horsepower Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve June 19 or 20.

By then, Canadian Formula One Grand Prix race promoter Normand Legault hopes to have confirmed a summer 2007 race in the Busch Series...

...Legault expects to renew an Ile Notre Dame race-site lease soon with the city of Montreal, his landlord. The ink might not even be dry on that document when he announces a NASCAR race...

[rustyfan]

If the Busch Series gets a race there, expect NASCAR to do like they did in Mexico City and have a bunch of NEXTEL Cup and local drivers (from CASCAR obviously) entered to increase interest.

[Dutton]

Originally Posted by luke

Well in theory why not race at Calgary next year? Oh well yet another street race but it could just as popular as Edmonton...

There could only be one race in the west, really, I would think. I doubt there is the population to support two (probably just enough for one at that, and in that instance Edmonton probably makes more sense).

However, taken from a purely individualistic perspective, they are welcome to move it to Calgary (save me a 4 hour drive each way, ). Incidentally, Calgary has a road course: indeed, I was there this weekend watching club motorcycling.

However, I really don't think it would be capable of holding such a major event! It would be intersting, though, seeing how two things would work out: (1) parking; (2) track infrastructure. Given there is hardly any parking, and not a lot of room for viewing. Oh, yeah, and a little thing in terms of pits: it is called a parking lot, . Totally unworkable on many levels, but it would be utterly fascinating seeing them try it, .

As for your proposal of a street circuit...hmmm...not sure that could really be done...maybe another airport one?

Alternately, how about the route on this attachment? All you'd have to do is remove the median along part of Memorial, part of Glenmore, and a very small part of Crowchild, and try and do something with those single file on/off ramps!

If you could iron out those piffling details (truly insignificant! ), and somehow cope with four of the major routes around the city being out of action...well, then, you would have a track of the following distances (in km: do the conversions yourself if you want miles, but off the top of my head I think the total was about 16.5 miles):

Deerfoot (Right: North->South) ---> 8
Glenmore (Bottom: East->West) --> 5.8
Crowchild (Left: South->North) ----> 5.4
Memorial (Top: West->East)------> 7.6

TOTAL ------> 26.8

The idea would be to run it clockwise, but it could be either way I guess.

It would be stupidly fast, with great swaths of it flat-out, but there would, I think, be occasions that would require a bit of slowing down (outwith the on-off ramp dilemma refered to earlier).

There are many, many, many, reasons why the attached proposal it totally, utterly, stupeyfingly impossible to implement.

I can but dream, though, as it would be absolutely mental to see them flying around that route.

[D70s]

Nah, it'd never happen. There's already a stock car race on the Deerfoot every week day.

[Dutton]

Well, yes, it quite clearly will never happen!

It would be absolute hell if those four roads were out of action (never mind all the other flaws!).

Deerfoot can be pretty, um, interesting at times. Can be a lot of fun, if you are in the mood, but, hmm, a bit dodgy too...regular accidents, common injury, and death is not unknown.

Good fun though.

[icemachine]

Thats whats great about Toronto's race, everyone can pretend they're Paul Tracy (and they do) on Lakeshore Blvd.

[BobHWS]

A story in today's Montreal Gazette provides further coverage of the controversy surrounding the question of who will get future rights to promote the limit of two races per year at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Ile Notre Dame in Montreal. It seems to leave open the possibility of Montreal keeping a Champ car race in some form, though maybe not at its present site. Despite the doubts expressed in the story, I would still bet my money on the combination of Legault, F1 and NASCAR.

Heading for pits?
Champ car is revving up its publicity engines for its Aug. 27 race here, and a nasty dispute between the series and local promoters could see the popular Formula One race gone
DAVE STUBBS, The Gazette
Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Motor racing revs up in Montreal today, without the roar of a single engine and more than three weeks before Formula One's Canadian Grand Prix.

And it's F1 racing whose future here seems threatened by a dispute in which it's not even directly involved...

[BobHWS]

Here's an article from the Canadian Press about today's Champ Car press conference in Montreal. The Champ Car people make a strong case for keeping a race in Montreal, but I still don't think that the race will stay at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. I think Legault and most race fans prefer NASCAR over Champ Cars and the idea of Montreal doing something that would force it to give up its F1 race is simply unthinkable--it's just too important to the city's perception of itself as a world-class city.

I also can't imagine a race in the streets of Montreal--too many people already get annoyed by the noise from 2 races per year on Ile Notre Dame. So the only way to keep Champ Cars in the Montreal area is to move it somewhere in the region. I think the most likley place is the Mt. Tremblant circuit, 90 miles north of the city. It's a beautiful area and in the past the track has already hosted a couple F1 races (1968 and 1970) and a couple Indycar races (1967 and 1968). In fact, the Mt. Tremblant circuit is much more interesting than the Villeneuve circuit on Ile Notre Dame. So that's my prediction for the future: NASCAR and F1 stay in Montreal and Champ Car moves north to Mt. Tremblant.

Champ Car hopes 2006 won't be last race on Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit
Bill Beacon, Canadian Press
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Champ Car's fifth year at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve could be a race for survival.

Amid reports the Aug. 25-27 Champ Car Grand Prix of Montreal may be bumped off the track by a NASCAR Busch Series event next year, organizers are hoping for a big turnout to prove it deserves to stay in Montreal...

[paul-collins]

Originally Posted by BobHWS

I also can't imagine a race in the streets of Montreal--too many people already get annoyed by the noise from 2 races per year on Ile Notre Dame. So the only way to keep Champ Cars in the Montreal area is to move it somewhere in the region. I think the most likley place is the Mt. Tremblant circuit, 90 miles north of the city. It's a beautiful area and in the past the track has already hosted a couple F1 races (1968 and 1970) and a couple Indycar races (1967 and 1968). In fact, the Mt. Tremblant circuit is much more interesting than the Villeneuve circuit on Ile Notre Dame. So that's my prediction for the future: NASCAR and F1 stay in Montreal and Champ Car moves north to Mt. Tremblant.

I like your thinking, Bob - but it's not gonna happen.

First, you've got serious NIMBYism in Mont Tremblant, to the point that they wouldn't even accept unmuffled Grand American racecars. (Too disturbing to all the nature - er, I mean, golfers).

Second, the track is owned by Lawrence Stroll, who's pretty tight with Norm Legault.

Third, the facility would need significant paddock and spectator upgrades that Stroll isn't going to pay for, for just CC.

The only way to get any serious professional racing into Mont Tremblant is to buy off the locals with a big dose of ego stroking, and provide a seriously marquee event to justify the upgrades. CC ain't gonna cut it. Busch+ might.

[fazzaz]

Paul --

Well put, and I believe that you are exactly right.

[Fish_Flake]

Well, kids, there's always Trois-Rivieres.