Decision to drop annual F1 race from schedule catches city completely off-guard
October 08, 2008
Andrew Chung
Quebec Bureau Chief
MONTREAL–Politicians and business people are scrambling to save the Canadian Grand Prix, a celebrated tradition in this city and the country at large for more than 40 years, which has been dropped unceremoniously from the Formula One calendar for 2009.
In what appeared to come as a surprise even to the Montreal organizers of the huge event, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the governing body of auto racing, yesterday issued a revised schedule for next year and Montreal was off the list.
No reason was given. But the schedule shows that the Turkish Grand Prix has been moved from August to June, replacing the spot previously reserved for Montreal.
The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been added with a November date.
The race has been Montreal's biggest tourist draw of the year, with more than 300,000 spectators producing as much as $100 million in revenue for the Montreal region.
Yesterday, officials from the Canadian Grand Prix were not taking interview requests. A press release stated they had learned of the omission from the media. Until the executives speak to FIA and Formula One management, they say, they won't comment.
Quebec and Montreal politicians, however, weren't keeping quiet. Premier Jean Charest demanded to "know what is going on" and said he's willing to work with F1 to keep the event in Montreal.
"Total surprise," echoed Raymond Bachand, Quebec's minister of economic development and tourism. Bachand wondered if it was a "negotiation tactic" by Bernie Ecclestone, the head of F1, who criticized of the state of Montreal's track as recently as last year.
Noting the new addition to the F1 lineup, Bachand admitted that Montreal doesn't have the financial billions to compete with the United Arab Emirates.
Montreal's mayor, Gerald Tremblay, said his city will take an "enormous" economic hit with the loss of the race. "It's the only Grand Prix in North America," Tremblay said at a hastily called press conference. "So it seems to us that it's fertile ground for Formula One."
The Grand Prix's sheer size is a major reason for the upheaval the omission has caused. Isabelle Hudon, president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, warned that, "Montreal cannot allow ourselves to not have a Grand Prix. We will do everything possible and do more to support (Canadian Grand Prix promoter) Normand Legault to keep" the race.
Tourism Montreal's research shows just how vital the Grand Prix is to Montreal: 320,000 spectators, of which 60 per cent come from outside the Montreal region – and half of those from outside Canada. Nearly $100 million spent by tourists.
In downtown Montreal, Crescent St. can be a hyperactive place on an average weekend, with students and partygoers spilling out on to the terraces of the many bars and restaurants that line the street. But during the Grand Prix Festival, the scale of revelry doubles, even triples. In June, an estimated 500,000 people gathered. Nearby streets closed down to accommodate the crowds.
"We're talking about a weekend that's about 2.5 times what they'd make on an average weekend," said Sandy Greene, director of the Crescent Street Merchants Association. Without the Grand Prix, she said some of the smaller outfits will probably go out of business.
"It's a big shock and, if it does happen, it's going to hurt really bad," Greene said.
The aging Grand Prix facilities have been a problem in recent years. Before the June race, the asphalt conditions were not ideal, pulled up in spots by tires, and some feared that drivers would refuse to race. Organizers repaired the track overnight.
The Grand Prix has a storied place among Canadians, especially Quebecers, and the track is named after Gilles Villeneuve, who was the first winner of the event and who died in 1982 after crashing on the final qualifying lap of the Belgian Grand Prix. His son, Jacques Villeneuve, was an F1 driving champion.
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/AutoRacing/article/513762
Some follow up stories as well about government intervention to save the race....
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/514327
http://www.wheels.ca/reviews/article/413204
This would be a drag, I go to this thing every year.:-(
October 08, 2008
Andrew Chung
Quebec Bureau Chief
MONTREAL–Politicians and business people are scrambling to save the Canadian Grand Prix, a celebrated tradition in this city and the country at large for more than 40 years, which has been dropped unceremoniously from the Formula One calendar for 2009.
In what appeared to come as a surprise even to the Montreal organizers of the huge event, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the governing body of auto racing, yesterday issued a revised schedule for next year and Montreal was off the list.
No reason was given. But the schedule shows that the Turkish Grand Prix has been moved from August to June, replacing the spot previously reserved for Montreal.
The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been added with a November date.
The race has been Montreal's biggest tourist draw of the year, with more than 300,000 spectators producing as much as $100 million in revenue for the Montreal region.
Yesterday, officials from the Canadian Grand Prix were not taking interview requests. A press release stated they had learned of the omission from the media. Until the executives speak to FIA and Formula One management, they say, they won't comment.
Quebec and Montreal politicians, however, weren't keeping quiet. Premier Jean Charest demanded to "know what is going on" and said he's willing to work with F1 to keep the event in Montreal.
"Total surprise," echoed Raymond Bachand, Quebec's minister of economic development and tourism. Bachand wondered if it was a "negotiation tactic" by Bernie Ecclestone, the head of F1, who criticized of the state of Montreal's track as recently as last year.
Noting the new addition to the F1 lineup, Bachand admitted that Montreal doesn't have the financial billions to compete with the United Arab Emirates.
Montreal's mayor, Gerald Tremblay, said his city will take an "enormous" economic hit with the loss of the race. "It's the only Grand Prix in North America," Tremblay said at a hastily called press conference. "So it seems to us that it's fertile ground for Formula One."
The Grand Prix's sheer size is a major reason for the upheaval the omission has caused. Isabelle Hudon, president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, warned that, "Montreal cannot allow ourselves to not have a Grand Prix. We will do everything possible and do more to support (Canadian Grand Prix promoter) Normand Legault to keep" the race.
Tourism Montreal's research shows just how vital the Grand Prix is to Montreal: 320,000 spectators, of which 60 per cent come from outside the Montreal region – and half of those from outside Canada. Nearly $100 million spent by tourists.
In downtown Montreal, Crescent St. can be a hyperactive place on an average weekend, with students and partygoers spilling out on to the terraces of the many bars and restaurants that line the street. But during the Grand Prix Festival, the scale of revelry doubles, even triples. In June, an estimated 500,000 people gathered. Nearby streets closed down to accommodate the crowds.
"We're talking about a weekend that's about 2.5 times what they'd make on an average weekend," said Sandy Greene, director of the Crescent Street Merchants Association. Without the Grand Prix, she said some of the smaller outfits will probably go out of business.
"It's a big shock and, if it does happen, it's going to hurt really bad," Greene said.
The aging Grand Prix facilities have been a problem in recent years. Before the June race, the asphalt conditions were not ideal, pulled up in spots by tires, and some feared that drivers would refuse to race. Organizers repaired the track overnight.
The Grand Prix has a storied place among Canadians, especially Quebecers, and the track is named after Gilles Villeneuve, who was the first winner of the event and who died in 1982 after crashing on the final qualifying lap of the Belgian Grand Prix. His son, Jacques Villeneuve, was an F1 driving champion.
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/AutoRacing/article/513762
Some follow up stories as well about government intervention to save the race....
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/514327
http://www.wheels.ca/reviews/article/413204
This would be a drag, I go to this thing every year.:-(
