Bad news for Montreal - 2009 Grand Prix is off the schedule!

[Techman]

It seems that there is bad news for the Montreal tourist and bar industries. The Montreal Grand Prix seems to have been cancelled. The Turkish GP has been moved to June to take it's place and there will be a summer break for the drivers instead.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/10/8483.html

This will be a very hard shot for an already struggling tourist trade here in Montreal.

Techman

 

[EagerBeaver]

What happened? This pithy article gives no explanation. The Canadian Grand Prix (that's what it is called everywhere outside of Montreal) was even televised nationally in the USA.

Will NASCAR now move in and fill the race car void with an event? Seems logical. Montreal, get set to buy some Bud and fire up the tailgating grills, cuz the good ole boys are coming to town. Can any of you picture mazingerz eating fried catfish and hush puppies with a trickle of grease running down his chin? This picture may soon be the reality.

 

[MG_mtl]

That's pure Bernie BS!!! What an a-whole! He signs a contract with Legault and then excludes us from the 2009 Calendar. I say he wants to re-open the deal with MTL and it's just a way to get Legault's attention. They need at least 1 race in north-america. Hopefully I'm right and it will be back on the 2009 calendar.

 

[Joe.t]

Can any of you picture mazingerz eating fried catfish and hush puppies with a trickle of grease running down his chin? This picture may soon be the reality.

Mazingerz only eats poutine, he feels it's his way of pissing off english north america.

 

[G1GBallday]

I know that Bernie Ecclestone has demanded that the track be completely resurfaced and that a few other changes be made to it. That combined with the global recession and the expenses involved in traveling to North America for one race probably made the decision easy.

Ecclestone has also said he wants F1 back in the USA by 2010 so if Montreal wakes up and does what's needed, you'll likely see a race back in Montreal by then.

 

[G1GBallday]

Will NASCAR now move in and fill the race car void with an event?

There's been a NASCAR event in Montreal for the last two years. It too takes place on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and has had good attendence but IMO it will never come close to the draw and economic inpact on the city that F1 has.

 

[Joe.t]

Can any of you picture mazingerz eating fried catfish and hush puppies with a trickle of grease running down his chin? This picture may soon be the reality.

Mazingerz only eats poutine at sporting events I am told and if they don't have it he brings his own.

 

[Techman]

A few more details can be found here:

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/story/?id=251923&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_auto_racing-formula_one

And stop talking about poutine at this time of the day. I didn't eat breakfast and thinking about poutine is making me hungry!

 

[EagerBeaver]

There's been a NASCAR event in Montreal for the last two years.

I thought that those races were the Busch series? I am talking about a real big time NASCAR race with Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, et al, all the big time drivers. I thought the races they had in Montreal were Busch series events, which is kind of like the minor leagues of race car driving. I am not a fan of the sport so I don't know for sure, but my impression was that these were test races in Montreal without the big time players in order to gauge the interest from that audience. If I am wrong in the above please correct me but this was my understanding of what is going on. I don't think Captain Renault or anyone else is going to confuse the two races you mentioned with the Daytona 500.

 

[G1GBallday]

I thought that those races were the Busch series? I am talking about a real big time NASCAR race with Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, et al, all the big time drivers.

You're right it's something called the Nationwide Series. I don't follow NASCAR either but the race seems to include a few names I've heard before like Kevin Harvick, Max Papis, David Reutimann.

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/features/07/31/montreal.numbers.pcarpentier/index.html

 

[voyageur11]

Sprint series run saturday evening and nationwide on sunday afternoon on the same track . Some driver run in both series. They do give a good show on ovale but on a road or street course they are out of their league.Car are to heavy to slow brake is also a problem and 43 cars on the track in daytona is ok but in montreal its a lot .Dodge chevy and ford on crescent st no more ferrari.

 

[EagerBeaver]

You're right it's something called the Nationwide Series. I don't follow NASCAR either but the race seems to include a few names I've heard before like Kevin Harvick, Max Papis, David Reutimann.

Harvick is the only one of those guys currently in the top 10 in points, and he isn't going back to defend his title from what the article says. Robby Gordon is not in the top 10, and neither is Papis or Reutimann. These guys are not big time. I doubt a single guy in the top 10 in the Nextel point standings will even be at the race. The Nationwide series, formerly known as the Busch series, is like the equivalent of the junior leagues in hockey or triple A in baseball. It is not big time. What I had posted about originally was a BIG TIME NASCAR event, not a BS Nationwide event, filling the F1 void. This is where you would see cases of Budweiser in igloo coolers, tailgating grills, fried catfish and hush puppies and possibly mazingerz with grease trickling down his chin after eating said foods.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Carl Edwards is a top NASCAR racer who's been to Mtl the past 2 years. Anyways, i doubt NASCAR would ever have much of an impact in Mtl. Maybe in Toronto, but not in french Canada. Why? Because it's too American. Mtl'ers are in love with Europe & that's why F1 has been such a big draw. I doubt they could ever get attached to the rednecks who race around the ovals in NASCAR.

I also saw a decline in Canadian interest in the F1 since Canadians no longer can identify with a racer since the departure of Jacques Villeneuve. Prior to him, his father Gilles was the main focus of attention for Canadians when he raced, and likely why they got interested in the first place. Personally, i once was a huge F1 fan but admittedly, i no longer care to even turn on the tv when a race is going on. Sure, it's a good party, but i've been there in the past & the enormous crowds (and traffic!) have finally got to me so i now prefer to avoid Mtl on that particular weekend in June.

But i do realize how important the F1 is to Mtl economically & this is why it will leave a huge void which i doubt can ever be replaced.

 

[AllOverHer]

It's all about the $$$$$$$$. I'm sure Bernie has a price and canl Montreal and F1 Canada afford that price.

 

[Ben Dover]

Mazingerz only eats poutine, he feels it's his way of pissing off english north america.

Probably true, but only with French-sounding eating noises...

I find it ironic that Les Quebecois seem to flock (in great numbers) to many areas of entertainment that are stereotypically "redneck". Any of the following events will bring a sell out crowd in Quebec:

- Nascar
- Monster Trucks
- WWE
- UFC

Maybe someone should open up a fried catfish and hushpuppies stand. Might not be such a crazy idea after all...

EB -- want to partner up?

BD

 

[EagerBeaver]

Probably true, but only with French-sounding eating noises...

I find it ironic that Les Quebecois seem to flock (in great numbers) to many areas of entertainment that are stereotypically "redneck". Any of the following events will bring a sell out crowd in Quebec:

- Nascar
- Monster Trucks
- WWE
- UFC

Maybe someone should open up a fried catfish and hushpuppies stand. Might not be such a crazy idea after all...

EB -- want to partner up?

BD

Baton Rouge restaurant has successfully capitalized on the "Cajun cuisine" brought to Quebec theme. Of course, Cajun cuisine partially has French roots, but has been refined into a unique cuisine that is an American cuisine.

I do agree that there is potential to bring the redneck cuisine along with the redneck cultural events you mentioned. If these events become well established traditions in Montreal, it would make sense for someone near the event to at least open up a seasonal restaurant or kiosk selling this kind of cuisine. I would also include pulled pork and ribs on the menu, so you would compete with Baton Rouge but on a slightly more blue collar level. It could work.

 

[Techman]

It doesn't matter what they try to replace the GP with... Nascar, Indy car,...none of them will bring in the high rollers and big spenders that the GP brings to Montreal.

I remember an article in the Gazette from a year or two ago where they interviewed the owner of Thursdays and asked him what the difference was between Indy and GP crowds. He said that GP fans come in and order bottles of Cristal without ever asking the price while Indy fans come in and ask the price before ordering a beer.

There is no replacement for the money the GP brings to Montreal. If this is the final schedule and we do lose it next year, it will be a very long summer for many businesses who depend on the revenue from that event to make a profit on the year.

 

[EagerBeaver]

It's also making major news on ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/f1/news/story?id=3630361

This article suggests that the cancellation of the Canadian Grand Prix is linked to the cancellation of the US Grand Prix. We can infer that the reasons postulated by GIGBallday earlier in the thread are the correct reasons, by F1's silence on the issue. The absence of an explanation should speak for itself that GIGBallday is correct when he said:

the global recession and the expenses involved in traveling to North America for one race probably made the decision easy.

It's also interesting to note that Max Mosley has completely survived his sex scandal involving a widely circulated videotape of prostitutes role-playing as concentration camp survivors as they beat and abused Mosley. Mosley will not be stepping down until his term ends in 2009.

 

[beautydigger]

oh great... the trailer trash 300 comes to montreal... fuck.

I find it ironic that Les Quebecois seem to flock (in great numbers) to many areas of entertainment that are stereotypically "redneck". Any of the following events will bring a sell out crowd in Quebec:

- Nascar
- Monster Trucks
- WWE
- UFC

Maybe someone should open up a fried catfish and hushpuppies stand. Might not be such a crazy idea after all...

BD

Just for guys like you, Montreal should have a Ballet Festival topped off with one of those S&M Pride Parades that are famous in San Fran.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Just for guys like you, Montreal should have a Ballet Festival topped off with one of those S&M Pride Parades that are famous in San Fran.

Uh, they do have a gay pride parade in Mtl! I'm surprised YOU of all people didn't know about this.

On another note, i wonder if the stock market disaster didn't have anything to do with the F1 GP being cancelled in the US (sponsorships). It's understandable why they wouldn't keep the Canadian GP if there's not another race at the same time (e.g. US GP) since it would cost a fortune just to bring all their equipment across the ocean for just one race. Two okay, but not just one race.