Molson Indy Montreal
Motor race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Molson Indy Montreal was an annual auto race in Montreal, Quebec on the Champ Car World Series calendar.
| |
.svg) | |
| IndyCar / CART / Champ Car | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| First race | 1984 |
| Last race | 2006 |
| Distance | 181.503 mi |
| Laps | 67 laps |
| Previous names | Molson Indy 300 (1984–1986) Molson Indy Montreal (2002–2005) Grand Prix of Montreal (2006) |
| Most wins (driver) | no repeat winners |
| Most wins (team) | Newman/Haas Racing (3) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Lola (6) |
History
Originally known as the Molson Indy 300, it was first held at Sanair Super Speedway, an oval track, from 1984 through 1986. The Champ Car series revived the race in 2002, and it was held in late August each year until 2006 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a permanent road course most famous as the home of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix.
In 2006, the name of the race was changed to the Grand Prix of Montreal after its sale by Molson Sports & Entertainment. This mirrored the name change of the Toronto Champ Car race from the Molson Indy Toronto to the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto after its sale by Molson.
1985 finish controversy
In the 1985 Sanair race, Roberto Guerrero had a strong lead until he lost control and spun. Later in the race Jacques Villeneuve Sr. collided with leader Bobby Rahal in an attempt to challenge for the lead, taking both out. The race finished under a yellow flag, but the safety car entered pit lane on the final lap, and thinking there would be a final restart, Pancho Carter passed Johnny Rutherford after the safety car entered pit lane and before the finish line. CART initially declared Carter the winner[1], but an appeals panel later overturned the decision and confirmed Rutherford's victory.[2] In many codes of motorsport (typically FIA Code) the safety car enters pit lane as the field is on the final lap, and the cars cross the checkered flag together without the safety car on course. However, this practice is not accepted in North America, where the safety car leads the leaders to the finish line if the caution flag is still in effect.
Future prospects
After the 2006 race, the future of the Grand Prix of Montreal became shrouded in doubt. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is allowed to be used for one race weekend outside of the Canadian Grand Prix, and it was heavily speculated that from 2007 onwards, Canadian Grand Prix promoter Normand Legault (who promotes all races at CGV) would replace the Grand Prix of Montreal with a NASCAR Busch Series race.[3] Champ Car announced in September 2006 that it would indeed not be returning to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and would be replacing the event with one at Circuit Mont-Tremblant (2007 Mont-Tremblant Champ Car Grand Prix, previously held 1968–1970). Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve replaced the race with the NASCAR NAPA Auto Parts 200 race.
Race winners
Sanair (1984–1986)
| Season | Winning driver | Chassis | Engine | Team | Report | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 |  Danny Sullivan |
Lola | Cosworth | Doug Shierson Racing | report | [4] |
| 1985 | Johnny Rutherford |
March | Cosworth | Alex Morales Autosports | report | [5] |
| 1986 | Bobby Rahal |
March | Cosworth | Truesports | report | [6] |
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (2002–2006)
| Season | Winning driver | Chassis | Engine | Team | Report | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  Dario Franchitti |
Lola | Honda | Team Green | report | [7] |
| 2003 |  Michel Jourdain Jr. |
Lola | Ford-Cosworth | Team Rahal | report | [8] |
| 2004 |  Bruno Junqueira |
Lola | Ford-Cosworth | Newman/Haas Racing | report | [9] |
| 2005 |  Oriol Servia |
Lola | Ford-Cosworth | Newman/Haas Racing | report | [10] |
| 2006 |  Sébastien Bourdais |
Lola | Ford-Cosworth | Newman/Haas Racing | report | [11] |
Formula Atlantic winners
These races were held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
| Season | Winning driver |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Jeff Wood |
| 1979 | Howdy Holmes |
| 1980 |  Jacques Villeneuve |
| 1981 | Kevin Cogan |
| 1982 | Tim Coconis |
| 1983 |  Roberto Moreno |
| 1986 | Scott Goodyear |
| 1988 | Scott Harrington |
| 1989 | Scott Goodyear |
| 1990 | Jocko Cunningham |
| 1991 | Jimmy Vasser |
| 1992 | Chris Smith |
| 1993 | Jacques Villeneuve |
| 1994 | Richie Hearn |
| 1995 | David Empringham |
| 1996 | Patrick Carpentier |
| 1997 | Bertrand Godin |
| 1998 | Lee Bentham |
| 1999 | Alex Tagliani |
| 2000 | David Rutledge |
| 2001 | David Rutledge |
| 2002 | Rocky Moran Jr. |
| 2003 | A. J. Allmendinger |
| 2004 | Jon Fogarty |
| 2005 | Antoine Bessette |
| 2006 | Graham Rahal |