2010 Grand Prix du Canada Isle de Notre Dame, Montreal, Quebec Circuit Gilles Villenueve Sunday, 13 June WPR Attendance: 5, 19, 43
Saturday, 12 June As the 3 made their way northbound through New Hampshire, the skies cleared, the temp rose, and the bright sun shone down creating a fevered pitch of excitement. For years, the older son had asked and dreamed of hearing with his own ears, the song of a Ferrari Formula 1 engine in anger. He reclined in the pickup seat, put his hands behind his head and said, "it is just hitting me what I am on my way to see!" That confirmed the decision to go was a good one.
Crossing the border was a breeze thanks to 3 freshly printed U.S. Passports. It is still undetermined whether these were necessary, or at least for the two minors, but doesnt matter and the risk was not worth taking in my book. Its only money and now they have them. Snowmobiling perhaps??
The Chateau Bromont was way above expectation, the internet can be a fickle thing at times. This was a ski resort and the hotel was nestled beautifully across facing the sleeping giant mountain. A four star I would guess, but in the summer, bargains are to be had. Only 45 minutes east of the track, it was just the right distance to avoid the crowds and high prices of the F1 spectacle.
We arrived with just enough time for a dip in the pool. And then out to the terrace, where we enjoyed the gorgeous sunset with several other romantic couples each cuddled in their own hot tub spa. We each savored drinks and deliciously prepared nachos as we picked out the first stars, and a planet, of the night.
Sunday, 13 June Up at 6:30am, we had agreed that the kids should try their first Tim Hortons cinnamon buns. With no adventure we had arrived at the Metro Station Longueuil-Universite de Sherbrooke. Parking was $20 for the day and $2.75 for a pass (each way, kids free) and onto the next train. The ride lasted only 3 minutes as we went under the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Jean Drapeau stop (he was the mayor of Montreal for a long time) onto the Isle de St. Catherine. Out of the ground into the brilliant sunshine and the circus that is the Formula 1 World Championship race event. On this day, Montreal is the epicenter of motorsports. Everyone wants to be here!!
The tifosi faithful still blows me away I realize that Ferrari is one of the most recognized icons on the planet, but it just amazes me how fanatical the fans are. And Gilles Villenueve himself cemented into history that this country will forever be one of the brands strongholds. Flags, shirts, hats, banners, posters, jackets, shoes, pins, painted faces, bright red wigs, prancing horse helmets, and the women oh the shirts the beautiful women wear. I would like to shake the hand of the man that designs the Ferrari clothing for women. God bless him, thank you.
Onto the race, #2 had called me the day before, assuring himself that #5 would give an unbiased review of what it is to go to the Canadian Grand Prix. In this case, the reputation was all true. It is an absolutely TERRIBLE place to [not] see a race by way of general admission. Let me be clear, it is not worth going at all if you actually want to see the race itself. The places to view the race track with a general admission ticket are minimal in number, and horrible in quality. It shocked me how little effort was put in to giving those without grandstand tickets any kind of access to view the track. There. I hope I was clear enough about general admission tickets to actually see the racing.
We did find a nice grassy knoll to be at for the start of the race. We were roughly 50 feet from the track and could see clearly for approximately 3-4 seconds of the cars as they accelerated up through the gears while exiting the casino hairpin. So #19 got his wish as he winced with pleasure as the V10s wailed up to 18,000rpm on their way to 200mph zooming down the straight. That was very cool!
HOWEVER! Every single grand stand had its own jumbo screen, was expertly positioned in all of the interesting parts of the circuit. So grandstand tickets are a must. The event staff was very friendly and as an example of how generous the hearts of the Canadian people truly are, about halfway into the race one of the grandstand workers walked up to #19 and motioned me over. He said to me "I have one seat available if you want him to go." I said sure. And he gave #19 a prime seat that he watched the rest of the race from. About 10 minutes later he came over again and said he has another seat for #43 if he wants it. Talk about being very cool. At the end of the race, he personally walked #19 back to me. I shook his hand and said that he made his birthday present from good to great. I assured him I will be back again, and this time with grandstand tickets in hand. He laughed and said to be sure to come back again! Guaranteed.
As a note, I did notice several people had these handheld televisions where they were watching SPEED channels live coverage of the race. This we should look into at a minimum. At the conclusion of the race, we were walking out and noticed many people walking the track. It was year 1 at Limerock Déjà vu. Sure enough, we popped through a track worker opening and joined hundreds of fans walking the track. Sticky tar, legality plank scrapings, carbon fiber bits, marbles and all. A perfect way to wait for the crowds leaving the park to thin.
The drive home we were all aglow. Satisfied, and checking off one more of those life list things to do. I absolutely say we make this a WPR adventure. We should go for the entire weekend. Head into the city and Crescent Street where the race weekend festivities are in high gear all weekend. It would be an amazing adventure and one that would be second to none, including our beloved snowmobiling trips to this Canadian province. I am happy to have this international neighbor only 5 short hours away. Its really a hop, skip and not even a jump since there is no air travel required. We are lucky to live where we do!
Thank you to the people of Canada and to the organizers for bringing back the Canadian round of the Formula 1 Grand Prix World Championships!!
It sounds like your 12 year old has been miss led. I would rather watch a bike race than formula 1 these days. Although the challenge today is to try and guess who will not be suspended for DOPING.
Why would you want to watch a race that is decided in qualifying? If you are lucky, you might see a change of the order at the start under braking or maybe as a result of a slow pit. You could argue that there might be a crash, but what are the chances of seeing it from the stands?
HEADLINE: #'s 5, 19 and 43 to do a club recon trip for the Formula Canadian Grand Prix on June 13 in Montreal, QC.
Route is mapped, hotel is booked, tickets are on their way. We choose General Admission so we could scope out the best viewing areas or to confirm that grandstand seating is the best way to view this event.
Tried to verify whether kids needed passport to cross border but couldn't get anyone to confirm. Couldn't take any chances. So thanks once again to the a$$holes that screwed our country up on 9/11, the cost of obtaining the necessary documentation to go to our friendly neighbors to the north FAR exceeded the cost of the tickets to the grand prix and the hotel. a$$holes.
Remember when all you needed to cross was a driver's license or a birth certificate? The northern border anyhow. Life is so much more complicated now. At least some people try their hardest to make it that way.
A full trip report will be posted upon our return!
