F1's boom in popularity in the US is also having a positive effect on its neighbour Canada. Here's how Montreal is riding this wave, having sold out of all tickets for this weekend's race well before the end of last season.
In fact, this year marks the 45th anniversary of the first race in Montreal, famously also the maiden victory of local hero Gilles Villeneuve.legend has been a near-constant presence on the schedule ever since, apart from glitches for financial reasons in 1987 and 2009, and during the COVID-hit years of 2020 and 2021.
The driving force behind the Montreal race is Francois Dumontier, the president and CEO of the promoting organisation Octane Racing Group. "Because I'm from Montreal and Quebec, I was more of a hockey fan. Of course, I knew of Gilles. I was not following racing, but I became passionate working in it.""When I started I was the operation director," he says."I was really on the ground helping to put in grandstands, and things like that.
With former promoter Legault by now out of the picture, it was Dumontier that put together the deal to put the race back on the calendar in 2010. He helped to foster a package of financial support from the federal, state and city governments that made the event a realistic business proposition. "They actually send money to F1," says Dumontier."It's not coming through my office. They take care of a portion of it [the fee], and the rest of it is us.
One unusual aspect of the deal is the fact that the local government owns the venue, and Octane leases it. "I would love to have a permanent venue, like other races in Europe, and just almost put the key in the door. But this is not our case." Montreal may be in a secure position with eight years left on its contract, but no event can afford to rest on past glories.
"I feel the pressure, yes and no," says Dumontier."It's a good thing I think to have good competition. At the same time, I think that over 23 or 24 races, you need to have variety and different types of circuit. "Last year we had 57% of our clients who are not from the province," he says."So this is why we are the biggest sporting and tourism event in the country.
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