Sunday morning in Montreal. F-1 Race day.
Once again, it was warm and clear. Once again, it was an efficient ride in on the subway to the Jean-Drapeau metro station on the Ile Sainte-Helene. The entrance gate was a lot busier today. No one wanted to miss any of the day's events.
Thirty minutes and 2+ kilometres of walking got us back to stand 12. We elected to defer going directly to our seats, and instead watched the first few track events from the grassy berm below stand 11. I think we might want to try and sit at these stands the next time we do a Canadian Grand Prix, for there's an excellent view down towards the start/finish line from here, without sacrificing an excellent vantage on turns 1 and 2.
First up today was the second and final race of the Formula 1600 series. There were again close battles for the lead, but ultimately, Tristan Degrand of Missouri once again took the chequered flag in his Exclusive Autosport Spectrum/Honda. A weekend sweep for him and his team. Congrats!
Soundtrack of Your Summer
After the F1600 series race was an event I was quite looking forward to: a historic series, run using the Formula One cars of decades past. An opportunity to get a close look at some important racing heritage.
Although the Masters Historic Grand Prix is considered a race, it for the most part is not. Because the cars span an entire era of Formula 1, from the 1970s to the early '80s, there's quite a large spread in performance. I view this event mostly a way for the owners of these cars to have some fun and to get these classic machine out on the track where they belong, rather than getting all covered in cobwebs and dust hidden away in some garage.
The dominating car of the Masters HGP field was, unsuprisingly, one of the most recent ones: a 1982 McLaren MP4/1B driven by Nathan Kinch of Great Britain. The car looked a bit plain without its signature Malboro decals (tobacco advertising is not allowed at racing events in Canada), although it still sported the classic Marlboro red and white chevron pattern.
A highlight car of the Masters HGP race were the two 1980 Ferrari 312T5s, driven at the time by Jody Schekter and Gilles Villeneuve. Gilles, of course, was the excellent and famous F1 driver who perished in a crash at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982. The race track here on the island of Notre-Dame was renamed to the circuit Gilles Villeneuve in his honor. These two ferraris, therefore, were special and revered visitors today.
Side-on classic Ferrari view
