Mont-Tremblant kudos
The expression “if a little is good, then more must be better" has been embraced by Champ Car who continue trying to duplicate their Long Beach Grand Prix success in every new market. It might make for a good party, but parking lot racing is anemic at best. Champ Car needs more events like Mont Tremblant, not more street races like the proposed Orlando event.
With a perfect mix of ovals, road courses and the occasional street race, Champ Car used to have the best racing product in the world. Long Beach and Surfer’s Paradise were two jewels in the season that made for a fun mix of racing and a great street party, and were distinctively different events. But this series cannot survive on just hype and fluff and expect to attract any serious fan base. More tracks like Mont-Tremblant are needed to showcase the true performance potential of these great machines and drivers. Now, if we could only see a race staged at Road Atlanta and get Laguna Seca back into the schedule! We might actually have something worth watching on TV again. Kelly Konzelman
Dear Kelly, Indeed Champ Car has a lot of street circuits, but if done right (like Las Vegas) they can be quite interesting. However, let's not forget the following natural terrain road courses on the schedule – Portland, Road America, Zhuhai (eventually), Mexico City, Zolder, Assen, plus the airports at Cleveland and Edmonton. So it's far from an all-street circuit schedule now. While it would be nice to add Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta one has to question whether they can draw enough fans given the lack of big-name American drivers to make those races financially feasible.
We suspect you will see a couple of road courses added in Europe before Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta. With all the French drivers doing so well in Champ Car (Bourdais, Gommendy, Pagenaud and now Franck Perera in Atlantics) one would think a race in LeMans, France would be a home run. And if Greece ever happens that will eventually be a natural terrain road course as well (though it may not be the first year). Mark C.
07/03/07 Another reader adds, I just got back from the Mont-Tremblant race and had a wonderful time. This track ranks right up there with Road America as my favorite track. I have seen the Spa comparisons. Even the weather in Mont-Tremblant was a lot like Spa, wasn't it? Daniel Harringtin
07/03/07 A reader asks, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I loved the Mont-Tremblant race. What a show. Best race I have seen in years. Who gets the credit for Champ Car going there? Tim Berger
Dear Tim, A large part of the credit has to go to Paul Gentilozzi. When Normand Legault kicked Champ Car out of Montreal, instead of suing him, Paul sat down with Normand, listened to what his concerns were, and then brokered an alternate deal with him to help with the Mont-Tremblant race. Sometimes Paul deserves the criticism he gets, but in this case he deserves the kudos for turning a bad situation into a positive for Champ Car. Mark C.