Written by:
SPEED Staff / GMM
10/08/2008
Montreal, Quebec
The loss of the Canadian GP will be a big hit to the Montreal economy. (LAT photo)
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Quebec premier Jean Charest has joined organizers of the Canadian Grand Prix in wanting to know why the Montreal Formula 1 race has been taken off the 2009 calendar.
“We want to know from the people at the Grand Prix what is going on,” he is told Montreal’s The Gazette.
In a brief statement, the race organizers, who have a contract to host the event until 2011, said they learned of the decision to cancel the June 7 race via the media.
“The organization will issue no comment until having spoken to Formula One Management (FOM) and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA),” they declared.
Industry experts are speculating as to the possible reasons for the breakdown, including recalling the serious problems with the surface of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at this year’s race. But a writer for the Vancouver Sun said: “No one knows why Montreal has been dropped after being included on the preliminary calendar issued in June.”
Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay said on Radio-Canada that he was extremely disappointed with the news.
“We’re talking about losses of some $75 million to the local economy as a result. This is a large sum,” he said, confirming that he has scheduled an immediate meeting with grand prix promoter Normand Legault.
“We’ll see in the coming hours what we can do,” Tremblay added, recalling 2003, when the race was nearly canceled over tobacco sponsorship. “I feel bad, the same way I felt those years ago, but I’m an optimist,” he said.
