The Canadian GP MasterCard "priceless moment"
Mastercard will be conducting a poll among Canadian sports media in order to determine the "priceless moment" in the Canadian GP history. The 2000 Canadian GP is scheduled for the 18th of June.
The choice will be made out of 12 pre-selected "priceless moments", with five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place and one point for a third place vote. The winner will be announced during the first week of June.
Herewith follows the selected 12 races for the "priceless moment" in the Canadian GP history:
1967 - The first ever Canadian Grand Prix for the Formula One World Championship was held to commemorate Canada's Centennial year. The historic event, at the daunting Mosport Park circuit on August 27, 1967, was won by Jack Brabham.
1973 - In 'The Grand Prix of Confusion' at Mosport a pace car appeared in a F1 race for the first time. While accident debris was being cleaned up the pace car came out but failed to find the race leader, causing lap charts to "blow up." Many hours later it was decided the winner was Peter Revson.
1977 - Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve made his Canadian Grand Prix debut, driving a Ferrari which failed to finish. The race, the last to be held at Mosport, was won by Jody Scheckter driving a car entered by Canadian team owner Walter Wolf.
1978 - Local hero Gilles Villeneuve became the first Canadian to win a F1 race. As he crossed the finish line the scream of his Ferrari's Viz engine was drowned out by the deafening roar of the crowd. Jody Scheckter was second in the Canadian-entered Wolf. Prime Minister Trudeau presented the trophy to Villeneuve, who went on to become one of the greatest F1 heroes of all time, and thus, one of the best known Canadians in the world.
1979 - Arguably the most exciting CGP ever featured a thrilling race-long, wheel-to-wheel battle between Alan Jones and Gilles Villeneuve, who finished in that order in front of 100,000 enthralled spectators.
1981 - For his amazing display of 'press-on-regardless' tenacity in his battered Ferrari on a wet track Gilles Villeneuve (in his final home appearance before he was killed, in 1982) won the 'fighting spirit' award after finishing third, behind Jacques Laffite and John Watson.
1991 - Nigel Mansell dominated the race, only to stall on the final lap, thereby handing victory to Nelson Piquet. Mansell denied the wide-spread opinion that he celebrated too early and accidentally shut the engine off while waving to the crowd.
1995 - On his 31st birthday Jean Alesi won his first (and only) F1 race, on the circuit named after his hero, Gilles Villeneuve. Alesi's winning Ferrari bore the number 27, which was made famous by Villeneuve. Alesi wept with joy and Ferrari fans went wild.
1996 - 'Jacques-o-mania' gripped Le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with the son of the local hero making his home race debut in his first F1 season. Jacques sent his fans home happy, finishing second to his Williams teammate, Damon Hill.
1997 - After qualifying second to Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve threw it all away by crashing out of his home race on the second lap. Schumacher went on to win, though the event was stopped 15 laps early when Olivier Panis crashed heavily and broke his leg.
1998 - Michael Schumacher won a controversial race, despite being penalised 10 seconds for pushing another car off the track. First corner crashes caused the race to be re-started twice, and Schumacher later accused Damon Hill of dangerous driving.
1999 - Mika Hakkinen won another accident-strewn race notable for having three world champions crash at exactly the same place. Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve, all went off at the last corner, where Villeneuve had also come to grief in 1997.
I say 1978 for sure
