34 replies to this topic

[Radz]

Last month, I had a week in Montreal with work. On the last afternoon one of my colleagues and I decided to try and get to the GP circuit to see if we could look around. To my complete surprise, not only could we just drive onto the island where the circuit is, but we were able to steer our hire car onto the circuit itself!!!

Once we realised that we weren't going to get into trouble for this (the security guards kept waving at us as we went by), we took it in turns to drive our Toyota Camry (mmmm, nice) around the whole circuit, completing a total of about 12 laps - with a best time of about seven and-a-half minutes. I don't think Alonso will be quaking in his boots just yet...
In our defence though, the circuit is mostly covered by snow this time of year

Then we pulled up in the pits and decided it was time to take some pictures:


Our trusty Camry in the pits.



Lee taking pictures in the pits.



The Start / Finish line.



Me, standing on the grid!



The main hairpin, completely under snow.



The old race control, on the back straight.



Where the 'Wall of Champions' is on the race weekend.



Someone got close to the wall...



The view up the pit staight from the Wall of Champions, towards the Start line.



Yeah, OK, I tried to go for an 'Arty-farty' shot...



All in all, this was a fantastic experience (and much better than working!) - just standing on the grid and imagining what it must be like when F1 cars scream over the line was mind-blowing. Although it was a bit colder than it is on race day...

Anyway, just thought I'd share...


Radz

[robnyc]

this is very cool man . you forgot one thing.. where are the pictures?

[Blythy]

geocities is crap, use photobook/imageshack, they're designed for forums and so on.

[robnyc]

Radz, I am going to Montreal in about 2 weeks. How the hell did you get inside the track? I've never seen an open entrance the last time I was trying to do the same while wondering around the casino.


that someone who got close to the wall must have been Button in 05. I could be totally wrong since there are at least two other series that race on that circuit.

[robnyc]

how about this one of Kimi getting his hands dirty with the pit crew..... GV circuit.
maybe ? yes/no?

[Cenotaph]

well, i've seen the pictures while they were working

its funny to see the circuit covered with snow

[Rob G]

I got to drive on it about 5 years ago. The weather was warm, so I had to dodge rollerbladers and cyclists. They had a speed limit that was way too low ;) , but it was still a thrill to drive on the track. They were preparing the facility for the GP, so I was able to get an idea of good vantage points and the like.

[Bumper]

Radz, I know it's a complete pain and a lot to ask, but would you mind trying to post the pics again using Imageshack, as your pics are currently not showing?

Good on you for driving on the track!

[Radz]

There y'go - images all fixed (I hope)

Bloody Geocities - takes half an hour to put the images up and then it takes them 30 seconds to mismanage the server and bugger it all up for me.

Thanks goodness for Imageshack, eh?


Radz

[Radz]

Originally posted by robnyc
Radz, I am going to Montreal in about 2 weeks. How the hell did you get inside the track? I've never seen an open entrance the last time I was trying to do the same while wondering around the casino.

Well, we drove over the bridge towards the two islands and got off on the first one (NOT the one with the track), drove towards the Expo steel ball and then turned right over a service bridge - that brings you out onto the circuit near the hairpin.

Alternatively, as you go over the main bridge onto the GP island (and towards the casino), stick to the right hand side - there are two toll booth lanes which lead directly onto the track. When we were there, these were both permanently open (probably because of the snow).

Hopefully you'll get on - it's fantastic to drive around the track, even slowly ;)


Radz

[Bumper]

Thank youououou

Crikey, that is a lot of snow, amazing to see the track like that and imagining the cars whizzing past, especially looking at the old race control.

[RDM]

Originally posted by robnyc


how about this one of Kimi getting his hands dirty with the pit crew..... GV circuit.
maybe ? yes/no?

Looking at those T-shirts it looks more like something going on at the G.A.Y. nightclub. (Not that there's anything wrong with "Uncle" Ron and Tubby Norbert wanting their crew to look like a bunch of Little Britain's Dafydds....)

[djned]

Cool post, Radz...is this the only F1 circuit anyone can actually drive around, the right way, uninterrupted? Nice.

And I like the suspiciously Sato-shaped outline on the Wall of Champions.

[cheesy poofs]

Other than in the winter, this is what the circuit looks like when it is not in use. You will notice that the hairpin is not accessible and the track is also used by runners, bicylce riders, roller-bladers, etc...

[robnyc]

Originally posted by Radz
Well, we drove over the bridge towards the two islands and got off on the first one (NOT the one with the track), drove towards the Expo steel ball and then turned right over a service bridge - that brings you out onto the circuit near the hairpin.

Alternatively, as you go over the main bridge onto the GP island (and towards the casino), stick to the right hand side - there are two toll booth lanes which lead directly onto the track. When we were there, these were both permanently open (probably because of the snow).

Hopefully you'll get on - it's fantastic to drive around the track, even slowly ;)


Radz

Thanks for the info Radz. I am going to try to make my way over there in a few weeks and see if I could beat you 7 minutes lap time.

[fastlegs]

I drove around the circuit about 4 years ago. It was a blast.

During the time I spent there I saw a guy driving his Kenworth truck (without the trailer) around the circuit.

I believe the circuit is opened to the general public almost year round.

[Clatter]

Originally posted by fastlegs
I drove around the circuit about 4 years ago. It was a blast.

During the time I spent there I saw a guy driving his Kenworth truck (without the trailer) around the circuit.

I believe the circuit is opened to the general public almost year round.

I thought it was public roads the rest of the year.

Are many events held there during the year?

[rce]

Originally posted by fastlegs
I drove around the circuit about 4 years ago. It was a blast.

During the time I spent there I saw a guy driving his Kenworth truck (without the trailer) around the circuit.

I believe the circuit is opened to the general public almost year round.

So, then why have I read that people don't consider it a road course - that has always baffled me. It's similar to Albert Park in Melbourne (so I believe), which most consider a road course.

[Bogman]

Yeah, it's a public road around the park for the rest of the year, also a bus route. They try to make it difficult to get onto the track by not exactly signposting it. There are far too many stop signs to get up any speed, and in the summer you've got to avoid the bikers and rollerbladers. The best time to go is the weekend before the GP when they are starting to unload and before security is set up.

[robnyc]

Originally posted by Clatter


I thought it was public roads the rest of the year.

Are many events held there during the year?

Oh not at all. It is a circuit like all the others. The junior mazda open wheel series and BMW USA series race there as well. This year there is also a NASCAR Busch race event scheduled in August.

[robnyc]

Originally posted by Bogman
Yeah, it's a public road around the park for the rest of the year, also a bus route. They try to make it difficult to get onto the track by not exactly signposting it. There are far too many stop signs to get up any speed, and in the summer you've got to avoid the bikers and rollerbladers. The best time to go is the weekend before the GP when they are starting to unload and before security is set up.

The track is by no means a public traffic automobile road.

[F1 Tor.]

We went around the track about 3 years ago. We made fake Toyota passes(my friend does it every year-quite complex as it involves stealing,shhhhhh!) and you have to wear a white shirt and glasses. We actually looked like 4 guys that worked in F1, it was hilarious. Anyway, there's a part of the track where you'd just show your pass but no one would actually check. I'm positive they've fixed that and that this is no longer possible. Anyway, once you're in, you're in. We took my friends Toyota Matrix for a spin and it was a blast. This was on the Thursday of race weekend and we drove by Ralf, who was walking the circuit with a friend and Pizzonia, who was checking it out on a bike. Anyway, my friend thought it was great that we were all taking turns driving the circuit when all of a sudden you could smell his tires cooking. It was quite funny and he was so pissed off. The rest of the day was awesome-watched pit stops, got Rubens to sign my race ticket and was right in front of Michael, who refused to sign anything as he did a million interviews. The Friday, Saturday and Sunday we were back in our regular seats, huge smiles on our faces. Haven't had the chance to go back since that time.

[fastlegs]

Originally posted by rce


So, then why have I read that people don't consider it a road course - that has always baffled me. It's similar to Albert Park in Melbourne (so I believe), which most consider a road course.

I'd describe it as a street/road course if that makes any sense. Parts of the circuit are permanent.

For example, many of the corners and bends along with the racing curbs are left in place year round.

There are several other parts of the circuit such as the back straight that really don't resemble a race track when it's not been used for racing.

[Nobody]

Originally posted by robnyc

Kimi: "Where did I put the bloody Smirnoff?!"

[ixnay]

Is that Kimi?
Doesn't Kimi have a tattoo on his right wrist of a sun symbol?

[glorius&victorius]

Originally posted by robnyc


how about this one of Kimi getting his hands dirty with the pit crew..... GV circuit.
maybe ? yes/no?

didnt knew Kimi had such a big belly and was developing a bald spot already..

[djned]

Originally posted by Bogman
The best time to go is the weekend before the GP when they are starting to unload and before security is set up.

I might be in Montreal the week before the GP (unfortunately can't stay for the actual race)...is it really still open at that time for anyone to drive around???

[Radz]

Originally posted by djned


I might be in Montreal the week before the GP (unfortunately can't stay for the actual race)...is it really still open at that time for anyone to drive around???

Well, since posting this I've been talking to a colleague from our Montreal office and he says the the circuit's open all year round. Some of it is used as access to the Casino and it's all open to the public, although you sometimes have to pay to get a car onto the track. And, like Cheesy Poofs said, the hairpin is not accessible (although that didn't stop us from using it ;) )


Radz

[Andy Donovan]

Originally posted by fastlegs
I'd describe it as a street/road course if that makes any sense. Parts of the circuit are permanent.

I think I think the same way. There's road courses (e.g. Silverstone), full street courses (e.g. Monaco) and then there's Melbourne, Montreal and until recently Spa that fit in-between the two classes. It appears the track planned in Dubai will be another of these half-way street circuits.

[Rexx Havoc]

The is how we do... did

back in the days my bro and I would construct a portable grand stand on race day near the fence at the end of casino straight

in the first pic is a view of our seating position



in this pic is me hanging on the fence with the bag on my back that we'd use to transport the structure in pieces to the track along with a case of beer ... you can make out our trash bag hanging on the left side of the grandstand



for 4 years they never made us open the bag ...we'd walk in sunday morning at about 8:30 carrying in this monstrous sack filled with beer food and pvc piping




I have some pics of Tony Harlow from austrailia 95
edit: actually I think this is from montreal '96 and the joke was that we rested out beers on the Mclaren pit box and Tony yelled at us for doing it but I can't find the pic of the 2 Labbatts Bleu cans... we said "I bet that that is the first and last time that an alcoholic beverage touched anything Mclaren other than the Champagne spray... Tony was a good sport and stoped his rant to take a picture with my buddy




and then from 96 Montreal
edit: I think this is the picture from Adelaide and the one above is the following year in montreal or maybe it was the other way around
regardless the order he remembered us from one year to the next






then they put up that stupid fu..... corp center in our spot so we had to move to silver 3 to enjoy our view... which was directly over the wall of chumpions



it wasn't all bad ... because it was a 30 second dash to the porta john
but... sometimes the line grew exponentially by the time you left the top row of the grandstand to go wee
hence this view from above



and my last pic for now is for all the youngin's
this is how it used to be back in the days after a race walking the pits...
before the Circuit Nazi's keeping you from pit lane



on a side note
I along with my girlfriend at the time were part of the few that ran across the track after the race in 95-96 when there was the track invasion before the race was over that led to the FIA mandating the fencing and the crowd control the following year

... Sorry Y'all but you had to be there to understand why why swarmed the podium once the winner crossed the finish line

believe me when I saw the replay on espn once we got home and saw ourselves running across the track with cars still coming down the straight at full song, did I realize how lucky/ stupid we were

[Flynnie]

It's a road/street circuit. It's a street circuit to the extent that it is public road and nearly all of the circuit can be driven by car. It's a road circuit to the extent that the layout of the roads was designed for motor racing, rather than organically.

[robnyc]

Originally posted by Rexx Havoc
[B]
I along with my girlfriend at the time were part of the few that ran across the track after the race in 95-96 when there was the track invasion before the race was over that led to the FIA mandating the fencing and the crowd control the following year

.

Like this.. (this was after the race not ending, thank god)

i took this in 05. I have some really cool pics of the track from 04 but I have to scan them.

[Rexx Havoc]

I've stayed out of this argument because no one gives a flyin phoque what I've got to say

but here it is from the eyes of a 12 year old rowing in the basin circa 76- 77

the track was constructed on the deteriorating Ile Notredame, it was the remnants of Expo '67

numerous pavilions were torn down because the city of Montreal was basically Bankrupt after the Olympics and had no money to maintain them, and public interest was at a low, so no one complained about tearing down these decrepit structures.

the sad part was the marble tower adjacent to the pavilion of France... which is now the casino, was taken down

if you watch the tv series Buck Rogers in the 21st century you can see the structure in it's former glory

there were no real roads or streets in the park merely crushed rock paths meandering thru the gardens, pavilions, and koi ponds

they tore up a massive amount of crap and put the circuit in

they planted Hundreds of trees

only years later after Gilles' untimely death did they give the circuit the street name designation

a decade later when the casino opened did they make it a road

it was originally meant to be a pedestrian path

then the burden of the casino traffic turned it into a mixed use surface

so in reality it was a purpose built circuit that achieved road use to make it more versatile

you can't call it a street circuit because they aren't streets in the sense that it is going through a business district or a neighborhood

and it is not a road course because the public roads came after the construction of the
"circuit" as part of the evolution of the use of the island

If I remember correctly auto's were banned on the Island and Cushman carts were the only vehicles other than construction equipment allowed

hence the designation "Le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve" ... The circuit Gilles Villeneuve

I'm sure there is no convincing anyone on this... but that is the way it went down

ask any true Kebecker or Montrealais that remembers back to the dark days of bill 101 and the glory days of Rene Leveque
they will second this...

[Rexx Havoc]

Originally posted by robnyc


Like this.. (this was after the race not ending, thank god)

i took this in 05. I have some really cool pics of the track from 04 but I have to scan them.

yep ... one year, I slept my drunk off on the grass strip in the shadow of the casino crossover bridge after the race
because I didn't want to fight the crowds waiting for the metro

yes ... they still let you on the circuit but only after the cars are back in the pits
my yarn is back when... as soon as the checker flag flew there would be a on track invasion
(not trying to one up you bro... in case it sounds like it)

edit:
think back when Mansell's car died on track on the way to victory or the year when I think Schumacher gave Alesi a ride back to the pits on the side pod of his car

[MONTOYASPEED]

Originally posted by Rexx Havoc
ask any true Kebecker or Montrealais that remembers back to the dark days of bill 101 and the glory days of Rene Leveque

Quebecois, Montrealer and Rene Levesque. After so many Canadian GPs you should have picked up some French by now.