Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Location Parc Jean-Drapeau
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H3C 6A1
Time zone GMT −5
Coordinates 45°30′2.08″N 73°31′20.86″W / 45.5005778°N 73.5224611°W / 45.5005778; -73.5224611Coordinates: 45°30′2.08″N 73°31′20.86″W / 45.5005778°N 73.5224611°W / 45.5005778; -73.5224611
Capacity 100,000
FIA Grade 1
Owner City of Montreal
Opened 1978
Former names Île Notre-Dame Circuit (1978–1982)
Major events

FIA Formula One
Canadian Grand Prix
(1978–1986, 1988–2008, 2010–Present)

FIA World Sportscar Championship
Mondial Players Ltd.
(1990)

Champ Car World Series
Grand Prix of Montreal
(2002–2006)

NASCAR Xfinity Series
NAPA Auto Parts 200
(2007–2012)

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
NAPA Autopro 100
(2007–2012)

Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Montreal 200
(2007–2012)
Length 4.361 km (2.71 mi)
Turns 13
Lap record 1:13.622 (Brazil Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari, 2004)

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a motor racing circuit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. It has previously hosted the FIA World Sportscar Championship, the Champ Car World Series, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

The venue hosted the Champ Car World Series Grand Prix of Montreal from 2002 to 2006.

The Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One racing, which had taken place for 30 years at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, was dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar and replaced with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. On November 27, 2009, Quebec's officials and Canadian Grand Prix organizers announced a settlement with Formula One Administration and signed a new five-year contract spanning the 2010–2014 seasons.[1][2]

The 2011 edition took place on June 12 at 1:00 pm (17:00 GMT) and was the longest World Championship Grand Prix ever, due to a lengthy rain delay.[3]

Circuit

Originally named the Île Notre-Dame Circuit,[4] the circuit was built and finished in 1978. In what has proven to be the venue's main event over the decades, the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix had been part of the Formula One World Championship for 10 years, and it was previously held at Mosport Park near Toronto on 8 occasions and in 1968 and 1970, the Mont-Tremblant circuit in Quebec. With safety concerns with Mosport blighting the 1977 event, it was decided to move the race to the new circuit in Montreal. In 1982, it was renamed in honour of Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, father of Jacques Villeneuve, following his death earlier in the year.[5] The circuit is located in a part of the city of Montreal known as Parc Jean-Drapeau. The park is named after the mayor of Montreal who was responsible for the organization of Expo 67.

The Hairpin (L'Epingle) on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The circuit lies on Notre Dame Island, a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River most of which was originally built up for the Expo. Also the neighbouring Saint Helen's Island had been artificially enlarged for the fairgrounds and a prominent remnant of the fair, the Biosphere can be regularly seen during television coverage of racing events. Almost half of the track – from the hairpin turn until after the pit area – runs alongside the Olympic Basin, a huge rectangular basin which was created for the rowing and canoeing events of Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympics. Barriers run close to the circuit and many experienced drivers have been caught out by them. A particularly famous part of the circuit is the wall on the outside of the exit of the final chicane before the start/finish straight. In 1999 the wall, which bears the name Bienvenue au Québec ("Welcome to Quebec") giving it the nickname "Mur du Québec" (Quebec Wall), ended the race of three Formula One World Champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve along with FIA GT champion Ricardo Zonta. Since then the wall has been nicknamed "The Wall of Champions". In recent years 2009 world champion Jenson Button (2005) and four time World Champion Sebastian Vettel (2011) have also fallen victim to the wall.

Bienvenue au Québec slogan on the Wall of Champions

Changes made in 2005 to the curbs on the final chicane were controversial amongst drivers in the run-up to the Grand Prix. The curbs were made higher and more difficult for the drivers to see, making it even more challenging.

On June 23, 2006, the Canadian Press reported that the city of Montreal had awarded exclusive rights to stage the two allowed race weekends on the track to Normand Legault, promoter of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. The deal was for 2007 to 2011, with an option for 2012 to 2016. Legault decided to replace the Champ Car race with races from the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Series and NASCAR's Nationwide Series, respectively – the latter series' first race north of the Canada-United States border. On August 4, 2007, Kevin Harvick made history by winning the first NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in what was one of the most controversial NASCAR races ever, as Robby Gordon claimed to have won the race.[6]

The NASCAR races have affected the circuit layout. An expansion of the pit lane took place, since a NASCAR pit lane must accommodate a minimum of 43 cars.

As part of Parc Jean-Drapeau, the Circuit is open to visitors, between races, for walking, running, biking, in-line skating, and driving.[7] During the few days of the Grand Prix, Notre Dame Island is one of the noisiest places in Montreal. Other times of the year, it is one of the quietest, being located in the middle of a river, on an island filled with greenery and animals, joggers and cyclists. However, on June 4, 2009, administration of Notre Dame Island has forbidden the access of competitive cyclists to the circuit, justifying this as a security measure to avoid the increasing injuries that occurred between year 2008 and 2009. A total of 27 injuries have been reported. The ban on cyclists has since been lifted due to protests.

Lap records

As the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve serves as host to different racing series, it is possible to directly compare different race series' lap times.

In 2002, Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya set pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix with a lap time of 1:12.836. Several weeks later, during the inaugural Champ Car Grand Prix of Montreal, Cristiano da Matta set pole position with a lap time of 1:18.959.

In 2006, the last time Champ Car and F1 ran on the same track, Formula One was 5 to 7 seconds faster than Champ Car. The pole position in Formula One was set by Fernando Alonso in a time of 1:14.942, while Sébastien Bourdais set pole in 1:20.005 in Champ Car. The fastest lap in the Formula One race was 1:15.841 by Kimi Räikkönen, while Sébastien Bourdais's fastest lap was 1:22.325 in the Champ Car race.

2007 NASCAR Busch Series driver Patrick Carpentier racing in the NAPA Auto Parts 200, posted a pole time of 1:42.086. The pole time at the 2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200 was 1:40.865 by Alex Tagliani. By comparison, Carpentier's 2004 Molson Indy Montreal qualifying time in the Champ Car World Series was 1:20.836, while Sébastien Bourdais qualified with 1:20.005 in 2006.

The track record for the Rolex Sports Car Series is 1:32.620. The time was set by Scott Pruett driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Daytona Prototype class in 2010.

The fastest ever lap around the circuit was set by Ralf Schumacher with a time of 1:12.275 set in the qualifying session for the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix. As this time was set during qualifying, it is not recognized as an official lap record.

Category Driver Car Lap Record Year
Formula One Rubens Barrichello Ferrari F2004 1:13.622 2004
Champ Car Dario Franchitti Lola B2/00-Honda 1:20.238 2002
Group C Mauro Baldi Mercedes-Benz C11 1:28.725* 1990
Daytona Prototype Scott Pruett Riley Mk XX-BMW 1:32.620 2010
Grand Touring Scott Russell Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 1:39.353 2010
NASCAR Nationwide Series Alex Tagliani Chevrolet Impala 1:40.865 2012

* Circuit layout in 1990 different from current layout (used since 2002)

Former series

[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Canada returns to F1 championship – f1-live.com, November 27, 2009
  2. ↑ Montreal Grand Prix Is Back On for 2010 – The New York Times, November 27, 2009
  3. ↑ "Button scores tenth win in longest race ever". F1 Fanatic. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  4. ↑ Automobile Year, 1978/79, page 235
  5. ↑ Peter Higham, The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing, 1995, Page 362
  6. ↑ "ESPN – Harvick wins wild Busch race, but disqualified Gordon claims he won – Nascar".
  7. ↑ "Circuit Gilles Villeneuve". Retrieved September 5, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Circuit Gilles Villeneuve". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
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