JANUARY 23, 2001

CART goes to Montreal

THE CART racers will be competing on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in August 2002.

THE CART racers will be competing on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in August 2002. It will be the first time in recent history that CART cars have run on the same track as Formula 1 machinery. The last time that happened was when the Indycars visited Brands Hatch in 1978 for a non-championship event.

CART and the FIA have an agreement that CART will only hold races internationally if they are on oval circuits. However races in the Americas are excluded from this arrangement which means that CART can race in Canada, Mexico and Brazil without been restricted to an oval. The only exception to the rule is the race in Surfers Paradise which pre-dated the agreement. Thus new CART races in Japan and Europe and all on ovals.

The Montreal race will underline the importance of Canada to CART. There are already races in Toronto and Vancouver and both are expected to remain on the calendar. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is unlikely to be much-modified although F1 has been insisting on a new pit complex in recent years and it may be that the organizers are hoping to earn back the investment from CART ticket sales.