Formula 1600 and the Canadian auto racing history

But in 2003, a new management team took over and changed the name "Formula Ford" to "Formula 1600". The blue-oval automaker had decided to no longer sponsor the Canadian series.

On June 14, 2003, during the Canadian F1 Grand Prix, Ontario's own Andrew Bordin won the Formula 1600 race while veteran driver Didier Schraenen came in second place. David Clubine also climbed on the podium.

With the Montreal Molson Indy in 2004

A year later, the event was not held on the same weekend as the F1 Grand Prix, so organizers scheduled the race for August, more precisely on the eve of the Montreal Champ Car Molson Indy.

Philippe Gélinas, from Grand-Mère, Quebec, drove past the checkered flag ahead of Didier Schraenen. Michel Bonnet finished third.

In 2005 and 2006, Formula Tour 1600 organizers could not reach an agreement neither with the managers of the Canadian GP nor the Molson Indy.

As a result, they settled for the Trois-Rivières Grand Prix as a venue for their Quebec race.

There were some really entertaining battles in Trois-Rivières and the spectators on hand embraced the Formula Tour 1600 series from the start.

Didier Schraenen was the winner in 2005, finishing ahead of Olivier Bonnet and Philippe Gélinas.

In 2006, as usual, the Formula Tour Hankook race proved to be a high-octane, spectacular event; Michel Bonnet rode his Vector Damafro #2 car to his first-ever victory on the 2.44-km long Trois-Rivières urban track. Second was -- guess who -- Didier Schraenen and third place went to Marc-Antoine Camirand, from St-Léonard d'Aston.

The return of Formula 1600 to the Canadian GP

For 2007, Formula 1600 will make its return to the Canadian F1 Grand Prix thanks to the collaboration of the president of the event, Normand Legault, a long-time fan of the junior series.


We should be able to see a few veterans like Didier Schraenen, Marcel Lafontaine, Serge Bourdeau and Rémy Audette. They will race against the series' mainstays as well as a couple of new rookies.

Taking advantage of the visibility and media coverage of the Canadian F1 Grand Prix is crucial for Formula 1600 organizers and especially the sponsors.


Young drivers who will race on the Gilles Villeneuve track for the first time will no doubt have butterflies in their stomach. After all, this is where Gilles won his first F1 race for Ferrari in 1978.

Some of them weren't even born yet!