Three main winter events in racing will be presented within the next few weeks in Québec, with the 2006 Maniwaki Perce-Neige Rally from February 3rd to 5th; the 8th edition of the Continental Sherbrooke Challenge on Ice on the weekend of February 10th to 12th. And, the Valcourt Ski-Doo Grand Prix the week after, from February 17th to the 19th. Jacques Villeneuve will be there to defend his 2005 title.
Jacques Villeneuve did his first trials for BMW Sauber on the 23rd and 24rd of January, and obtained very good times. His first comment on the F1-06 is that the car fits him a lot better than the C24 of 2005.
Patrick Carpentier participated in his first Rolex 24-hour race at Daytona, and drove over 70 laps with the lead before seeing his team give up two hours before the end of the race.
Patrick Wittmer, from Honda deSigi, was furious when he learned that the Honda-Michelin series willnot return in 2006, after only two years on Québec circuits.
MarcelDemers, who left the Québec Federation to head the Honda-Michelinseries, will have to find himself a new mission in motorized sports.
Yves Legris will be the only Quebecker equipped with a car competing for the Andros trophy during the next Challenge. Legris acquired this little bomb at the end of the 2005 edition, and he completely overhauled the car. We'll have to keep an eye on him in Sherbrooke.
Will
Andrew Ranger find the necessary funds required to participate in the 2006 Champ Car series? That's a $64,000 question.
The Gilles-Villeneuve Museum scored a success at the 2006 edition of the Montreal Auto Show by collecting about $10,000 thanks to the precious collaboration of Canon Canada: the company offered each person who gave a $2 or more donation to the museum to get their picture taken.
Mr. Normand Legault, president of the Grand Prix of Canada, figures among the ambassadors of the Gilles-Villeneuve Museum along with Pierre Houde, RDS F1 Grand Prix commentator; racing pilot, TV commentator and Montréal Auto Show spokesperson Bertrand Godin; pilot and commentator Didier Schraenen; and Gino Rosato, member of Scuderia Ferrari.
