source: cart.com
MONTREAL--Asked if he enjoyed racing in Montreal for the first time, Bruno Junqueira looked at the questioner, smiled and replied: "I'd like to see CART run the whole series in Canada." That pretty much summed up the general feeling of the CART contingent following its first visit to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. For the fans and competitors, it was a smashing success in every way. There were 172,000 paying customers for three days and they all went away with a new appreciation of America's most versatile racing series. And CART came away knowing it had another winner north of the border. "I love racing in Canada. What a wonderful crowd we had all three days," said Dario Franchitti after edging Cristiano da Matta for the victory in the inaugural Molson Indy Montreal. "They truly understand what we're all about. It doesn't matter if it's Toronto, Vancouver or now Montreal. They've all got such passion and enthusiasm for open-wheel racing. It makes it so enjoyable to drive in that atmosphere." There was some question how the CART FedEx Championship Series would be received in this Formula One bastion. But the people who cheer for Jacques Villeneuve every June were just as enthusiastic for Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani and to a lesser extent, Paul Tracy. Just like the F1 show, where the people in the grandstands rise every time Villeneuve comes around the 2.709-mile road course, the rookie crowd for CART was equally loud--especially for the Player's/Forsythe Racing team. "I hadn't raced here since my Toyota Atlantic days, but I expected to get that kind of support because these fans are so good," said Carpentier, who thrilled the 61,000 on Saturday when he qualified fourth in the Player's/Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Reynard. "It makes you so proud to see the flags, hats and T-shirts. I can even hear the crowd when I leave the pits." Unlike Toronto and Vancouver, where all three Canadians are revered and cheered at every move, Montreal was different in that the French-Canadians mostly pulled for the Player's duo from Quebec. And it appeared they would have plenty to cheer about early on. Quebec's Carpentier made a good start and was running second when his engine let go on Lap 27. Tagliani started eighth, but passed Jimmy Vasser for fifth in the hairpin only to slide wide and spin out. He recovered, but was never a factor after that--winding up 11th. "We had so many problems," said Tag. "I got hit by Paul (Tracy) at the start and bent the toe link. Then the gearbox broke a couple gears and the radio quit working. We had good speed in the car, but it's tough when you don't have the car to compete. "I loved coming back to Montreal, but it just didn't work out for us." Much was also made about the difference in lap times between CART and F1 but, when put into perspective, it was pretty similar. Prior to F1's tire war, Michael Schumacher won the pole here in 1999 with a lap of 1:19.288 and followed it up with 1:18.434 a year later. Cristiano da Matta's pole-winning lap was better than Schuey's '99 effort and about a second slower than 2000. "Don't forget, our cars weigh 400-500 pounds more than an F1 car," added Franchitti. "I think if we'd run our '99 spec cars here, our softer tires and had 1,000 horsepower like we did then, we'd have made some of those F1 people pretty embarrassed." Judging by the reaction of the fans, F1 was a fleeting memory on Sunday afternoon. "We can't buy a paddock pass to the F1 race and the tickets are outrageous compared to CART," said one local fan sporting a Carpentier hat. "I was able to bring my friend and take photos with the drivers right next to their cars all weekend. I may not go back to the F1 race. "I just can't believe Bernie (Ecclestone) allowed CART to come up here and race on the same track. It made him look bad." CART may never draw the 300,000 that F1 does in this town, but it's obvious there is certainly a place for Champ Cars in Montreal. "I love the way the Canadian races are framed because each event is very special," said Kenny Brack. "I think we all like being here." Franchitti enjoyed the response he got from the crowd during his cool-off lap that he decided to savor the moment. "I slowed down and took the car out of gear so I could hear the crowd," he laughed. "It was pretty neat."
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