No Street Racing in Montreal?

If Montreal's mayor-elect has anything to say about it, when Formula E returns to the city in July 2018 it won't be on public streets.

Mayor-elect Valérie Plante said at a press conference on Tuesday that the race will go on, and the city will honor their contract to host the Electric Grand Prix series - or ePrix- for the next 2 years, but she'd preferred the event be moved to the nearby Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve race venue.

On paper this makes sense.

Montreal is fortunate enough to have a Grand Prix track already built right into the city. How great is that? Here in Boston, a facility like that likely would have bulldozed years ago to build condos and office buildings.

Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve has been home to the Canadian Grand Prix since the late 70's and - as racing venues go - is quite scenic and well maintained. The Track, built on a the man-made Notre Dame Island, serves as popular recreational spot for joggers, canoers and bikers – a seemingly perfect spot for a 'quiet' environmentally-responsible race series.

So why not utilize it?

This is a question that Plante was asking long before her November 5th election victory.

Since early 2017, the Projet Montreal party leader and mayoral candidate made it clear that moving Formula E out of the downtown area would be a major item on her 'to do list' should she become mayor.

And, since she's talking publicly about Formula E two days after the election, it's clear she's not going back on her campaign promise.

Besides the obvious disruption that building a racetrack in a major metropolitan city brings, Plante also takes issue with the contract agreements made by outgoing mayor Denis Coderre with Formula E organizers. The agreement to host the series in 2017 cost taxpayers an estimated 24-million dollars, while other cities such as Paris and New York didn't pay anything to host the event according to interviews by Radio-Canada that were cited in a CBC News report.

"The Paris ePrix is an event that is entirely taken care of by its organizers and by sponsorship, and that includes the renovation of the pavement [where the race will take place]," city spokesperson Matthieu Lamarre told Radio-Canada.

"The city is not granting any subsidy to the Formula E, but we are very pleased to be a partner. It's an exciting event," said Anthony Hogrebe, a spokesperson for the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

It probably didn't help Coderre's re-election bid when, just days before the election, the non-profit organization that oversaw the Montreal ePrix revealed that only 25,000 of the 45,000 event attendees actually paid for their tickets, while an additional 20,000 tickets were handed out for free.

The revelation boosted Valérie Plante's argument for moving the Formula E series to a more cost effective, less intrusive venue slightly farther from the downtown.

Coderre acknowledged that he should have released those numbers a bit sooner – an issue that dogged his campaign, but, he also pointed out that in the end 45,000 people still came into the city to attend the event. His belief is that 2018 will see even more attendees.

Despite Coderre's attempts to put a positive spin on the situation, critics believe the entire event was badly planned and ended up hurting local businesses, a suggestion that was disputed for weeks leading up to the event.

Formula E's Mission.

There are a few reasons why the Formula E series prefers short, custom built tracks in the heart of the city.

First off, short tracks with numerous tight corners are the perfect setting to race a lightweight all-electric car. Such tracks not only highlight the vehicle's ability to corner, but also the brisk acceleration inherent with EV cars.

But mostly, the goal of Formula E is to put the cars and the race itself, on display in heart of the city where people who may never venture to a race track, or even have an interest in motorsports, will see and hopefully experience this new form of racing that's packed with futuristic technology and an environmentally-responsible message. All this, and it's only a short train or shuttle ride from one's home, office or hotel.

Two sides to every story

This is where the conflict sits at the moment: on one side you have an organization on a mission to develop and promote an environmentally responsible form of racing, not only to highlight the technology itself, but to ensure that racing will have a place in the not too distant future. It's their belief that to do this, these races need to be front and center in a space where they can attract new race fans.

On the other side you have new Mayor who has vowed to do what she feels is necessary to bring some financial and environmental responsibility to the City of Montreal.

Plante has made it clear, her mission is not to abandon the race series, but to host it in a way that makes financial sense for her city.

The interesting side-story here is Valérie Plante's own party, 'Projet Montréal', was established by environmentalists in 2004 with a focus of promoting sustainability & environmental responsibility in government. Plante's platform for the 2017 election was built directly on these principles.

So, one would hope someone from this background will respect and understand Formula E's mission and work on some sort of an agreement.

Myself, I fully agree with Formula E's philosophy, but I still tend to lean toward the new mayor's side of the argument, at least at the moment. With Circuit Gilles Villeneuve only 10 miles or so away from the downtown Formula E race site, it does seem a bit wasteful to spend time, energy and money on building a custom track each year in the heart of the city. Plus, the more events hosted at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve means the track stays relevant - in other words, stays in business. Frankly, I'm amazed it hasn't been replaced yet by luxury apartment towers 'with a view of Montreal.

Still, with long delayed plans for a 48-million dollar update to the track facilities set to begin in June 2018, there's a question about the track itself being ready in time to host the July 2018 Formula E finale.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out with so many moving parts, from contracts to construction logistics, to be organized.

With the countdown to the start of the next season of Formula E already begun, we'll be keeping a close eye the situation.

#FormulaE #Montreal #Eprix #ValeriePlante #CircuitGillesVilleneuve #F #FE