Grapevine: CART Says Not in Battle with F1 in Montreal

The home of the Canadian Grand Prix auto race gears up for its first-ever CART event in August, but organizers insisted on Wednesday the goal isn't to compete with Formula One, even though the Indy car race will be held on the same Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

For years, auto racing fans have wondered which openwheeled racer, the Championship Auto Racing Teams' turbocharged cars or the high-revving Formula One beast, would fly fastest down the same track.

For the first time, they might get an answer as CART engines roar around Montreal's island circuit in the St. Lawrence river in August, some ten weeks after the F1 machines left town following the June 9 Grand Prix.

Formula One drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and local hero Jacques Villeneuve, who have both won championship titles in CART racing, said in Montreal ten days ago that the new race would make it very interesting to compare lap times and speeds.

But race organizers were quick to dismiss comparisons.

"We certainly won't be faster. It will be competitive, but you have to recognise that Formula One is a class of its own in the world," said Championship Auto Racing Teams' chief executive Christopher Pook. "We're not attempting to compete with Formula One at all."

While Formula One cars frequently reach speeds of 330 km/h (205 mph), the Champ car, wider, longer and heavier, is said to be capable of 400 km/h (250 mph) on "super speedway" ovals.

The CART series prides itself on fan proximity and puts the emphasis on driver ability since there is less of a technological gap between teams, the exact opposite of Formula One where wealthy teams such as Ferrari are said to hold an almost unshakable advantage over smaller teams.

The 2002 CART season consists of 20 races in seven countries and races are held on four types of venues: super speedways, short ovals, permanent road courses and temporary street circuits, such as downtown Toronto and Vancouver.

But while F1 drivers stop into the pits only once or twice a race in Montreal, CART drivers will have three mandatory pit stops, said Jean-Paul Blais, race organiser and president of Molson Indy Montreal.

Otherwise, the circuit will stay unchanged and the drivers should probably race for 80 laps, he said.

Blais also said he hopes to attract between 150,000 to 200,000 people for the Aug. 23-25 weekend, compared with the 326,000 fans the Canadian Grand Prix drew to the circuit this year.

"It's a great marketing opportunity," said CART's Pook, who added the event would try to bring in fans from the northeastern United States as well as Quebec.