Circuit Mont-Tremblant

Circuit Mont-Tremblant is a Template:Cvt race circuit located approximately Template:Cvt north of Montreal, Quebec, in the city of Mont-Tremblant, Canada. It is the second-oldest existing race track in Canada, and was originally known as Circuit Mont-Tremblant-St-Jovite until it was renamed in the 1970s. Set in the shadow of the Mont-Tremblant ski hill, the twisting fifteen-corner track uses the natural topography and elevation of the land.

History

The idea was conceived by local business and hoteliers to boost tourism during the slower spring and summer periods to the levels they enjoyed during winter’s peak ski season.

Legendary race driver Bruce McLaren is creditedTemplate:By whom as a contributor to the design of the track which was completed in two sections; the original Template:Cvt circuit was opened in 1964 and was extended to Template:Cvt the following year.

File:Mont-Tremblant Control Tower.JPG

The Control Tower and start-finish straight, looking west against the flow of the circuit, towards the Namerow corner.

The 1960s – 1970s

The first race was held August 3, 1964 on the original twelve-turn Template:Cvt circuit and won by Ludwig Heimrath driving a Cooper-Ford. The completion of the bridge, media/officials complex and the pit stalls were ready just prior to the next race that September featuring sports cars and prototypes. Pedro Rodríguez driving Luigi Chinetti’s (N.A.R.T.) Ferrari 330 P would go on to win that race.

The Player’s Quebec Sports Car race in September 1965 would be the first event on the newly-expanded Template:Cvt track and was won by John Surtees driving a Lola T-70.

On September 11, 1966 the track debuted the inaugural Canadian-American (Can-Am) Challenge Cup Series Race. John Surtees would win this event, followed by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon.

The following summer, on 6 August 1967, Mario Andretti would win both races of the twin 100-mile double header U.S.A.C. Indy Car event ahead of A.J. Foyt. A year later, Andretti would the repeat the same achievement, this time beating out Bobby Unser.

Circuit Mont-Tremblant hosted the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on two occasions, in 1968 and 1970. Jochen Rindt started the 1968 race from pole position, but Denny Hulme went on to win. The second race marked the debut of the Tyrrell Racing team as a constructor. Jackie Stewart set the pole time and a new track record in the new Tyrrell 001. The Ferraris of Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni would finish 1st and 2nd ahead of Chris Amon in 3rd.

Throughout the late 1960’s and 70’s many of North America’s other top tier race championships such as Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000 and Formula Atlantic made their championship stops to the track. Many now famous drivers such as Denny Hulme, Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Jackie Stewart, Bobby Rahal, Chris Amon, Mark Donohue, Roger Penske, Parnelli Jones, Al and Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock, Alan Jones, Peter Revson, John Cannon, Elliot Forbes-Robinson, George Follmer and Gilles Villeneuve all competed at Circuit Mont-Tremblant during these years.

The 1980s – 1990s

Strong National Series such as the Rothmans Porsche (Turbo) Cup, the Players GM Challenge Series, the Honda-Michelin Series, Export A Formula 2000 and the Canadian Formula 1600 series would be predominant throughout the mid-1980s and 1990s, giving rise to some of Canada's most prominent and recognized racing drivers, including Paul Tracy, Scott Goodyear, Ron Fellows, Greg Moore, Claude Bourbonnais, Richard Spenard, Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani.

The Jim Russell Racing School

The circuit is also home to the well-known Jim Russell Racing Driver School (est. 1969) which is notable for graduating Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Villeneuve, and more recently, F1 drivers Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi.

A CIK-FIA rated karting facility was added in 2010 to complement the Jim Russell Racing School's development of young drivers, and has played host to the Canadian nationals.

The 2000s – present

New ownership has concentrated on updating the facility to improved FIA standards by repaving and widening the track, expanding the pit lane, and creating greater run-off areas, while attempting to preserve the character of the original layout. These updates have permitted the return of racing series like Grand Am (formerly Can-Am) and Indy car along with Superbikes and Historic Racing. The historic reputation of the race track and Mont-Tremblant’s appeal as a tourist destination keeps the track in constant demand amongst driving clubs, corporate events and major automotive manufacturers for car launches and driving programs such as Ferrari’s Corso Pilota, Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, McLaren, Volvo, and BMW among others. On July 21, 2022 the track complex was purchased by 11938053 Canada Inc.,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a company owned by Montreal businessman Gad Bitton of Holand Automotive Group.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Events

Current

• May: VARAC Vintage Racing Spring Classic
• July: VARAC Vintage Racing Summer Classic
• September: VARAC Vintage Racing Fall Classic

Former

• Atlantic Championship (1975–1976, 2007–2008)
• Can-Am
  • Mont-Tremblant Can-Am (1966, 1969–1971, 1977–1978)
• Canadian Superbike Championship (2003–2004, 2006–2007, 2012–2013)
• Canadian Touring Car Championship (2012–2013)
• Champ Car World Series
  • Mont-Tremblant Champ Car Grand Prix (2007)
• Formula One
  • Canadian Grand Prix (1968, 1970)
• Grand-Am Cup (1998, 2002–2004)
• IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Canada (2012, 2019)
• Rolex Sports Car Series
  • 6 Hours of Mont-Tremblant (2002–2005)
• SCCA Continental Championship (1967, 1969–1970)
• Trans-Am Series
  • Trois Heures du Circuit (1968–1971, 1977–1978)
• USAC Championship Car
  • Saint-Jovite 200 (1967–1968)
• United States Road Racing Championship (1968)

Former series and major race winners

FIA Formula One World Championship

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Year	Race	Driver	Constructor	Report
1968	Player's Canadian Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	Report
1970		Template:Flagicon Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	Report

Champ Car World Series

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Year	Race	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Report
2007	Mont-Tremblant Champ Car Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Robert Doornbos	Minardi Team USA	Panoz DP01	Cosworth	Report

USAC Championship Car (IndyCar)

Year	Race	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
1967	Labatt Indy	Template:Flagicon Mario Andretti	Dean Racing Enterprises	Brawner Hawk	Ford
1968	Saint-Jovite 200	Template:Flagicon Mario Andretti	Andretti Racing Enterprises	Brawner Hawk	Ford

SCCA Can-Am Series

Year	Date	Race	Driver	Team
1966	Sept 11	Player's 200	Template:Flagicon John Surtees	Template:Flagicon #3 Team Surtees
1969	June 15	Labatt's 50	Template:Flagicon Denny Hulme	Template:Flagicon #5 McLaren Cars
1970	June 28	Mont-Tremblant 50	Template:Flagicon Dan Gurney	Template:Flagicon #48 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing
1971	June 27	Mont-Tremblant 50	Template:Flagicon Jackie Stewart	Template:Flagicon #1 Carl Haas Racing
1977	June 12		Template:Flagicon Tom Klausler	Template:Flagicon Schkee Cars
1978	June 25		Template:Flagicon George Follmer	Template:Flagicon U.S. Racing

SCCA Trans-Am Series

Year	Date	Race	Drivers	Car	Distance/Duration
1968	July 21	Les Trois Heures du Circuit	Template:Flagicon Mark Donohue	Chevrolet Camaro	3 Hours / 96 Laps Template:Convert	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1969	Aug 3	Les Trois Heures du Circuit	Template:Flagicon Mark Donohue	Chevrolet Camaro	3 Hours / 97 Laps Template:Convert	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1970	Aug 2	Le Circuit Trans-Am	Template:Flagicon Mark Donohue	AMC Javelin	70 Laps Template:Convert	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1970	Aug 2	Le Circuit Trans-Am	Template:Flagicon Mark Donohue	AMC Javelin	70 Laps Template:Convert	<ref name="trans-amseries" />
1971	Aug 1	Player's Quebec Trans-Am	Template:Flagicon Mark Donohue	AMC Javelin	70 Laps Template:Convert	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1977	Sept 11	Molson Trans-Am	Template:Flagicon Peter Gregg	Porsche 934	38 Laps Template:Convert	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1978	June 25	Molson Trans-Am	Template:Flagicon Monte Shelton	Porsche 935	38 Laps Template:Convert	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

SCCA United States Road Racing Championship

Year	Date	Race	Over 2.0 Winning Driver	Over 2.0 Winning Team	Under 2.0 Winning Driver	Under 2.0 Winning Team
1968	June 2	Championnat Nord-Americain	Template:Flagicon Mark Donohue	#6 Roger Penske Racing	Template:Flagicon Horst Kroll	#37 Altona Motors	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

SCCA Formula 5000

Year	Date	Race	Driver	Chassis	Engine
1967	Sept 17	St Jovite Grand Prix	Template:Flagicon Fred Ashplant	Brabham BT21	Ford	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1969	Sept 7	Le Circuit Continental	Template:Flagicon David Hobbs	Surtees TS5	Chevrolet	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1970	Aug 1	Le Circuit Continental	Template:Flagicon George Follmer	Lotus 70	Ford	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Atlantic Championship

Year	Date	Driver
1975	July 6	Template:Flagicon Elliott Forbes-Robinson	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1976	July 11	Template:Flagicon Gilles Villeneuve	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	July 1	Template:Flagicon Franck Perera	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2008	June 29	Template:Flagicon Junior Strous	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Grand American Road Racing Championship

Year	Date	Race	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
2002	Sept 15	6 Heures du Circuit Mont-Tremblant	Template:Flagicon Didier Theys Template:Flagicon Fredy Lienhard Sr. Template:Flagicon Fredy Lienhard Jr.	Template:Flagicon #27 Doran Lista Racing	Dallara LMP	Judd	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2003	Sept 21		Template:Flagicon David Donohue Template:Flagicon Mike Borkowski Template:FlagiconSascha Maassen	Template:Flagicon #58 Brumos Racing	Fabcar FDSC/03	Porsche	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2004	May 23		Template:Flagicon Scott Pruett Template:Flagicon Max Papis	Template:Flagicon #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates	Riley MkXI	Lexus	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2005	May 21		Template:Flagicon Milka Duno Template:Flagicon Andy Wallace Template:Flagicon Jan Lammers	Template:Flagicon #2 CITGO Howard-Boss Motorsports	Crawford DP03	Pontiac	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Canadian Superbike Championship

Year	Date	Driver	Motorcycle
2003	August 17	Template:Flagicon Tom Kipp	Kawasaki ZX-7RR	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2004	August 22	Template:Flagicon Jordan Szoke	Honda CBR1000RR	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006	June 4	Template:Flagicon Jordan Szoke	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	June 3	Template:Flagicon Jordan Szoke	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2012	August 12	Template:Flagicon Jordan Szoke	BMW S1000RR	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2013	August 25	Template:Flagicon Jordan Szoke	BMW S1000RR	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lap records

As of September 2019, the fastest official race lap records at Circuit Mont-Tremblant (St. Jovite) are listed as:

See also

• List of auto racing tracks in Canada
• Other Montreal area race tracks
  • Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
  • Circuit ICAR
  • Sanair Super Speedway

References

• The Chequered Past: Sports Car Racing and Rallying in Canada, 1951–1991 By David A. Charters

External links

• Official site