Molson Indy Vancouver

Molson Indy Vancouver
IndyCar / CART / Champ Car
Location Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
49°16′34″N 123°6′24″W / 49.27611°N 123.10667°WCoordinates: 49°16′34″N 123°6′24″W / 49.27611°N 123.10667°W
Corporate sponsor Molson
First race 1990
Last race 2004
Most wins (driver) Al Unser, Jr. (4)
Most wins (team) Newman/Haas Racing (3)
Team Green (3)
Most wins (manufacturer) Lola (7)
Circuit information
Surface Asphalt/Concrete
Length 2.865 km (1.780 mi)
Turns 15

Molson Indy Vancouver was an annual Champ Car race held in a street circuit near BC Place and running past Science World (Vancouver) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada held in July or August from 1990 to 2004.

On September 2, 1990, the first race took place on the original circuit, which was won by Al Unser Jr. From 1998 a new circuit was created to the east of the old Pacific Place, where only a small part of the original circuit was used. The circuit was popular with drivers and often produced an entertaining race. However, from 2004, Vancouver was left off the Champ Car fixture list, and no race has taken place since.

Controversy and cancellation

For much of its time in Vancouver, the Molson Indy was a source of considerable local controversy, as local residents complained of the noise and disruption caused by this major event. As the lands of the former Expo 86 site were developed into the billion-dollar condominium development by Concord Pacific, debates raged over whether the Indy made Vancouver a "world-class city" or an "urban nightmare." Such debates were chronicled by Mark Douglas Lowes in his 2002 book, "Indy Dreams and Urban Nightmares: Speed Merchants, Spectacle, and the Struggle over Public Space in the World-Class City."[1]

The only official explanation for the cancellation came from an Associated Press article stating "Indy-car race in Vancouver canceled: The Molson Indy Vancouver race was canceled after 15 years. 'The bottom line is the business model couldn't work,' said Jo-Ann McArthur, president of sponsoring Molson Sports and Entertainment."[2]

CART/Champ Car race winners

Season Driver Chassis Engine Team Report
1990 United States Al Unser Jr. Lola Chevrolet Galles-KRACO Racing Report
1991 United States Michael Andretti Lola Chevrolet Newman/Haas Racing Report
1992 United States Michael Andretti Lola Cosworth-Ford Newman/Haas Racing Report
1993 United States Al Unser Jr. Lola Chevrolet Galles Racing Report
1994 United States Al Unser Jr. Penske Ilmor Marlboro Team Penske Report
1995 United States Al Unser Jr. Penske Mercedes-Ilmor Marlboro Team Penske Report
1996 United States Michael Andretti Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing Report
1997 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin Reynard Mercedes-Benz PacWest Racing Report
1998 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Reynard Honda Team KOOL Green Report
1999 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Reynard Honda Target Chip Ganassi Racing Report
2000 Canada Paul Tracy Reynard Honda Team KOOL Green Report
2001 Brazil Roberto Moreno Reynard Toyota Patrick Racing Report
2002 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Lola Honda Team KOOL Green Report
2003 Canada Paul Tracy Lola Ford-Cosworth Team Player's Report
2004 Canada Paul Tracy Lola Ford-Cosworth Forsythe Championship Racing Report

Indy Lights/Atlantic winners

Indy Lights
Season Winning Driver
1990 Italy Vinicio Salmi
1991 Not held
1992 United States Mark Smith
1993 United States Bryan Herta
1994 Brazil André Ribeiro
1995 Portugal Pedro Chaves
1996 Canada Claude Bourbonnais
1997 Brazil Cristiano da Matta
1998 Brazil Cristiano da Matta
1999 Not held
2000 New Zealand Scott Dixon
Atlantic Championship
Season Winning Driver
1990 Canada Claude Bourbonnais
1991 Canada Stéphane Proulx
1992 Canada Patrick Carpentier
1993 Canada Claude Bourbonnais
1994 Canada David Empringham
1995 Canada David Empringham
1996 Canada Patrick Carpentier
1997 United States Memo Gidley
1998 Canada Andrew Bordin
1999 United States Will Langhorne
2000 Not held
2001 United States Joey Hand
2002
2003
Not held
2004 United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel

Deaths

At the inaugural race in 1990, a track worker pushing a car on the racing circuit was struck by another car after accidentally getting caught in its path. The worker, Jean Patrick Hein, was slammed to the ground and run over after running in front of Willy T. Ribbs' car and colliding with Ribbs' rear tire.[3] Footage of the incident is included in the shock reality compilation Traces of Death.

References

  1. Lowes, Mark Douglas (2002). Indy Dreams and Urban Nightmares. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-8020-8498-9.
  2. "Molson ends Indy-car race in Vancouver". The Seattle Times. November 19, 2004. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  3. David Tremayne (2000-09-12). "Safety in F1 - an ever-moving target". grandprix.com. Retrieved 2008-04-09.