Montreal's future remains unclear

Friday 24th October 2008

The future of the Canadian Grand Prix continues to hang in the balance.

Bernie Ecclestone has met with Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay, Quebec economic development minister Raymond Bachand and federal minister of international trade Michael Fortier.

The trio of delegates are hoping to see the race reinstated after Formula One supremo Ecclestone axed it from the 2009 calendar.

Ecclestone had claimed that grand prix organisers owed him money dating back three years, an accusation vehemently denied by Paul Wilson, the vice-president of marketing.

Wilson insisted the matter centred around a commercial disagreement regarding their monetary obligations for 2008 only.

The dispute prompted a three-man delegation to seek showdown talks with Ecclestone in the hope of resolving the matter.

After a two-and-a-half-hour meeting in London with Ecclestone that was described as "positive" by Tremblay, the race has not been saved, but it is not dead in the water either.

"We have a better understanding of the issues," added Tremblay.

"We still have a lot of work to do, to evaluate all the options, but it is still possible to hold the grand prix in Montreal in 2009 and in subsequent years."

Tremblay has stated losing the race would be an "enormous" economic blow to Montreal as it generates �37million in tourism and spin-offs.

It is understood a close friend of Ecclestone, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, who is a Quebec native, could inject funds that would guarantee the race returning to next year's calendar.

Your Comments

hollanders

"FANS BE DAMNED.WHERE IS BRIATORE NOW? hE TALKS ABOUT THE SHOW & THE FANS, BUT HAVE WE HEARD A WORD ABOUT CANANDA? THE MANUFACTURES TALK 1 MINUTE & THATS IT. THEY SHOULD UNITE & LEAN ON BERNIE TO REINSTATE THE RACE. IF NOT BOYCOT THERE PRODUCTS!!!!!!!!!!"

superbvp72

"I totally understand Mr. Ecclestone. After all, the poor bugger is only number 136 on the Forbes Rich List, with a mere 4 billion dollars or so in the bank. About time he starts making some money !"

magna84

"The real surprise in this article is that the greedmeister actually has a close friend. Bernice will never allow another race in North America. They might, as you said, F_1FREAK_666, "actually race", on a track such as Montreal. And the NA fans might actually be able to attend a race without exhorbitant travel costs. Not all of us have track promoters paying us vast sums to attend races. So, as I have stated before, we can only hope Bernice will die soon, then maybe F-1 will be led by someone who will have the bests interests of the sport in mind."

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