Anyone been to the Montreal F1 race?

[echelon_john]

Thinking about going this June; looking for tips on which grandstands to sit in, both in terms of live action and view of video screens.

Anybody have firsthand experience/tips to share?

Thanks,
JC

[SteveP]

not really but some of my cronies have gone up there a bunch of times and had a blast.

montreal a great city... have not been there for a car race though.

[XJBaylor]

Thinking about going this June; looking for tips on which grandstands to sit in, both in terms of live action and view of video screens.

Anybody have firsthand experience/tips to share?

Thanks,
JC

I have been, but was lucky enough to sit in one of the Ferrari hospitality tents. I did attend the first practice day in the start/finish grandstands and was very disappointed. Based on walking around the track, and our view from the tents, I would probably recommend GS 11 if you want to pay for it. The sun will be at your back and you will get to see the cars entering turn 1, which is typically the most exciting part of an F1 race. You will also be able to see cars exiting pit lane, which is often an important moment in the race. I don't remember much about the video boards unfortunately.

Enjoy the walk after the race. If I remember correctly we walked from turn one to the Concorde bridge on the track surface, and then walked across the bridge until the road turned back South. There we caught an astronomically priced cab back into the city. I am pretty sure I bought a dozen bottles of water from the street vendors there to survive the trek across the bridge, which I estimate (from memory) at 16 miles.

[ron l edmiston]

--- been numerous times when sponsoring JP team lotus..
definitely U need to go if you enjoy f1, semi-french city along with great food/wine..
one of my favorite f1 venues..

ronnie

[Tristan]

If you've never seen an F1 car on-track in real life - do it: Cornering speeds are like nothing your brain can comprehend.

F1 cars are loud: when there is one car on the track it's uncomfortably loud - when the race is on it's painful. Take really good ear protectors - or better yet buy the ear protector / fm radio units which are sold at the track. These let you watch the race and listen to commentary at the same time.

[sk_tle]

I saw a few F1 races in person.

I must say I was always deceived. You end up watching the race from a giant screen ike you would do on TV but without the comfort. Seeing it in person gives you a good insight of the sound (gear changes sounds like mortars for example), cornering speed and massive braking but half an hour is enough. Watching a free practice is nicer, because there is less people around the track and it is cheaper.

Support races with controlled equipment on sunday morning are always much more enjoyable than the actual F1 race.

[sk_tle]

By the way, I always preferred watching hillclimb races than F1. I make sure I go see one or two each year.

[Mike Mcdermid]

Ended up in Toronto myself far more interesting...for the record i don't understand why anyone would want to sit in a stand and watch a car go past 60-70 times

you guys have oval racing ,sure a car might go past a stand 500 times but at least you have a good chance of seeing a big bang and some actual overtaking

[al415]

I went in 07. If I remember correctly, we stayed at a Holiday Inn in the downtown; not exactly boutique but clean and central. My seats were at turn one (I don't remember the name of the stand itself) it was a great spot. I've posted what might just be the worst picture ever to be uploaded to V-salon: I took it with my Blackberry on the first lap.

I enjoyed my long weekend in Montreal, it's an easy city to navigate on foot and if you've driven in the north eastern United States you'll wonder where all the traffic is.

image.jpg

[72gmc]

I've only seen Indy and Winston Cup cars on road courses but I agree with sk_tle, practice is more fun to watch.

I had a lot more fun watching flat track motorcycle races. Everybody gets dirt in their teeth.

[lala]

I've been to a few F1 races in the UK and in Europe. It is a fantastic experience not not to be missed. I believe that attending a f1 race should be on most petrol head's bucket list.
The noise and smell is incredible, the race setup is out of this world and you will never appreciate the speed and tech of f1 until you see it in person...

However, if you really want to watch a race and to have a clue to what is going on, then you are better off watching it on TV.


Go, but expect an experience and then go home to watch it on TV to understand how the race unfolded.