Gone, but not for good
Toronto has officially lost the 2008 Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto for 2008, however there is optimism that the race will return next season.
The race, which has been a yearly tradition in the city since 1986, was originally called the Molson Indy before a name change two seasons ago was followed by a change in sponsorship. But it isn't that sponsorship that has lead to the races' demise.
With the Indy Racing League and Champ Car having merged in late February of this year, both the Toronto and Mont-Tremblant races have been cancelled. The reason: with both schedules merging there wasn't enough time in the season for the two Canadian races.
The loss in Toronto means that the city loses an estimated $50 million in direct tourism revenue and even more when you consider there will be none of the additional advertising in the US attracting Americans north.
But despite the money it's also a loss in the sense that the city has become accustomed to having that one weekend each and every summer dedicated to racing and hoping that a Canadian, recently either Patrick Carpentier or hometown Paul Tracy, would finish on the podium.
But to add insult to injury, though the Quebec and Ontario races have been cancelled the organizers are still pushing to keep the Edmonton race on the schedule.
Yes, Torontonians complain about the noise from the races, which can be heard kilometres away, the road closures and re-routing, the surplus of unruly American interlopers in the downtown core, but at the same time they've adapted to accommodate it, if only for that one weekend a year.
But there is a sliver of light in that because the Toronto event is one of the most popular, and has one of the highest attendance rates in the old Champ Car circuit, the chances that the race will return in 2009 are relatively high.
So it's perhaps not as much of a cancellation than a temporary hiatus - or at least that's what Tourism Toronto is hoping is the case.
The race, which has been a yearly tradition in the city since 1986, was originally called the Molson Indy before a name change two seasons ago was followed by a change in sponsorship. But it isn't that sponsorship that has lead to the races' demise.
With the Indy Racing League and Champ Car having merged in late February of this year, both the Toronto and Mont-Tremblant races have been cancelled. The reason: with both schedules merging there wasn't enough time in the season for the two Canadian races.
The loss in Toronto means that the city loses an estimated $50 million in direct tourism revenue and even more when you consider there will be none of the additional advertising in the US attracting Americans north.
But despite the money it's also a loss in the sense that the city has become accustomed to having that one weekend each and every summer dedicated to racing and hoping that a Canadian, recently either Patrick Carpentier or hometown Paul Tracy, would finish on the podium.
But to add insult to injury, though the Quebec and Ontario races have been cancelled the organizers are still pushing to keep the Edmonton race on the schedule.
Yes, Torontonians complain about the noise from the races, which can be heard kilometres away, the road closures and re-routing, the surplus of unruly American interlopers in the downtown core, but at the same time they've adapted to accommodate it, if only for that one weekend a year.
But there is a sliver of light in that because the Toronto event is one of the most popular, and has one of the highest attendance rates in the old Champ Car circuit, the chances that the race will return in 2009 are relatively high.
So it's perhaps not as much of a cancellation than a temporary hiatus - or at least that's what Tourism Toronto is hoping is the case.
