Legends of Motorsports: great event, low turnoutAficionados loved it. The vintage and historic racing cars were fabulous. Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani and Claude Bourbonnais signed autographs and answered questions in highly appreciated fan forum interview sessions. Fans also saw Jacques in action, driving Lawrence Stroll’s ultra rare McLaren F1 GTR. They also admired Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari 312-T5, Mario Andretti’s 1976 Lotus, Stirling Moss’s 1953 Maserati F250, the striking five-time Le Mans-winning Audi R8 and many more outstanding vintage and historic racing machines. Race car owners and crews had only glowing words for Le Circuit, the surroundings, the organization, the town and the warmth of their reception. Montreal, regional and the auto.com media covered it fairly extensively. If those were the only yardsticks of success, Bobby Rahal’s Legends of Motorsports weekend last month was a great event. But the one remaining ingredient that would have made it a resounding success – a large spectator crowd – was lacking. Only a few thousand attended. “Difficult to explain,” said René Fagnan, journalist with the widely popular website auto123.com. “Most of the fans were in their 50s,” he says, adding that “younger people may not fully appreciate the show.”
Still, Rena Shanaman, Legends of Motorsports Communications vice-president, said although a larger crowd would have been gratifying, the organization was satisfied with the enthusiasm generated by the event. She added that the series will be back in 2011 for the second year of a three-year contract. After all, it was an inaugural event and it will take time to attain full spectator potential.
What is full spectator potential? Similar events south of the border attract tens of thousands of spectators and hundreds of thousands at venerable racetracks such as Road America in Wisconsin and Sonoma in California. But even without the large crowds, the economic fallout was substantial. The 250 race participants – car owners, crews, officials – contributed considerable sums to the local economy, in Mont-Tremblant’s hotels and restaurants. Marc Cantin, well-known Québec motor racing journalist, says many of the well-heeled owners of the 79 cars participating each spent up to $50,000 over the weekend for the pleasure of racing their cars on Le Circuit.
André Courey, journalist | 
