I'll book something this week ~ and get race tickets too ..

• Any recommend hotels? I have seen where the prices jump for that weekend.
• Which seats did you choose? I'm thinking of the start/finish grandstands ..
• Any places that MINI enthusiasts are going to gather?
• The sub-way system is best for getting to / from the race?
• Is there much going on at the track before / after practice & qualifying? Support races?

I've spent some time in Montreal on business during the 90s ...

 

Here's to hoping the lack of driver aids will actually even out the field some. Not that I'm really all that hopeful, since, as was mentioned before, the big teams will just spend the money elsewhere. On the other hand, the man who was very close to winning the championship has been off twice in testing. If I recall correctly, the last time they eliminated driver aids, it was a pretty crashy season. Senna and Ratzenberger died. Maybe they will divert the funds to driver safety.


On yet another hand, maybe the driver shakeup will do enough balancing of the available talent to make it a more competitive season than it otherwise would have been. Hamilton's no slouch, Alonso is at Renault, Ferrari kept its drivers for good reason, BMW seems like they have figured out their reliability problems, maybe Toyota and Honda can do the same, just to make it really interesting.

 

We're staying downtown. Here's a link to the area courtesy of google maps with hotels shown. It's most important that you are near a Metro stop. Check your hotel on tripadvisor.com. It's never steered me wrong.

We're in stand 34. The start finish grandstands would be nice, especially if you can see the pits but they are twice as expensive.

Don't know. Maybe there's a Montreal MINI club that would know.

Absolutely.

Don't know. We've never been to the race before. Actually, none of us have been to Montreal before. My wife and I are going for a week so we'll have time to see the city before the race weekend starts. Actually, the time we are there before the race is the Montreal Beer Festival!

 

Thanks

 

One thing to remember about Alonso.....it has been a very long time since he has driven a race car with little or no drivers aids. Hamilton only raced a single season with the aids. Give the advantage to Hamilton for this season.

 

And yet, it was Hamilton that put his car off the track at Jerez.... TWICE. Alonso was right up in the top few.

 

As did Freddy in another race.

Hamilton isn't allowed some rookie mistakes?

 

Hamilton's not a rookie anymore.

Seriously though... I'm sure between now and Australia we'll see plenty of antics from every driver!

 

I'm not talking about a race. I'm talking about practice and testing that was just held at Jerez with the new 08 cars.

 

Eh, he may be green, and may have had an off day. He was also 2nd fastest on the same day he had 2 offs, so he was probably pushing the car. Plus, he has won more F1 races than most people who have sat in an F1 car. One of those races was in the wet. In the same race, Alonso slid off the track, blaming aquaplaning. Aquaplaning is a way of saying you were going too fast for conditions. Everyone has off days, everyone has excuses. I'd be surprised if Hamilton did not at least contend for the championship.

 

The original reply was for post #55, claiming Hamilton would have the advantage with the new cars without the driver aids. Of the top runners at winter practice, he's the only one to park it in the gravel.... twice.

Certainly in the course of the season, this will happen to probably every driver in the field.

 

I completed all the up front acquisition / reservation stuff for the Canadian GP this June!
Went for the #2 grandstand - seats on the front row!
I'm taking my #2 son there for his HS graduation present. We've been following F1 together for 10 years. He has never been to a race ~ my last one was Long Beach in 79 .... time flies

Like most (if not all) of you, I'm hoping for a much more balanced competition this season ~ with several teams fighting for every podium spots. I guess my MINI connection will have me cheering for BMW - my son has always been a McLaren fan.

Brian

 

It's going to be a great season . . .

BTW . . . anyone out there reliving their childhood as I am on PS3?

I'm not that consistent on F1 Championship Edition yet . . . only using the PS controller at the moment.

I haven't yet shelved all of my adult responsibilities . . . but if you're online let me know! We could take out some of our mid season squabbles on the track! LOL

 

Re: Montreal GP

The Subway is the only way to get to the track (unless you have a helicopter like the drivers/team principals) , be prepared for a very long walk from the station to your seats, depending on where they are it could be up to 2 miles! Crowds will be monstrous, it could be very hot so drink plenty of liquids, and have a great time, it sounds like the event of a lifetime for both of you!

 

I had EA's F1 2001 game for my PC and it frustrated the bejeezus out of me. I think it was partly due to my controller, but I just couldn't be an adult with a toy steering wheel attached to my computer desk! It was great for learning the tracks, though. I could recognize the different corners on TV just like David Hobbs.

 

Because I also autocross, it's impossible for me to find any fun in a computer sim racing game. I do play Warbirds on the box though.

 

LOL. I was wondering if I should be admitting my looming addiction!

BTW, I know what you mean about the PC version . . . I used to try and race a good friend of mine on that version . . . he had two PC's with two steering wheel setups . . . all we needed was a cooler full of PBR. Anyway, that was a tough one, no doubt! Dialing in any grip at Imola was next to impossible.

 

I track my car just about every month. I also am in a Grand Prix Legends on-line league. To the contrary, I find GPL a great tool to keep the old reflexes sharp between track events.

Alan

 

I am! Haven't connected to the net yet but I will this weekend.

 

WooHoo!

Bring it!

When you get signed up let me know!

 

Good point. I think that if you try to stay honest and approach it as a simulator more than a "video" game you really gain something, however minor.

Oddly I do think it's helping me a better driver around town . . . even within the speed limit

 

Does anyone have a schedule of practice/quali/race dates and what I really need, what time SpeedTV is playing them? The crappy Speed website won't let you view all of the scheduled times anymore. Last year, it was cut and paste everything so i could print it out. Than, I could say "Don't bother me on these days during these times. And no, the volume will not be turned down as per your request"

 

Race-day programming, as printed in this week's Autoweek (times Eastern):

3/15, Australia, midnight
3/23, Malaysia, 2:30 a.m.
4/6, Bahrain, 7 a.m.
4/27, Spain, 7:30 a.m.
5/11, Turkey, 7:30 a.m.
5/25, Monaco, 7:30 a.m.
6/8, Canada, TBD (Fox)
6/22, France, TBD (Fox)
7/6, England, TBD (Fox)
7/20, Germany, TBD (Fox)
8/3, Hungary, 7:30 a.m.
9/7, Belgium, 7:30 a.m.
9/14, Italy, 7:30 a.m.
9/28, Singapore, 7:30 a.m.
10/11, Japan, midnight
10/18, China, 2:30 a.m.
11/2, Brazil, 11:30 a.m.

 

If you go to formula1.com and click on calendar, you can view the times in your time zone for practice, quali and the race.

 

Ah crap! FOX is getting 4 in a row.....God I hate those guy's.