Montreal Thursday

My dad is thinking of coming to the race this weekend, though he said he wouldn’t be able to attend until Sunday. They live in Ottawa which is approximately an hour and a half outside Montreal. He’s been to the race the last 4 years and isn’t particularly impressed with it. The reason being that he’s used to a Toronto event where everything is close and within walking distance and not 7 miles from each other like they are in Montreal. Remember, Montreal is made for formula One, where you sit in your grandstand seat and shut up and watch the race. For a series as open to the fans as the Champ Car World Series, it is difficult to convey in Montreal. Still, the fans come out and walk the miles it takes to get to the paddock from their seats and back. My dad isn’t as young as he used to be and the walking and the difficulty in getting to and from the track displease him. Nonetheless, he’s a race fan and can appreciate a good race when he sees one. My point is that I told my dad that if he IS coming, to make sure that he is sitting in his seat at 11am on Sunday to watch the Atlantic race, because it promises to be the most exciting race of the weekend. I know I have preached the Atlantics in the past, but I sometimes feel I don’t give them their proper props on this blog. I know I focus predominantly on the Champ Car World Series, just like a baseball blog would focus on the Majors and not necessarily the minors. It’s also difficult for the casual fan to be able to appreciate these kids, given that the races are on tape delay and naturally they don’t command the same attention as the big boys. But this season, more then any other I have seen in my life, this crop of Atlantic drivers is spectacular and with two races left, the finish promises to be as dramatic as anything. Everybody by now knows about Graham Rahal. The kid is phenomenal. He’s won 4 times this season and has 5 podiums. The kid is evidently getting a Newman/Haas test fairly soon and I suspect we may even see him drive in Mexico City, on his way to a full time ride next season. The attention is and should be on him given his name and record. But he’s not leading the championship, amazingly enough. But he’s only 16 points back from the leader, a young man named Simon Pagenaud. Simon Pagenaud came into the series this season an unknown. We don’t need to beat around the bush, nobody knew much about the kid. Sure, he finished runner up in the European World Series by Renault last season, but that accolade is on par with 90 percent of the other rookies this year in terms of where they came from. And let’s face it, Team Australia fielding two Atlantic drivers with one of them being Australian, who did we suspect the team would revolve around? He wasn’t even the most recognizable Frenchman in the series, as that honor went to Richard Philippe, for two reasons 1) being the younger brother of Nelson and 2) being the Formula BMW USA Champion in 2005. Yet with only 2 races left, ten rounds later, Pagenaud is the driver everybody is chasing and James Davison is being replaced this weekend in the number 5 car for Team Australia. Pagenaud is quietly confident, methodical and cerebral. He has all the qualities of his countryman Sebastian Bourdais. He’s very mature and two weeks ago in Denver was very happy to be on the podium despite the fact that the guy who won the race gained some points on him. It’s going to be dynamite watching these two drive this weekend and frankly, it’s anybody’s guess as to who leave for Road America with the points lead. Andreas Wirth is the only other driver mathematically in it and having won the first two races of the season, maybe he can close out the 2006 campaign by winning the last two races of the year, getting himself a championship and 2 million dollars towards a champ car ride in 2007. Whatever the outcome, I just hope my dad makes it in time for the standing start at 11am. He won’t regret it!

Montreal: Wednesday

Going into this race, we definitely have a championship battle, as AJ is just not letting Sebastian run away with the title. There is plenty of points left and plenty of opportunities for AJ (Or Wilson) to take over. But, at the end of the day, do we really believe Seabass is going to be dethroned? I’m not saying it can’t happen, but if you look at the finishes this year, Bourdais rarely finishes outside of the podium. What happened two weeks ago in Denver was an anomaly. An anomaly in the name of Paul Tracy. Come to think of it, both anomalies this season for Bourdais have come in the name of Paul Tracy. Cleveland was likely Paul’s mistake as he tried to split the two cars, and Denver was arguably Seabass’ mistake, if for anything else, because he shouldn’t have tried to pass and gone home with another Podium. My biggest disappointments with regards to those two incidents have fallen to the number 9 team. I know both Cleveland and Denver, Justin suffered mechanical breakdowns, certainly no fault of his own. But what if they wouldn’t have happened? What if Justin would have been (likely) on the podium in Cleveland and Denver? I know the perils of racing are difficult, but I can’t help but think that Justin isn’t supposed to win the championship this year, because his two biggest opportunities this year have resulted in failures. Meanwhile, AJ has captured both Denver and Cleveland wins. Not much more you can ask from your driver. Boy, what if AJ had started the year with Forsythe? What then? I mean, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter and you can argue all night. Its hindsight and its irrelevant. I’m just frustrated that Jwil has been unable to make the most of his opportunities. Nonetheless, we definitely have a championship battle, but for AJ and Jwil to seriously compete, we are going to need a few more anomalies with the number 1 car. Who knows, maybe Karma has something to say to Seabass for something he’s done in the past.

I’ve been meaning to write about what Paul Tracy has said about French people wearing helmet and try and help better understand my American friends why this is such a big deal in this country. It is an utterly harmless comment on its own. It’s even funny. But unfortunately, Canada is a very politically fragile climate, especially when it comes to French-English relations. When English Canadians have made comments that are seemingly derogatory towards the French in the past, they are lambasted and burnt at the stake in Quebec. The English people will sometimes take (especially those in the media) a politically correct stance and insist that comments towards the French are wrong, even though in their own minds they probably chuckle at whatever Don Cherry or some English-Canadian hockey player says towards the French. But the French are 100 percent offended by this. Even though Quebeckers have one of the best senses of humor around, they absolutely get offended when anything is said ‘about’ them by English Canadians. If Paul Tracy’s comments had come from AJ or Justin Wilson, it would have been a non-issue, because they aren’t English-Canadian. But the fact that it came from Paul, then it’s a whole different issue. That’s what the media will tell you anyway. Personally, I think the French media plays it up too much and that most Quebeckers are not offended by such a comment. But the Quebec media resembles that of the British, in terms of sensationalism and having a shock affect. To hear if from them, you’d think Paul Tracy will need extra security around him going into Montreal. He’ll be fine. His comments were harmless and 100 percent tongue and cheek. Quebeckers know that, even if the media doesn’t.
As a French Canadian raised in Ontario and making a livelihood in America, I’m not quite sure how to react. Actually, I know exactly how to react: I thought it was very funny and I’m thinking of bringing my helmet to the track (OH IF MY DARN CAMERA WAS FIXED!!!). Having said that, I have been the victim of numerous verbal attacks in my life, mostly by English Canadians who may not have known at the time they were in the presence of a French person (for some reason, I was born or developed zero French accent in my tongue) Frankly, its not always fun to hear those comments, especially the ignorant comments (which they practically all are). But I don’t pay attention to them because I can’t change who I am anyway, nor would I want too.

French-English issues have been prominent in this country since day one and the French Media are always looking for English Canadians to slip up, while Politicians all around the country do their best to also point out faulty comments, just so they don’t piss off the French. Personally, I like making fun of the French. I enjoy making fun of the English even more so, but the French are right up there too. ;)