Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Parc des Iles de Montreal, Montreal, QC, H3C 1A9
Named after legendary Formula One racecar driver and local Quebec icon Gilles Villeneuve, the Circuit Villeneuve is the site of the annual Canadian Grand Prix, and the only Canadian stop on the F1 circuit.
Category:
Recreation Location
Where:
| Getting There | | Metro Jean Drapeau, 167 bus. |
Profile Last Updated: March 13, 2008
History
Named after Formula One racecar driver and local Quebec icon Gilles Villeneuve, the Circuit Villeneuve is the site of the annual Canadian Grand Prix, and the only Canadian stop on the F1 circuit. Inaugurated in 1978, after the Mont-Tremblant circuit was deemed too dangerous, the Île Notre-Dame Track (as it was then called) was built by connecting the various roads that made up Île Notre-Dame into a racetrack. To the delight of Montreal F1 race fans, Gilles Villeneuve won his first race that year while driving for Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix. He went on to win another five races during his career, but was tragically killed in 1982 during a qualifying lap at the Belgian Grand Prix. Only a few weeks later the Île Notre-Dame Track was renamed the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in honour of Quebec's most famous, and Canada's first-ever, F1 driver.
Summertime Fun
Although closed off during special events, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve remains open during the summer and fall for cyclists and inline skaters. Connected to Île Ste-Helene and the Lachine Canal bike path, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame is the perfect place to spend a warm summer's day of cycling or inline skating.
Named after Formula One racecar driver and local Quebec icon Gilles Villeneuve, the Circuit Villeneuve is the site of the annual Canadian Grand Prix, and the only Canadian stop on the F1 circuit. Inaugurated in 1978, after the Mont-Tremblant circuit was deemed too dangerous, the Île Notre-Dame Track (as it was then called) was built by connecting the various roads that made up Île Notre-Dame into a racetrack. To the delight of Montreal F1 race fans, Gilles Villeneuve won his first race that year while driving for Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix. He went on to win another five races during his career, but was tragically killed in 1982 during a qualifying lap at the Belgian Grand Prix. Only a few weeks later the Île Notre-Dame Track was renamed the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in honour of Quebec's most famous, and Canada's first-ever, F1 driver.
Summertime Fun
Although closed off during special events, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve remains open during the summer and fall for cyclists and inline skaters. Connected to Île Ste-Helene and the Lachine Canal bike path, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame is the perfect place to spend a warm summer's day of cycling or inline skating.
Details
By bike or rollerblades: from the Lachine Canal bike path, follow the signs for Cité du Havre and then for Île Notre-Dame.
