Канадский трек для автоспорта: История и современность

Motorsport track in Canada

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of Toronto. The facility features a 2.459 mile (4 km), 10 turn road course; a advance driver and race driver training facility with a 0.250 mile (0 km) skid pad (Driver Development Centre) and a kart track (Mosport Karting Centre Inc., previously "Mosport Kartways"). The name "Mosport", a portmanteau of Motor Sport, came from the enterprise formed to build the track.

The circuit was the second purpose built road race course in Canada after Westwood Motorsport Park in Coquitlam, British Columbia, succeeding Edenvale (Stayner, Ontario), Port Albert, Ontario's Green Acres (ex British Commonwealth Air Training Plan), and Nanticoke, Ontario's Harewood Acres (ex British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Number One Bombing and Gunnery School), all airport circuits, as Ontario racing venues. The track was designed and built in the late 1950s. The first race to be held on the track was a local event organized by the Oakville Light Car Club in June 1961. Shortly thereafter, on June 25, the venue held its first major race, the Player's 200, a sports car race bringing drivers from the world over to rural Ontario. Stirling Moss won the two heat event in a Lotus 19. Second was Joakim Bonnier with Olivier Gendebien third. The proposed hairpin was expanded into two discrete corners, to be of greater challenge to the drivers and more interesting for the spectators, at his suggestion, and is named Moss Corner in his honour. This is a source of lingering confusion as many people call the track Mossport. Unlike many historic motorsport venues, Mosport's track layout has remained mostly unchanged from its original form. For 2001, the entire circuit was repaved to meet FIA specifications, and is now 42 feet (13 m) wide. Drivers were consulted to ensure the character of the "old" track was kept; almost all the "racing lines" have been maintained. Mosport achieved acclaim through a series of international sports car races under the title "Canadian Grand Prix" normally reserved for Formula 1 races. Many events were wildly popular, breaking Canadian sports attendance records with each successive race. The success of these races led Mosport to be seen as a key component in the founding of the Can Am Series. The Can Am first visited the track in its inaugural season in 1966, and Mosport hosted at least one event in every year of the series' history, except 1968. In 1967, Canada's centennial year, Mosport hosted Formula One, USAC, and a 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix. F1's Grand Prix of Canada remained at the track until 1977, until it was moved to Montreal. Mosport has hosted a wide variety of series throughout its history. The circuit has held Formula One, USAC, World Sportscar Championship, Can Am, Formula 5000, and many other sports car, open wheel, and motorcycle series. Mosport has had several fatalities, both track crew, drivers, and riders, the most recognized being German Formula One driver Manfred Winkelhock who was killed in 1985 when his Porsche 962C crashed into a concrete wall. Another fatality at the track was in 2008 during the 29th annual Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada Racing Festival. Driver Dino Crescentini of Rochester Hills, MI – a ten year veteran of vintage racing – lost control of his 1977 Wolf Dallara Can Am car, which previously had been driven by Gilles Villeneuve. The most recent fatality was in 2018 when 61 year old former Pro Mazda driver Jeff Green speared off the racetrack at turn 8, and slammed into the barrier. He was attended to quickly but was unable to survive the crash. Mosport has had a succession of owners since the original public company created to build the track. Two of those prior owners, Norm Namerow (who owned the track through his publishing company, CanTrack, until his death) and Harvey Hudes, have both been inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame for their contribution to the sport in Canada. In 1998, Panoz Motorsports purchased the facility, and in 1999, the newly formed American Le Mans Series visited Mosport for the first time. Canadian Motorsports Ventures Ltd. (CMV) which includes Orlando Corp. Chairman Carlo Fidani and Canadian road racing driver Ron Fellows, purchased the facility in June 2011. In February 2012, a partnership between Mosport and Canadian Tire was announced. The partnership includes a renaming of the track to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

In the spring of 2000, Mosport opened the Driver Development Centre, a second , 12 turn training circuit designed for driver development. The new course was designed by the owners and instructors of the Bridgestone Racing Academy and was designed specifically with fewer guard rails, walls and minimum blind corners to meet the needs of their driver and mechanic training program. Due to significant scheduling demands on the original Grand Prix circuit, the original academy course was reconstructed and lengthened to a full racing course in the fall of 2013. The new track features two configuration options; a intermediate course, a advanced course, as well as a skid pad, a pit lane, and a multi storey event centre with classrooms and other facilities. Prior to the Driver Development Centre, Mosport was home to the Bridgestone Racing Academy from 2000 to 2019, which conducted corporate programs, racing schools, and a Mechanics Training Program. The academy itself was originally established at Shannonville Motorsport Park, when owners Charlie and Brett Goodman acquired the cars and equipment of the former Spenard David Racing School and teamed with then Bridgestone/Firestone Canada Inc.

Mosport Speedway was a oval speedway located on the northwest corner of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The track featured 800 feet (244 m) straightaways, 6 degree banked corners and two grandstands with seating for 8,500. The oval was constructed in 1989 as a dirt track originally called Mosport's Ascot North, named after the famous Ascot Park track in Gardena, California. The first event was scheduled in July 1989 and was to feature USAC Midgets and Sprint Cars and the World of Outlaws. The races were cancelled after the initial heat races caused deep ruts in the corners and dislodging stones hidden under the clay. The track was paved that summer and renamed Mosport International Speedway. The track hosted a weekly Saturday night stock car racing program from May to September for 24 years. The stock car divisions included pure stock, sportsman and late models. The oval also featured regular touring series including the ACT Series, ISMA Supermodifieds, OSCAAR, Lucas Oil Sportsman Cup, CASCAR Super Series and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The park announced the closing of the oval in July 2013 to accommodate the expansion of the Driver Development Centre.

It was announced in September 2013 that Canadian Tire Motorsports Park was chosen to host an annual round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship beginning in 2014. The new series replaced the American Le Mans Series as the feature race during the tracks annual SportsCar Grand Prix, which is Canada's largest annual sportscar race.

The NASCAR Pinty's Series has visited the facility at least twice annually every year since its inaugural season in 2007. Currently the race is known as the Clarington 200 and takes place during the tracks Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend and its Chevrolet Silverado 250 weekend.

Year Race Driver Team Chassis Engine 1967 Telegram Trophy 200 Bobby Unser Leader Cards Racing Eagle Ford 1968 Telegram Trophy 200 Dan Gurney Oscar Olson Eagle Weslake Ford 1977 Molson Diamond Indy A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote Foyt 1978 Molson Diamond Indy Danny Ongais Interscope Racing Parnelli Cosworth

Year Date Race Driver Team Car1961 June 10 BEMC Trophy Ludwig Heimrath Sr. Eglinton Caledonia Motors Porsche 718 RS 60 June 24 Player's 200 Stirling Moss United Dominions Corp. Lotus 19 Monte Carlo Climax Aug 5 Grand Valley Car Club Trophy Ludwig Heimrath Sr. Eglinton Caledonia Motors Porsche 718 RS 60 Sep 9 BEMC Indian Summer Trophy Harry Entwistle Hamilton Racing Partnership Lotus 15 Climax Sep 30 Canadian Grand Prix Peter Ryan Comstock Racing Team Lotus 19 Monte Carlo Climax1962 June 9 Player's 200 Masten Gregory United Dominions Laystall Lotus 19 Climax Sep 8 BEMC Indian Summer Races John Cannon Dailu Bardahl Special Sep 22 Canadian Grand Prix Masten Gregory U. D. T./Laystall Lotus 19 Climax1963 18 May BEMC Spring Trophy Races John Cannon Dailu Mk II Ford June 1 Player's 200 Chuck Daigh Arciero Bros. Racing Team Lotus 19 Climax June 16 Grand National Races Dennis Coad Whiz Car Care Products Lotus 19 Climax Sep 28 Canadian Grand Prix Pedro Rodriguez North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 P1964 June 6 Player's 200 – Race No. 1 Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Racing Ltd. Zerex Special Oldsmobile Traco V8 June 6 Player's 200 – Race No. 2 Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Racing Ltd. Zerex Special Oldsmobile Traco V8 June 21 Spring Trophy Races Ludwig Heimrath Sr. Canadian Comstock Ltd. Cooper Monaco T61 Ford Sep 27 Canadian Grand Prix Pedro Rodriguez North American Racing Team Ferrari 330 P1965 June 6 Player's 200 John Surtees Team Surtees Lola T70 Mk 2 Chevrolet V8 June 19 Spring Trophy Race Ludwig Heimrath Sr. Heimrath Racing/Keating Ford McLaren Elva Mark I Ford V8 Sep 4 Indian Summer Trophy Races Ludwig Heimrath Sr. Heimrath Racing/Keating Ford McLaren Elva Mark I Ford V8 Sep 25 Canadian Grand Prix Jim Hall Chaparral Cars Inc. Chaparral 2A Chevrolet 1966 June 5 Player's 200 Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Racing Ltd. McLaren Elva Mark IIB Ford1967 June 3 BEMC Spring Trophy Races Ross de St. Croix Eustache Soucy McLaren Elva Mark II Chevrolet Oct 9 Wm. Cleland Memorial Trophy John Cordts McLaren Elva Mark III Chevrolet1968 19 May BARC Ontario Region Races John Cordts McLaren Elva Mark III Chevrolet Sep 7 BEMC Indian Summer Trophy Races Roger McCaig McCaig racing McLaren M6B Chevrolet

Year Date Race Title Driver Team Car 1962 June 23 Peterborough International Rodger Ward 1962 Pontiac 1962 June 23 Peterborough International Paul Goldsmith 1962 Pontiac Catalina 1966 July 30 Coca Cola/Kawartha 250 Don White Ray Nichels 1966 Dodge Charger 1966 July 30 Coca Cola/Kawartha 250 Sam Tovella Sal's Auto Sales 1965 Plymouth 1967 July 29 Bardahl/Kawartha 250 Mario Andretti Holman Moody 1967 Ford 1967 July 29 Bardahl/Kawartha 250 Parnelli Jones Holman Moody 1967 Ford Fairlane 1968 July 20 CHUM/Mosport 250 Roger McCluskey Norm Nelson 1967 Plymouth 1968 July 20 CHUM/Mosport 250 Al Unser Sr. R/A Hoerr Inc. 1968 Dodge Charger 1978 June 10 Molson Diamond USAC Stock Cars A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Chevrolet Camaro