Montreal 2005

With all the nonsense about the USGP and Michelin, I'm sure everyone is wondering how the other North American Formula One race went.

The 2005 Canadian GP was surely memorable. For some of us, the Canadian GP is our chance to play hard after (hopefully) working hard all spring. For others, it's just another weekend partying with the cars.

It all started at 7am in Hunt Valley 's Wal Mart on June 9 th . In the parking lot were:

Lou - Mondial T Cab
Matt - 308QV Bob and Corey- 328GTS
Peter - TR
Nigel - 355 Spyder
Jonathan - Viper GTS
The Borghinis - C5 Vette
Curbibi - 360 Spyder
Fritz and TLO - M Coupe

My 348 had been already delivered to its new home, so I lined up the Project David Banner Cobra for the drive up. After a brief tire kicking and socializing session, we were off up I-83 North. The trip up was very simple…two routes and we hit Canada . Easy right? Not really, some of the attendees on the caravan apparently brought a Zimbabwe Road Atlas and took some unexpected day trips. On the way up, we had to make a few stops to assist with what we call “road trip incidents”. One car kept having engine computer error code issues. We'd stop, reset the computer, and go on our way only to stop again for a bit. We mastered that pretty well.

One break at a gas station was particularly interesting. Jonathan pulls in and exclaims that the front left wheel of the 355 was making a violent rapping noise. I look down at the wheel and notice that two lugnuts are missing! A third is about to fall off also… That would've made for an interesting moment on the interstate to say the least. We resolved the issue and made our way for the border. We cross without incident and head to MTL. This is where the fun began. The radios were ablaze with speed claims during the many open stretches en route to MTL. I can imagine what the old Road and Track top speed tests were like at the VW Test track in Ehra Lessen. SSSHHH-CRRRAAAKK…that's 142…SHHH. CRRRAKKK-SSHHHH…just hit 161…CRRACCKKK-SSSHHH. The Cobra hit 140, the TR 161, the M Coupe 142..if we only had another 1000m!

During a stretch of particularly long and smooth interstate, I notice that we're bunched up rather tightly for our cruising speed. From behind the car in front of me, I notice an object resembling a motorcycle battery in my lane. I swerve to lessen the blow, but Lou didn't fare so well behind me. He hit it squarely and his beautiful Mondial T Cab lept up into the air. He crashed down and did a nice bit of driving to keep the fishtailing car under control. Very impressive! The metallic part did some serious damage. Amidst the bent wheel, blown tire, and puddle of brake fluid, there were two safe passengers. Not bad for an “incident” at around 90!!! Thankfully, the rest of the ride into MTL was uneventful.

We check in and then hit the streets. Our dinner reservation at Alexandre was delayed considerably due to our caravan “highlights”. We walked down St. Catherine heading into the beginning of a pretty interesting trip.

Peel Street was unbelievably packed as always. The streets were closed off and filled with excellent examples of classic and modern Ferraris. 365 GTB/4, BBs, 400/412s, 275GTB, 3x8s, 550/575s, etc. were all present and very popular on the streets.

We dove into Alexandre's for a drink and some dinner while noticing that it was now after 9pm but still very hot and humid. This was great for people watching though. Let's talk about the women in MTL…unbelievable. The formula is simple…young, slim and with as little clothing as possible. It's a better reason than F1 to go to MTL.

I skipped the Friday morning track visit to get the car cleaned up and to sleep off the hangover. Kondaxis and I got promptly pulled over three minutes after exiting the car wash…something about illegal license plate covers. The two cops spent more time asking about my exhaust, wheels and modifications though.

Happy hour that night captured the essence of Montreal and the Mid Atl crew. After polishing off a fifth of JD, and almost another of CDN Club, we head over to a nearby hotel to hang out with Sam, Shannon ESQ and Liang DDS. TLO finds a housekeeping cart full of hand towels and pushes it into the room spilling about two hundred of them onto the floor. Someone pushes the cart back and tears a closet door off of the hinge. Someone then tried to lift the TV off of the table and yelled “where's the pool??” A few of us board the elevator to get ready to head to happy hour at the Rocksbury. As we leave, TLO is confronted by the housekeeping mgr. He pushes her and closes the door in her face! She yells something about calling the cops, stale croissants and crème brulee.

The ensuing visit to the Rocksbury ended with an adjoining table of people leaving, a plastic trim piece resembling a car fender and every bouncer escorting us to the curbside. Plenty of entertainment and it was only about 7:15pm.

Who are these people?

Kondaxis and I venture out much later that night to cruise St. Catherine.. If you haven't had the pleasure, indulge yourself. It's basically American Grafitti 2005, but no one speaks english. We ran into some real characters. Four gorgeous girls in a black Acura RSX had nothing much to say expect….”blah, blah…Moostang!” Their giggling and my tres mal Francais kept the communication to a minimum. Our favorite was a chimp in a particularly girly purple C5 convertible. He gave us an ear full of Borla as he drove by…I returned the favor about 20 mins later. I asked about the car and he started with a monologue…”It's twin turbo with 650horse-pow-wear…I raced a bike once in Quebec City…my grandmother knits quilts…and that's why I love border collies.” We just yawned and pulled away 12 minutes later.

Saturday night brought more…

9:23pm-St. Laurent madness, happy hour at Café Republique. Frustrated by the last call announcement at Republique, TLO decides to reach behind the bar, grab a glass and pour himself a beer. The manager didn't like that very much…

10:47pm-We all motion to Club Radial then quickly remember that we got thrown out last year.

1:45am- TLO attempts to talk to two hot Canadians on St Laurent, promptly gets an “EEW!” then a strong shove in the opposite direction.

Sunday night we did it all over again…

Somehow we all made it back in one piece on Monday. Peter took the long route while chasing and engaging a silver 360CS. The rest of us rolled through NY at a fairly leisurely pace having had enough fun without any unwanted attention.

To all who chose the USGP over Montreal , I hope you enjoyed it. I did the “Cornfields and Firebirds” grand prix a few times. This blows it away! Don't make the same mistake twice.

Until next year!