by Dave Pawlikowski

First, a little history from the Canadian Grand Prix website...

The event was also staged on that circuit in 1969 and from 1971 to 1977 with 1975 as an exception since no Canadian Grand Prix took place that year .The Mont-Tremblant Circuit, in the Laurentians, north of Montréal, was the site of the Canadian Grand Prix in 1968 and 1970. Since 1978, the Canadian Grand Prix has been held each year - with the exception of 1987 - on the Île Notre-Dame track in Montréal. The track was named the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in honor of the famed Canadian Formula 1 driver who died in May 1982, during a practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Born in Berthierville, Quebec, on January 18, 1950, Gilles Villeneuve was the first Canadian hired as an official team driver in Formula 1 auto racing. Following his success in snowmobile racing in the early 70's, he switched to Formula Atlantic car racing and dominated this class in the middle of the decade.

On July 17, 1977, he started his first Formula 1 Grand Prix on board a Ford-powered McLaren, at the Silverstone race track in England. Later that same year, Gilles took part in two other Grand Prix races (in Canada and Japan) driving a Ferrari, the team for which he raced the remainder of his career. From 1978 to 1982, Villeneuve entered 64 races for Ferrari and won 6 times. His first career win was the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, on the Island of Notre-Dame track in Montréal. In each of his appearance at the Canadian Grand prix, between 1978 and 1981, he electrified the Canadian fans and earned points by finishing 1st, 2nd, 5th and 3rd.

In May, 1982, Villeneuve died during a practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, on the Zolder racetrack. A few weeks later, before the presentation of the 1982 Grand Prix, the City of Montréal Executive Committee adopted a resolution to rename the Island Notre-Dame track Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve to honor the memory of the late and great racer.

Fourteen (14) of the twenty seven (27) world champion drivers have won the Canadian Grand Prix. Two of them had great success in Canada with three wins each: Michael Schumacher with four wins (1994, 1997, 1998, 2000) and Nelson Piquet with three wins (1982, 1984, 1991). In June 2002, fans will gather for the 34th edition of the Canadian Grand Prix.

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Two of those fans attending this year would be myself and Kawasaki Concours rider Bill Oakland. We had went last year and had a great time. We also made a few rookie mistakes and now knew how to avoid them and make this trip even more enjoyable. After we had returned home from that event, we began making plans for this one. Those plans included getting better seats. We had good seats for the first race, and had wanted to stay in the same section of the course. However, if we went into the grandstand facing the oncoming straight instead of parallel to it, we could see the cars coming into our corner under full power, braking, turning and accelerating out. Then in September, Bill received a phone call from the GP ticket office asking if he would like to order his tickets for the 2002 event. YES!!!!! You didn't have to ask us twice! He asked for tickets in the section we wanted and it was possible to get them? They were available, and he was even able to choose approximate location, and it turned out perfect! We were very happy when we sat down that Friday at 7:50am. 

 As the time approached that we would be leaving, we began watching the Weather Channel and hoping for good weather. The closer we got, it became apparent that the ride up Thursday was going to be wet, but overall the weather should be very pleasant. Also, since we weren't camping like last year and getting a hotel, we wouldn't have to pack so much gear. If I NEVER camp again, it would still be too soon. Camping to me is warm beds, hot showers and HBO. Lying on the ground outside to sleep just doesn't do it for me. We had camped last year to save some $$$, since lodging prices had skyrocketed in the past according to some of the research we did. However, last year the hotels were complaining since they only had a 60% occupancy and were losing money. This year, Bill took this into account and did some shopping. What he found was the Hotel de Seigneurs in Saint Hyacinthe, just thirty minutes east from Montreal on highway Rt.20, which is the route we took last year to get to the Metro. And at $99.00 a night Canadian, it was almost free! We were all set. 

Thursday June 6th, 2002

With the FZ-1 packed up and ready to go, it was time for it's first long trip. The comparisons to my departed Concours were inevitable, but the Fazer did very well overall. I left my home in Palmer at 9:00 am in the rain, and rode the fifty five minutes to Greenfield in a light rain. This would go on until noon. Bill arrived on his Concours fifteen minutes lat due to a fierce storm he had rode through coming form out east on Rt.2. The plan was to just take the highway and blast up to Rt.89 to make time. The weather websites stated that we should ride out of this storm, and we did. The ride up was uneventful, and the rain stopped halfway up. The 80mph pace was perfect, as we kept up with traffic and made nice time. I pulled us off in Montpelier to change out of the rain gear as the sun was shining. In fact, we were in the neighborhood of fellow SRNE member's Shawn and Helen Bryan, as they live right down the street from where we stopped. After gassing up, we decided to take the highway north a few miles in order to get on Rt.100. This would take us all the way to North Troy. We would then cross the border there into Canada. The ride to the border was very nice, and we made good time. A stop in Eden, Vermont at Uncle Bill's Diner netted us a very nice and inexpensive lunch. We would cross the border in about twenty miles. 

Eden, Vermont - the site of lunch at Uncle Bill's Diner. The border crossing into Canada near North Troy, Vermont. It went very easy. No problems at all.

Crossing the border was simple. I had brought my passport just in case it would be an issue. After 9/11, you never know what to expect anymore. Come to find out, the guard asked us for our license, who we were, where we worked and where we were from. He then ran our license through the computer and then sent us on our way. It was simple. We were out of their in a few minutes. Now, we were on Canadian roads and I have one word for them - HORRIBLE. Never have I seen such poorly maintained roads. Sandy, dirty, bumpy, and just very poor quality pavement. Occasionally, we would hit a smooth patch near a major road, but otherwise they were in just rotten shape. The highways were fine, but most back roads in the small hamlets were a mess. We headed west, then north to Saint Hyacinthe. 

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