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http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=865826
| quote: | I'm surprised by the news, but not completely," Peart said. "Not completely because the commercial side of the sport is moving on to more glamorous venues. I don't mean the city of Montreal as far as that, but the facilities themselves. Some (facilities) like Montreal are not world leaders anymore, so it's a purely commercial matter, unfortunately."
Abu Dhabi's new F1 circuit, for example, promises to be a "unique track" and reportedly is being built for an estimated $400 million US and as part of a $40-billion development of Yas Island, which will see about 2,500 hectares of the island converted into a leisure and entertainment tourism destination. F1's season finale is slated for Nov. 15, and is expected to attract more than 500 million television viewers.
Peart, who served as race steward at this year's Grand Prix, doesn't believe the decision to drop the race is a ploy or pressure tactic on Montreal organizers. Such tactics were used by Ecclestone in the fall of 2003, when he initially announced there would be no race in 2004 because of the federal government ban on tobacco advertising. The race was reinstated after closed-door meetings between Legault and Ecclestone.
Peart also didn't think he could use his status as a delegate to get world council members to reconsider their decision.
"It's a question of money, for sure," he said. "For me to go over there and try to lobby people to get them to change their minds is a complete non-starter unless I was to go over there with a major sponsor in my pocket who's prepared to spend millions and millions of dollars.
"That, at the best of times, is unlikely, and in the current financial climate, I'd say it's absolutely impossible. |
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