Montréal new mayor can relocate ePrix

The city of Montréal has invested 24 million Canadian dollars into the first edition of the race last July, plus a line of credit of 10 million.

TVA Nouvelles news agency yesterday talked with Sylvain Vincent, the boss of ‘Montréal it’s electric’ (MIE), the non-profit organization that promotes both transport electrification and its implementation in metropolitan Montreal. It is also the sole promoter of the only race of the FIA Formula E Championship in Canada.

Vincent admitted that Valérie Plante, the newly elected mayor of Montréal, has the power to relocate the ePrix wherever she wants, including to the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit of Ile Notre-Dame, home of the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

“She’s the one to decide what happens with the race and its location,” Vincent told the news service. “The people who run the Formula E championship are open to discussion, whatever the contract stipulates.”

The presentation of the first Formula E on the streets of Montréal caused major chaos last year as several streets had to be rebuilt, the track needed to the constructed, concrete wall and catch fences had to be installed and grandstands had to be erected in a confined environment where more than 1,000 residents were living in.

Additionally, TVA Nouvelles also learned that the presence of police forces during maiden ePrix has cost 650,000 Canadian dollars to the city taxpayers. That included the presence of policemen during the event, the two preceding weeks when the track was built and the two following weeks when the installations were dismantled.

Vincent revealed that the decision of staging the race on the streets of downtown Montréal last summer had been taken by the City of Montréal, and not by Evenko, the most important independent promoter and producer of shows in Canada that was also in charge of the ePrix.

Prior to her election, Valérie Plante said that she had the intention of relocating the race somewhere else, and possibly on the Gilles-Villeneuve to lower the costs and to minimize disruption in downtown Montréal.

Vincent added that modifying the layout of the F1 track would obviously cost money. The track needs to be shortened, as the FE electric cars need several braking zones to regenerate their batteries. Moreover, the circuit will not be available after the presentation of the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix as the construction of the new pit building will begin.

Another portion of the race track is also used as a outdoor scene for major shows and concerts all summer long, mostly organized by Evenko. In other words, the Gilles Villeneuve circuit does not represent a suitable location for the ePrix next July.

There are two years left in the contract that links Montréal and the Formula E series. Discussions are set to begin soon between ‘Montréal, it’s electric’ and the new mayor about the tricky organization of the 2018 race.

Strangely enough, it was revealed today (Nov. 23) that Evenko had started to pre-sell tickets for the 2018 Montréal ePrix. The home page of Evenko mentions “On sale soon, access the waiting room now”. The page of the Montréal ePrix shows a track map that’s identical to last year’s track layout, at exactly the same location on René Lévesque Blvd. The 2-day Premium Early Bird Stands Pass is sold $172 while the General Admission Pass goes for $58.