Molson Indy Vancouver was an annual Champ Car race held on a temporary street circuit in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Running near BC Place and past Science World, the race was held from 1990 to 2004.

On September 2, 1990, the first race took place on the original circuit, which was won by Al Unser Jr. From 1998, a new circuit was created to the east of the old Pacific Place, where only a small part of the original circuit was used. The circuit was popular with drivers and often produced an entertaining race. For most of its fifteen years, the Vancouver Indy attracted in excess of 100,000 spectators over the course of its weekends, and in 1996 held the Canadian single-day sporting event attendance record until it was beaten by the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal that year. The final event in 2004 had race day attendance of 63,000 with a total three day turnout of 158,420 spectators. However, from 2004, Vancouver was left off the Champ Car fixture list.

In July 2021 it was announced a new race for the electric-powered FIA Formula E World Championship, the Vancouver ePrix would be run on the reconfigured track on the same site. However on 18 June 2022, it was announced that the race contract was terminated.

Controversy and cancellation For much of its time in Vancouver, the Molson Indy was a source of considerable local controversy, as local residents complained of the noise and disruption caused by this major event. As the lands of the former Expo 86 site were developed into the billion-dollar condominium development by Concord Pacific, debates raged over whether the Indy made Vancouver a "world-class city" or an "urban nightmare." Such debates were chronicled by Mark Douglas Lowes in his 2002 book, Indy Dreams and Urban Nightmares: Speed Merchants, Spectacle, and the Struggle over Public Space in the World-Class City.

The official explanation for the cancellation came from Jo-Ann McArthur, president of sponsoring Molson Sports and Entertainment, who stated that "the bottom line is the business model couldn't work". The race had just two seasons left in the city, due to the impending construction of the Olympic Village for the 2010 Winter Olympics on the south end of the course. She stated that the lack of a long-term commitment to holding the event made it difficult to attract sponsors to continue the race.

Following the cancellation, Champ Car continued to race in the Canadian cities of Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton as part of the 2005 season.

Layout history

CART/Champ Car race winners

Season Driver Chassis Engine Team Report Ref 1990 Al Unser Jr. Lola Chevrolet Galles-KRACO Racing Report 1991 Michael Andretti Lola Chevrolet Newman/Haas Racing Report 1992 Michael Andretti Lola Ford-Cosworth Newman/Haas Racing Report 1993 Al Unser Jr. Lola Chevrolet Galles Racing Report 1994 Al Unser Jr. Penske Ilmor Marlboro Team Penske Report 1995 Al Unser Jr. Penske Mercedes-Ilmor Marlboro Team Penske Report 1996 Michael Andretti Lola Ford-Cosworth Newman/Haas Racing Report 1997 Maurício Gugelmin Reynard Mercedes-Benz PacWest Racing Report 1998 Dario Franchitti Reynard Honda Team KOOL Green Report 1999 Juan Pablo Montoya Reynard Honda Target Chip Ganassi Racing Report 2000 Paul Tracy Reynard Honda Team KOOL Green Report 2001 Roberto Moreno Reynard Toyota Patrick Racing Report 2002 Dario Franchitti Lola Honda Team KOOL Green Report 2003 Paul Tracy Lola Ford-Cosworth Team Player's Report 2004 Paul Tracy Lola Ford-Cosworth Forsythe Championship Racing Report

Indy Lights/Atlantic winners Indy Lights Season Winning driver 1990 Vinicio Salmi 1991 Not held 1992 Mark Smith 1993 Bryan Herta 1994 André Ribeiro 1995 Pedro Chaves 1996 Claude Bourbonnais 1997 Cristiano da Matta 1998 Cristiano da Matta 1999 Not held 2000 Scott Dixon Atlantic Championship Season Winning driver 1990 Claude Bourbonnais 1991 Stéphane Proulx 1992 Patrick Carpentier 1993 Claude Bourbonnais 1994 David Empringham 1995 David Empringham 1996 Patrick Carpentier 1997 Memo Gidley 1998 Andrew Bordin 1999 Will Langhorne 2000 Not held 2001 Joey Hand 20022003 Not held 2004 Ryan Dalziel

Lap records

The fastest official race lap records at Molson Indy Vancouver are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent Street Circuit (1999–2004): CART 1:01.538 Juan Pablo Montoya Lola B2K/00 2000 Molson Indy Vancouver Indy Lights 1:07.439 Scott Dixon Lola T97/20 2000 Vancouver Indy Lights round Formula Atlantic 1:09.214 Jon Fogarty Swift 014.a 2004 Vancouver Formula Atlantic round Barber Pro 1:14.675 Leonardo Maia Reynard 98E 2003 Vancouver Barber Pro round Street Circuit (1998): CART 1:06.939 Hélio Castroneves Reynard 98I 1998 Molson Indy Vancouver Indy Lights 1:10.995 Cristiano da Matta Lola T97/20 1998 Vancouver Indy Lights round Formula Atlantic 1:15.386 Rino Mastronardi Swift 008.a 1998 Vancouver Formula Atlantic round Street Circuit (1994–1997): CART 0:55.136 Alex Zanardi Reynard 97I 1997 Molson Indy Vancouver Indy Lights 1:00.653 Eddie Lawson Lola T93/20 1994 Vancouver Indy Lights round Formula Atlantic 1:03.981 Richie Hearn Ralt RT41 1994 Vancouver Formula Atlantic round Super Touring 1:10.414 David Donohue Dodge Stratus 1997 Vancouver NATCC round Street Circuit (1991–1993): Indy Lights 0:59.513 Bryan Herta Lola T93/20 1993 Vancouver Indy Lights round Formula Atlantic 1:02.053 Jamie Galles Ralt RT40 1993 Vancouver Formula Atlantic round Original Street Circuit (1990): Formula Atlantic 1:10.599 Mark Dismore Swift DB4 1990 Vancouver Formula Atlantic round

External links Champ Car Stats Ultimate Racing History

References