Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (officially Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in French), is a urban racing circuit located on the Île Notre -Dame, an artificial island located in the Saint Lawrence River and which is part of the Jean-Drapeau Park of the city of Montreal, province of Quebec, Canada. The circuit originally had the name Circuit Île Notre-Dame. Its current name owes to the Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve, born in Quebec and winner of the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, after he died during qualifying tests at 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.

The circuit has been used for the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula 1 since (with two absences in  and ) and Indy Montreal of the Champ Car World Series from 2002 to 2006. Formula Atlantic was the opening act for the Formula 1 race on numerous occasions between and, and Champ Car on his five visits to Montreal. In 2007, the Champ Car and Formula Atlantic dates in August were superseded by a joint Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series, which ran until 2012.

In the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix, the right wall of the current turn 13 of the circuit, at the exit of the entrance to the finish line chicane, became famous because three Formula 1 champions, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed into him. Since then it has been known as the  Wall of Champions . Later Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel also hit the wall.

June 10, 2007 was one of the most critical days of this circuit with the most serious accident in the history of the track, starring the BMW Sauber driver. Robert Kubica, who at over 300 km / h crashed into the rear of Jarno Trulli's Toyota and shot toward the crash bar and bounced off it, causing his car to disintegrate as he crossed to the other side of the track, from which he thankfully emerged alive, suffering only a sprained ankle. However, the most dramatic event on the circuit was the day June 13, 1982 when Riccardo Paletti died in a crash at the start of the Formula 1 race. .

The second death on the circuit was that of a police commissioner on June, after being hit by a tow truck by accident while evacuating a crashed vehicle.