JUNE 10, 2004

Legault lauded for saving Canadian GP

Normand Legault, the promoter of the Canadian Grand Prix, was recognised at a ceremony in Montreal on Wednesday for having saved the Canadian Grand Prix after the race was removed from the F1 calendar last August because the Canadian government insisted on a ban on tobacco advertising.

Legault described the fact that the F1 teams are back in town as "a bit of a miracle" as he had to find around $18m to compensate FOM for the lack of tobacco advertising. That money was found and the race is now secured until after the event in 2006. The race this year is sold out and Legault hopes to break the existing record of a three-day attendance figure of 326,000, set in 2002.