Champ Car Sues Norman Legault
August 31, 2006

From SpeedTV.com:

Champ Car is not going gently into the good night of its stay at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The organization filed suit for breech of contract today in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana seeking $325,000 (U.S.) from Canadian promoter Normand Legault's companies Evenements Sport Auto de Montreal and GPF1, Inc. for outstanding sanctioning fee payments associated with the 2005 Molson Indy Montreal. The suit requests a trial by jury.

According to the suit, Legault's companies were to pay Champ Car $1.5 million apiece for the right to stage the 2005 and 2006 Champ Car races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Each year's $1.5 million was to be paid in installments of $750,000 due 45 and 7 days before the scheduled race.

In addition to staging the Champ Car races, Champ Car was to secure a minimum of $325,000 in sponsorship for each of the two races from Champ Car World Series sponsors Ford and/or Bridgestone, the money to be paid to Evenements Sport Auto de Montreal and GPF1, Inc. at least 30 days prior to each race. In the event Champ Car (or its sponsors) failed to deliver that $325,000 worth of sponsorship, Legault's companies could "set-off" the sanctioning fees owed Champ Car by a corresponding amount until the sponsorship fees were paid.

The suit alleges that Ford was prepared to deliver in excess of $325,000 in sponsorship to Legault's companies more than thirty days before the 2005 race, but that Evenements Sport Auto de Montreal and GPF1, Inc. failed to countersign the appropriate contracts or invoice Ford in a timely fashion. Thus the payment was not made outside of the thirty day pre-race timeframe and Evenements Sport Auto de Montreal and GPF1, Inc. "set-off" $325,000 of its final $750,000 payment to Champ Car.

Champ Car argues the fact that the Ford sponsorship money was paid less than thirty days prior to the race does not release Legault's companies from their obligation to pay the "set-off" fee, and is seeking the $325,000 it believes it is still owed by Evenements Sport Auto de Montreal and GPF1, Inc.

The dispute is strictly focused on the 2005 Montreal Champ Car race as, in the wake of what became a contentious relationship between Champ Car and Legault, the rights to promote the 2006 race were assumed by Alan Labrosse. By all indications, this year was the Champ Car World Series' final appearance at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as it is widely believed Legault -- who secured the exclusive promotional rights for the two race weekends permitted annually at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from the city of Montreal -- plans to stage a NASCAR Busch Series event there in addition to the traditional Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 race.

Back to Home Page
Back to News Index