Sanair Super Speedway

Sanair Super Speedway at a glance

Location

Saint-Pie, Quebec

Type

dormant

Length

1.329 km (0.826 mi)

Turns

3

Direction

clockwise

Surface

asphalt

Opened

1970

Track map and layout

Sanair Super Speedway grew from a quarter-mile drag strip opened in 1970 by owner Jacques Guertin into a multi-facility complex, adding a 2.092 km road course in 1972 and, in 1983, the smooth 1.329 km (0.826 mi) tri-oval that briefly put the track on the international motorsport map. The tri-oval's three sweeping turns were designed for stock car racing, but proved uncomfortably tight for the CART/Indy cars that raced there in the mid-1980s, contributing to the series' short stay. The original road course is no longer active, and the tri-oval today sees only sporadic use, with the site's drag strip, kart track and smaller ovals accounting for most of what activity remains.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

Sanair no longer hosts national or international racing; its era in the international spotlight ended after the Molson Indy Montreal left for Toronto following the 1986 season. What activity remains at the complex today is centred on grassroots drag racing, hot lapping and kart events run periodically through the season, well removed from the CART-level competition the tri-oval once carried. There is no fixed, publicly confirmed annual marquee event at the facility.

Getting there and parking

Sanair is located in Saint-Pie, Quebec, in the Montérégie region roughly an hour southeast of Montreal by car. There is no public transit directly to the site, so a car is necessary for anyone visiting; the drive passes through the rural farmland typical of this part of Quebec.

• Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) · about 75 min drive

Hotels and camping near Sanair Super Speedway

Montreal, about an hour's drive northwest, is the practical base for anyone visiting the area, with the full range of hotels the city offers. Nearby towns such as Saint-Hyacinthe have smaller motel options closer to the track for those wanting to stay in the immediate area.

Where to look

Montreal (about an hour northwest) for full hotel choice, or Saint-Hyacinthe for smaller, closer options.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Sanair is not a full-time active racing circuit at the level it once was; what track-day and event activity exists is limited to periodic drag racing, hot lapping and kart sessions organised locally rather than a structured national track-day program. Anyone interested in current access should check directly with the facility, as availability has been inconsistent in recent years.

Lap records

Spectator guide

There is no regular spectator racing calendar at Sanair today; the tri-oval that once hosted CART's Molson Indy Montreal sees only occasional grassroots activity, and the facility's profile has faded well below its 1980s peak. Visitors interested in the site's history are more likely to find it as a curiosity than a destination event.

History of Sanair Super Speedway

From drag strip to Champ Car venue

Sanair Super Speedway began in 1970 as a quarter-mile drag strip built by owner Jacques Guertin in Saint-Pie, Quebec, in the Montérégie region southeast of Montreal. A road course followed in 1972, and in 1983 Guertin added a smooth, tightly banked 1.329 km (0.826 mi) tri-oval, a configuration that immediately put the facility in contention for major-league racing. The new oval was added to the CART Championship Car schedule for 1984, an extraordinary leap for a track that had started life as a local drag strip.

The Molson Indy Montreal years

From 1984 to 1986, Sanair hosted the Molson Indy Montreal, bringing CART's Indy cars to Quebec. The inaugural 1984 race, won by Danny Sullivan, was marred by a practice crash that left Indy car great Rick Mears with severe leg injuries, an incident that cast a long shadow over the event. Johnny Rutherford won in 1985 in a race remembered for a controversial finish involving disputed yellow-flag procedures, and Bobby Rahal took the final Sanair running in 1986. The tri-oval, however, proved too tight and demanding for CART's powerful open-wheel cars, and after three seasons Molson moved its sponsorship to a new street race in Toronto, ending Sanair's run in top-flight international motorsport.

Fading from the spotlight

With the departure of Champ Car racing, Sanair slipped back into the grassroots tier of Canadian motorsport, hosting the American Canadian Tour and other regional stock car series through subsequent decades, alongside continued drag strip and kart track activity. In more recent years the tri-oval and road course have seen greatly reduced use, and the facility today is remembered chiefly for the brief, dramatic chapter when it carried Indy car racing, rather than for any current racing program. It remains a piece of Canadian motorsport history more than an active destination circuit.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• Circuit Gilles Villeneuve · 50 km · street circuit
• Montreal Street Circuit (Montreal ePrix) · 52 km · historic circuit (defunct)
• Autodrome Saint-Eustache · 84 km · historic circuit (defunct)
• Circuit Trois-Rivières (GP3R) · 94 km · street circuit
• Circuit Mont-Tremblant · 152 km · road course
• New Hampshire Motor Speedway · 266 km · oval