Greg Creamer is one of road-racing foremost broadcasters and personalities. He has been the play-by-play host for the American Le Mans Series, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula 1 and many other motorsport championships. His “From the Booth” commentary will periodically appear on americanlemans.com.
It’s cold, raining and foggy on Saturday morning. And I - along with every real driver and more than 50,000 Canadian race fans - are quite happy, thank you. Why? Quite simple, really…we’re at Mosport!
While there are so many great venues that I love attending, this is easily my favorite event of the year, and it all revolves around the venue itself and the remarkable fans that call it Mecca. Mosport is still “old school.” The way racing was, and really still should be. Now that might well be the nostalgic musings of someone who has been around longer than they’d like to admit, but they are heartfelt musings nonetheless.
The track itself, other than repaving and a widening, remains virtually unchanged from the day it opened in 1961. The runoff areas have been improved in key areas, and the facilities, the physical plant, has had some needed upgrades, but the track…ah, the track…is virtually unchanged. The only real alteration was the height and abruptness of the “hump” at the end of the Andretti Straight leading into Turn 8 was shaved a bit. And it is that lack of messing with the track that makes this place so special.
Old school…
 | | A sign of the passion of Mosport's fans. Setting up camp early Thursday. |
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That and looking out around the track at the throngs of fans, campers and tents everywhere, filling open areas along the track and dotting the many stands of trees with mini-explosions of color. NOWHERE is there an area ruined by being paved over, then covered with numbered sites that cost hundreds of dollars for a weekend. It is like a rustic park that a glorious race track carves its way through.
There aren’t miles and miles of concrete and high-level fencing giving it too much of a street-circuit feel. You can make your way to the top of a big hillside and overlook some of the most daunting, phenomenal corners on the planet, all the while mingling with the exceptional fans here - so knowledgeable and passionate, and so warm and welcoming, inviting you to their campfire, offering a beverage or something fresh off the grill. It is what made being a fan of road racing so special over the years, camaraderie of those sharing that same passion, getting away from it all to truly immerse yourself in the meeting, and to watch great drivers do great things with great cars.
Old school…
Too many times these days, what were once glorious cathedrals of road racing have been altered almost to the point of being unrecognizable, and it is a great loss. In many cases, these changes are seemingly unnecessary. Problem is, sometimes that’s the most convenient thing to do - or the cheapest - in the face of some issue that’s developed. And the end result? A once great venue now neutered into a banal, milk-toast shell of its former glory.
But not Mosport! No, it’s been done right. Speeds are too high for the runoff area? Widen the runoff area and don’t touch the track! Keep the corners that test both a driver’s skill AND bravado; that presents the very challenges in which drivers revel to test and overcome, and the fans come to witness it in a veritable pilgrimage.
James Weaver knows. Dyson Racing’s legend – a two-time overall winner here had this to say: “Oh yes, the cars are marvelous…now if we can just get them to run a proper 1,000 horsepower!”
Old school…
For the drivers, as the engine barks to life and they don their helmets and strap in, THIS is the type of track that got them into this sport from the beginning. It is about speed, but speed in varying forms and directions; huge speeds through neck-stretching corners winding toward slower albeit key corners leading on to long straights into more high-speed corners, but all the while riding a rollercoaster as you change directions. The pulse quickens, the senses sharpen, the grin widens.
For the fans, the first sound of an engine drifting through the wind prompts tent flaps and camper doors to spring open, bleary-eyed sleep is rinsed away with the wash of anticipation of seeing something special happen that only road-racing at such a grand venue can promise. No wandering to the hotel lobby for a fancy breakfast, or to the extended kitchen in the half-million dollar coach. No, it’s put the coffee pot on the fire, light up the grill and head straight to the fence. Look up the track to see that first nose or hood sweep into view, the visual beating the Doppler-effected engine note reach your senses, soon followed by the orchestra of the rest of the field, made all the more special and rich if it’s multi-class sports car racing in all its wondrous variety. The pulse quickens, the senses sharpen, the grin widens.
Old school…
A few years ago, I joined some friends for an early-week test day here. We were at their campsite on the outside of the track on the rise between T1 and 2, a spot to which they have been coming for years. I now realize they are the true “ultimate” fans, or are at least the definitive example thereof. They come early every year, not just to get that spot, but to savor every moment. No wondering in just for the weekend. They work all year to put together the funds to take the time off and to afford to go to the track in order to witness the magic they love.
For three or four or five glorious days, not worrying about anything fancy or false or pretentious. Not sitting in some swank setting. Just a tent or camper and a warm fire crackling nearby, good company closer still, and lined up at the fence. Conversation frequently yet so willingly interrupted by the howl of passing racecars. Talking, living, breathing road racing.
Old school…
 | | Neither rain nor fog nor...well, you get the picture...can dampen the spirit of the Mosport fans. |
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At T1 during that test day, as some cars were whistling past us, I noticed my friend’s focus was transfixed on the paddock area across the track. He turned to me and said “You know, I think this just might be one of my favorite moments of the entire event, watching the circus set up.” And he said it with great reverence and a very special understanding. The “big show” was setting up - that one special time a year when the best of the best come to do battle and put on the show at the most spectacular of battlegrounds. When the greatest challenge the toughest. It’s the Grand Circus.
To spend time with them on those rare days at a track like Mosport is a reinvigorating experience of the most joyous sort. It rejuvenates one’s passions for the sport of road racing, sometimes dulled by being involved in the business of it. And it refreshes one’s ability to revel in all that makes this sport so grand. And it makes you realize all over again why you fell in love with this sport and what makes a track like Mosport so special.
So, to Hank and Bev, and all the real and true race fans that pack the hillsides here at Mosport - and at tracks around the globe - thanks for your passion, your hospitality, and your pure joy. To the drivers and their teams that live for the challenges that a Mosport presents, and that draw these great fans, a massive thanks as well. And a huge thanks to the exceptional volunteers without which these special events just wouldn’t be possible. Finally, to the owners and management of Mosport, directly related to those that created a series back in 1999 who’s motto was “For the fans,” thanks for keeping Mosport...old school.
Now, if we can just get the name changed back to Mosport Park! Ah, perhaps that’s just TOO nostalgic.
Greg Creamer is one of road-racing foremost broadcasters and personalities. He has been the play-by-play host for the American Le Mans Series, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula 1 and many other motorsport championships. His “From the Booth” commentary will periodically appear on americanlemans.com.
