Formula electric: A scent of scandal

Photo archives Agence QMI, Joel Lemay

Jacques Duval

Monday, 18 December 2017 16:31

UPDATE
Monday, 18 December 2017 16:31

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Even if I am an emblem of auto racing in Canada, and that I was the first to propose the holding of a race of electric cars in the streets of Montreal, nobody asked me my opinion on this project that I first developed with a group of investors here.

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It is good to know in the first place, that the event is not born of yesterday, and that someone other than the organizers present had been involved in, its implementation by a company called “Green Price Racing”, of which I was one of the speakers.

With a small group of people, we blocked and worked like crazy to put the case on: meeting with representatives of the city hall, search for sponsors, exchanges with the mayor at the time, Mr. Gerard Tremblay, search the place more desirable to hold the race. I repeat again that this type of event then existed nowhere else in the world.

According to our view of things, Montreal would become the pioneer of the race electric car in the world, and this without the city having to pay money substantial to start the project.

If my memory is good, we are talking about 100 000$, not more. The cars were to be built by an independent firm supported by the École Polytechnique and sold to the participants by various sponsors, who again would not have to pay enormous sums to benefit from a huge visibility.

I would like to mention that the construction of an electric car is not a mystery and it takes a bit of expertise to get there.

A bargain

I repeat that the city was going to get away with it, but it seems that as soon as a project like this one lands in the top place, it is dismissed out of hand.

Of course it takes millions in order for everyone to take his share of the cake. He takes a packet of officials, presidents, experts, directors of this and that, in short, an army of wasters at a great cost to that the event has a serious air.

As if by chance, and after months of procrastination, our project is beautiful, good, cheap, collapsed to suddenly reappear, guided by european interests. Coincidences or encounters of ideas, I don’t know, but you can ask questions.

Madam mayor, my advice is not to encourage you to throw millions out of the windows to the races of the second rank whose sole purpose is to fill the pockets of a band of loafers come in France or elsewhere.

Let the electric car is emancipated before using his halo to projects too early without a solid foundation.