By Mike Zeisberger - Toronto Sun

Gentlemen, stop your engines. The days of the highly successful Molson Indy events in Toronto andVancouver appear to be over.

"The net effect is, the Molson Indys are dead after 1998," Molstarpresident Brent Scrimshaw confirmed yesterday.

The fatal blow comes in the form of Bill C-71, which proposes harshrestrictions on tobacco advertising. The bill is in the hands of the Senateright now.

CART president Andrew Craig has said his racing series will not compete inCanada under those conditions, since tobacco sponsorship of teams, cars andequipment is both omnipresent and vital.

"No one wants to see the Molson Indys die, but it does indeed seem to be ableak situation," Craig said last night.

Molstar officials have asked to state their case to the Senate in twoweeks. Unless an exemption could be made based on CART's status as aninternational series, however, the Molson Indys will be no more.

While Bill C-71 wouldn't fully come into effect as far as the Molson Indysare concerned until October 1998, this year's Vancouver race most likelywill be the last there. Development at the existing site means a 1998 eventwould need to be at a different location, but Scrimshaw said it would befoolish to sink money into setting up a new track for just one year.

CART has implemented a March 31 deadline at which time it wants a responseconcerning plans for a potential race in Vancouver next year. It is nowapparent that there won't be a '98 event there.

Toronto's race looks to be history after 1998.

"In effect, we have a two-year phasing-out period," Scrimshaw said. In any event, the loss of the two Molson Indys would be a blow to Canadianauto racing.

"(Bill C-71) is going to do some real damage to the sport in Canada," saidWest Hill driver Paul Tracy, who finished second in the Miami Grand Prix twoweeks ago. "I don't think the government realizes what a deep impact thiswill have."

In the United States, anti-tobacco legislation is in the works which someconsider even tougher than Bill C-71. But there are still some legalquestions remaining as to whether the U.S. Food & Drug Administration hasthe authority to regulate such legislation.

Source: Canoe Online
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