Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs

Last updated

Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) was the national governing body for auto racing in Canada from 1958 to 1988.

Its origins stretched back to 1951, when three independent car clubs met in Kingston, Ontario to found the Canadian Auto Sport Committee (CASC). In 1951, inventor, engineer and MG race driver Marshall Smith Green came from Montreal to meet in Kingston with designer Jack Luck. Green asked Luck to design the Club's logo.

Logo designed by Jack Luck in 1951 for Marshall Green CASC.jpg
Logo designed by Jack Luck in 1951 for Marshall Green

The name was changed to the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) in 1958, when Regions across the country were developed. To get permits for International Races, CASC was affiliated with the Royal Automobile Club (RAC plc) of Great Britain until 1967, when it was recognized as a full member by the FIA as Canada's governing body of auto racing. The nation's motoring interests, meanwhile were represented to the FIA by the CASC's roadgoing counterpart, the CAA.

During its lifetime, CASC developed strong national series', such as the Canada Class; the original Honda Michelin series, the Players/GM Motorsport Series, and the Rothmans Porsche Cup series'. It also worked closely with its US counterpart, the SCCA, to develop and co-sanction the Can-Am, and Formula Atlantic series'.

As Canada's national governing body, CASC sanctioned such major events as the Player's 200 sports car races, the Shell 4000 rally, the 24 Hours of Mosport, and the Canadian Grand Prix, which alternated between Mosport and Circuit Mont-Tremblant.

The organization's demise came as a result of a boycott by Bernie Ecclestone's FOCA of the Canadian Grand Prix in 1987, as detailed in Terry Lovell's Ecclestone biography, Bernie's Game. CASC's FIA accreditation was revoked at the international body's next General Assembly, and its powers were instilled upon a single associate of Ecclestone's, Benoit Mailloux, the president of the Federation de l’Automobile Quebec, until handed over to a new body, ASN Canada FIA, in 1990. [1] Many of CASC's records were handed over to its Ontario Region, which re-affiliated as a territory to the new ASN, while other CASC regions were disbanded and replaced by re-formed territorial organizations.

Details of the CASC history can be found in the book The Chequered Past: Sports Car Racing & Rallying in Canada 1951 - 1991 by David A Charters. [2] CASC history can be found at the archives of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports Car Club of America</span> American automobile club

The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile</span> International sport governing body

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for many auto racing events, including Formula One. The FIA also promotes road safety around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorsport</span> Sport primarily involving the use of motorized vehicles

Motorsport, motorsports or autosports is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two-wheeled motorised vehicles under the banner of motorcycle racing, and includes off-road racing such as motocross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Mosley</span> Race car driver and FICA President (1940–2021)

Max Rufus Mosley was a British racing driver, lawyer, and president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a non-profit association which represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide and is the governing body for international motorsports including Formula One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Tire Motorsport Park</span> Motorsport track in Canada

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, 64-kilometre (40 mi) east of Toronto. The facility features a 3.957 km (2.459 mi), 10-turn road course; a 2.9 km (1.8 mi) advance driver and race driver training facility with a 0.402 km (0.250 mi) skid pad and a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) kart track. The name "Mosport", a portmanteau of Motor Sport, came from the enterprise formed to build the track.

The Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) refers to a number of proposed alternative world championship auto racing series to rival or replace Formula One. Founded in 2001, the GPWC was created as a tool to assist the companies in bargaining with Bernie Ecclestone for an agreeable extension to the 1997 Concorde Agreement, the contract by whose terms the teams compete in Formula One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formula racing</span> Auto racing on circuits using open wheel cars built to specified formula

Formula racing is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulae are Formula One, Formula E, Formula Two, Formula Three, regional Formula Three and Formula Four. Common usage of "formula racing" encompasses other single-seater series, including the GP2 Series, which replaced Formula 3000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIA World Motor Sport Council</span>

The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) is a major organ within the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's governance structure. Its primary role is amending current regulations and drafting new regulations for all of international motor sport. One of the main duties of the WMSC is to allow motor sport to: Continue to develop with an emphasis on maintaining safety for the drivers and spectators, and to encourage competitive motoring innovation which adheres to environmental standards. The FIA's largest motorsport championships include the FIA Formula One World Championship, the World Endurance Championship (WEC), and the FIA World Rally Championship. The World Motor Sport Council's membership is chosen by the FIA General Assembly, which contains representatives from national automobile clubs (ASNs) throughout the world. It is one of two FIA World Councils; the other council is responsible for administrating "issues affecting the automobile in society. The World Motor Sport Council meets a minimum of three times a year to consider proposals from specialist FIA Commissions and subsidiaries. It has a current membership of 28 members, including the FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem and Formula One chairman Stefano Domenicali.

The FISA–FOCA war was a political battle contested throughout the early 1980s by two now defunct representative organizations in Formula One motor racing, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) and the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA). The battle boiled during the late 1970s and early 1980s and came to a head when the racing teams affiliated with FOCA, an equivalent to a racing team union, boycotted the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formula Atlantic</span> Open-wheel racing specification

Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club of America Formula Atlantic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Prix of Toronto</span> Annual car race in Canada

The Honda Indy Toronto is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 to 2007. After a one-year hiatus, it has been part of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule since 2009. The race takes place on a 2.874-kilometre (1.786 mi), 11 turn, temporary street circuit through Exhibition Place and on Lake Shore Boulevard. Toronto is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASN Canada FIA</span>

ASN Canada FIA was founded in 1990, after Canada's original National Sporting Authority, Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC), was expelled from the FIA. In a then-unprecedented motion, the country's sporting authority was entrusted completely to a single person, Benoit Mailloux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorsport Australia</span> Motorsports sanctioning body

Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport in Australia. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic motorsport</span> Type of motorsport with vehicles limited to a particular era

Historic motorsport or vintage motorsport, is motorsport with vehicles limited to a particular era. Only safety precautions are modernized in these hobbyist races. A historical event can be of various types of motorsport disciplines, from road racing to rallying.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to auto racing:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Grand Prix</span> Annual sports car race in Canada

The Chevrolet Grand Prix is an annual IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race held every July at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The race originated in 1975 and is currently a two hour and forty minute race in order to fit the event into a television-friendly package. Previous editions of the Grand Prix were part of the World Sportscar Championship, the American Le Mans Series and the IMSA GT Championship.

Silvia Bellot is a Spanish motorsport official who serves as a steward at Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)-sanctioned events, the assistant manager of the Carlin Motorsport IndyCar Series team and was the FIA Race Director for Formula 2 and Formula 3 in 2020. The daughter of a racing executive, she was the first person from Spain to be on a panel of stewards at a Formula One race in 2011 and was part of the first all-female panel of stewards at a round of the World Rally Championship five years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorsport in Canada</span>

Motorsports are a popular non-physical sport competed in many countries worldwide, including in Canada. One of the most internationally significant Canadian events is the Montreal Grand Prix, a race for the Formula One World Championship. Ongoing since 1967. Lance Stroll is the only Canadian competing in the series in 2023.

Groupe de Développement Sportif is Canada's national motorsport authority, as delegated by the FIA.

References

  1. Norris McDonald (15 May 2020). "Canada split over FIA's appointment of new racing regulator". The Toronto Star. TorStar.
  2. "Canadian publisher University of Toronto Press Online Book Catalogue". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-20.

See also