A speeding groundhog races Lewis Hamilton in Montreal (Sportsnet.ca photo)
The tremendous commotion of a F1 event only occupies a few days each year. The rest of the time many of the race tracks are the natural habitat of assorted species of wild creatures for whom a Grand Prix represents a terrifying home invasion.
When Malaysia’s Sepang circuit first opened (in 1999) in what was formerly an untamed jungle, a lengthy python rose up from a ditch and attacked a passing racing machine. While the unfortunate reptile was squashed, a civet (a type of wild cat) survived by cowering in a culvert beneath the caterwauling cars. England’s Silverstone circuit is infamous for its petrified hares whose evasive action can include darting dangerously into speeding traffic.
Homo Sapiens has occasionally run wild at the races (not counting Monza's tifosi who mostly wait until the chequered flag is shown}. The 2003 British Grand Prix featured the hair-raising antics of a placard-bearing kilt-wearing, deranged and defrocked priest whose madcap religious zeal prompted a crazed track invasion with him running erratically into the oncoming F1 cars travelling at 280km/h. Similarly testing the reflexes of drivers in the 2000 German Grand Prix was a crazed Mercedes-Benz factory worker who chose to express his dissatisfaction at being fired from the firm by darting across the race traffic at Hockenheim.
The potential for a disastrous confrontation between a frightened animal and a speeding F1 car was highlighted at the Osterreichring, Austria’s scenic alpine venue, where in 1987 Stefan Johansson’s McLaren, travelling at 300kph, ran into a large deer. The deer was instantly killed, the car was badly damaged and the driver was lucky to escape with only severe shock. By far the worst incident of this nature took place in the 1960 Belgian GP at Spa, when poor Alan Stacey (wearing an open helmet and goggles) was killed, having lost control of his Lotus after being hit in the face by a bird.
The most varied forms of wildlife are found at Canada’s F1 track, the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in downtown Montreal. The location, in a leafy park on an island in the middle of the St Lawrence river, is the domain of such mammal species as beaver, muskrat, squirrel, chipmunk, raccoon, skunk, groundhog and fox, as well as assorted reptiles, amphibians and a multitude of birds. For the visiting F1 circus their presence can be a dangerous course hazard. But spare a thought for the plight of the wildlife and wish a safe Grand Prix for all creatures.
Canada's F1 track is home to many forms of wildlife(photo: parcjeandrapeau.com)
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