While they have several points in common, including that of having marked the history of motorsport in the country, we will also remember from these three adored drivers that they have been examples of generosity with the public and journalists.
Patrick Carpentier, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and Bertrand Godin will be inducted tonight into Canada’s Motorsports Hall of Fame at a ceremony to be held tonight in Toronto.
In all three cases, this honor is fully deserved even if Carpentier had to wait many years before obtaining this award. Drivers with certainly less extensive track records, and especially younger ones, were indeed admitted before him.
Pay to be inducted
The reason for his late enthronement is surprising, if not rather… revolting.
“Under a former administration, the people selected had to pay to be inducted, he explained, in an interview with the Log. Me, I didn’t want to. Fortunately, the new leaders no longer think the same way.
“I am certainly very honored to join other experienced pilots,” he continued.
Born under a lucky star
Carpentier acknowledges having had the chance to begin his racing career at the right time. At a time when companies were investing huge sums to promote Canadian talent.
“Obviously, I owe a great debt to Player’s which allowed me to drive in the CART and Champ Car Series [ancêtres de l’IndyCar] at a very high level. Organizations like Lynx Racing, in Formula Atlantic, and Tony Bettenhausen also gave me a big hand.
“Without their support, I wouldn’t be here to answer your questions,” says the man who celebrated his 50th birthday last August.
After Speed Skating
Carpentier was destined for a career in speed skating, but he turned to motor racing.
“Speed skating was way too demanding for me,” he says. The training lasted 12 months a year. At some point, I was no longer able. We lived in L’Assomption and we had to travel at least three times a week to the Olympic Stadium. My summers were devoted to this discipline.
« The exploits of Gilles [Villeneuve] influenced me. My dad was looking at it and he gave me a go-kart. I immediately had the sting. And it didn’t stop after that. »
After a dominant season in Formula Atlantic, where he won nine of the 12 stages of the 1996 season, he was offered a steering wheel in the CART Series.
His record shows five wins in 157 starts in the most competitive single-seater series in North America. He has been on the podium 24 times.
“For me, the most memorable event of my career was my victory over the Michigan Oval in 2001,” he says. It took so long to get it and I felt this pressure to perform at a time when I was about to negotiate a new contract. »
On July 22, 2001, Carpentier had triumphed over the Scottish Dario Franchitti, triple champion of the Indianapolis 500 Miles, not without having started from the 21e rank on the starting grid.
A year later, he signed his third victory at the Mid-Ohio track and honored his promise to walk naked (or almost) on the track. He had then worn the checkered flag of the winner at his waist!
“I found myself so ugly,” he recalls.
Archival photo
In 2002, Patrick Carpentier celebrated his victory at the Mid-Ohio circuit wearing a simple checkered flag.
Absent from the ceremony
Carpentier has two good reasons to justify his absence from tonight’s ceremony. First, he was retained in Montreal to assume his role as an analyst on the RDS network.
“It’s our biggest weekend of the year with the Monaco Grand Prix and the 600-mile race in Charlotte in NASCAR at the end of the day on Sunday,” he said.
The state of health of her 21-year-old daughter Anaïs is also a source of concern for the family.
“She has been very ill recently and has just returned from a week-long hospital stay,” he says. She has had episodes of acute pancreatitis since early childhood.
“I no longer travel by plane and I avoid long trips so as not to get away from her,” he concludes.
“I thought it was a joke…”
Louis-Philippe Dumoulin flattered by this distinction
Photo courtesy, Dumoulin Competition
In 2022, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin will try to add a fourth champion ring to his rich collection.
In October 2020, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin received a call which indicated the regional code 416 on his display.
“At the other end of the line, a person spoke in rather approximate French. I had not understood his name before our conversation turned to English, said the pilot from Mauricie, in an interview with the Log.
“It was to tell me that my name had been selected to be inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame. At the time, I believed a joke from a friend of mine in Ontario. But no, it was true.
“It surprised me, he added, but I was very flattered at the same time. »
The ceremony was supposed to take place in February 2021, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. Tonight, there will be 31 new inductees to form the cohorts of 2020 and 2021.
Of the number, the colleague Philippe Brasseur, who directs the Quebec magazine Pole position masterfully, will also be rewarded in the media category.
Unlike the two other Quebec drivers – Patrick Carpentier and Bertrand Godin – who will also be honored tonight at a ceremony held in Toronto, Dumoulin still devotes himself to his job as a racing driver. And full time too.
The little guy from Saint-Maurice
“When you receive such an honor, you have no choice but to dive into your memories, he says, even if my career is not over and I have good years ahead of me.
“It makes you realize how far you’ve come, chasing the 43-year-old driver. I’m thinking of this little guy from Saint-Maurice from a modest family who lived in a house with a dirt basement. I owe a lot to my parents who, without being able to spend a lot of money, put in hours and passion to help my brother Jean-François and me.
“I owe them a lot, as I do to all our business partners who have supported us over the years and who still do today. »
Unlike several pilots a little older than him, Dumoulin could not count on the financial contribution of the tobacco company Player’s.
“The anti-tobacco law forced the withdrawal of this company and the end of its sponsorship in motorsport,” said Dumoulin. If Player’s had stayed, I probably would have been one of the next to join. »
A cross on the single-seater
After a promising career in Formula Ford where he was crowned champion in 2002, he had to give up, for lack of sufficient budget, on a career in single-seaters and possibly in the IndyCar Series.
But, it was only to come back stronger in a discipline that was unknown to him, the stockcar.
In 2022, Dumoulin will attempt to become just the second driver in the history of the Canadian NASCAR Pinty’s series (after Ontarian Scott Steckly) to win four titles, he who lifted the championship trophy in 2014, 2018 and 2021.
“It’s our goal to win a fourth time, even if our start to the season isn’t perfect,” he concludes. We’re not used to giving up and, believe me, I haven’t said my last word. »
Bertrand Godin and this contagious passion
Bertrand Godin did not miss this opportunity which was offered to him to race in Formula Ford a few years ago.
As proof, he won a race at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières in 2019, beating not only young wolves in the specialty, but also veterans for whom motor racing no longer holds any secrets.
“If I am given another opportunity to express myself on a circuit, I will answer present, he affirmed in an interview with the Log. I’m inducted into Canada’s Motorsports Hall of Fame, but I’m not yet a retiree. This passion for racing is contagious. »
Godin, 54, is one of some 31 personalities who will be inducted at a ceremony to be held this evening in Toronto.
Human values
If he was able to count on the appreciated support of Player’s during his career, he would also like to thank all those people who believed in him.
“I am thinking of those who did not hesitate to dig into their pockets to support me financially. These are the human values that allowed me to race. »
A memorable victory
This recognition makes him realize how lucky he has been in life. In his most memorable memories, his victory in Formula Atlantic in 1997 will remain forever etched in his memory.
“It was magical to win the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, where Gilles Villeneuve won his first Grand Prix in Formula 1.”