Valleyfield Regatta Press Conference

Thursday June 29^th, the Valleyfield Regatta held a Press Conference regarding the upcoming race on July 13-14-15.

First off, Mr. Fortier explained why they chose to hold the press conference at this place.  It is right next to the big picture that we see on the filtration unit.  This is the first manifestation of a long series of activities that will prepare the 75^th anniversary of the Valleyfield regatta.  This piece of art was done by Mr. Claude Thivierge.  This project is only the beginning of a series of activities to promote the 75^th anniversary.

Then, Mr. Éric Besner, President of the 75th anniversary activities stated that they are already working on that big event.  He explained that a lot of sub-committees are working hard to prepare a lot of activities.  There will be a souvenir book as well as a DVD and a moving museum will be shown everywhere.  There will also be a temporary museum at the MUSO.  Mr. Besner thanked all the people involved in these projects.

Éric Tremblay who will be the analyst at the Valleyfield Regatta interviewed some drivers that spoke about their seasonso far.  Michael Tremblay, leader for the championship, stated that having the first lane Friday in Valleyfield will be an advantage for him.  He said he is in first place because of the other driver’s problems.   Sylvain Maheu said that about 10 boats out of 27-28 can win the race.  For example, 8 different drivers won the 8 qualifiers.  As a local driver, Maheu said there is more pressure here in Valleyfield.  Marc Lecompte leader of the H350 class, explain that the new engine is way more powerful.  There is 70-80 more hp so it is harder in the corner.  He also explained that the start is very important especially in Valleyfield.  He also said he likes the Friday challenge format as it is a new challenge.  Finally Marc Theoret explained that having this name adds more pressure, but everybody has more pressure as everybody wants to win Valleyfield.  Theoret also explained the difference between a 2.5L stock and a GP.  In the S class, you have 140 hp and it is 1300 in Grand Prix.  It takes some time to adapt, and it is less forgiving.  Like his father already said, you have to respect the machine, if not it will hurt you sooner or later.  Finally, Theoret said that winning Valleyfield is still a dream, but he won’t make any prediction for 2012.

The last guest was Didier Bernard Séguin, race director and ACHA commissioner.  Séguin explained that we had a lot of tough luck since the beginning of the season.  In Long Sault, there was a lot of rain.  In Syracuse, Sunday’s race was blown out because of the wind.  That’s the reason why the points are not so high at the stage of the season.  But it was enough to see a great parity among the racers in every class.  There are fewer boats than in the 80’s and 90’s but the quality is there.  Séguin also explained the concept of the Friday challenge.  It is like a separate weekend.  There will be a qualifier and a final on Friday.  They are expecting 75-80 boats.  Two non-regular teams already showed their interest in coming here.  Since the pits are larger in Valleyfield and the facilities are there, they can accept more boats.  We can expect around 20-22 heats per day.

Jessica Stafford closed the press conference talked about the upcoming activities.  Friday July 6^th, a couple of teams will be displaying their boats for the fans.  There will be games for the kids along with a spaghetti dinner to profit a High School in Valleyfield.  There will be the contest “Rock tes Régates” and then The New Cities.  On Friday it will be free for everyone.  The other artist will be William Deslauriers, Les Cowboys Frigants, Mister Vallaire, Mc Mario, Miss Shelton, Lendemain de Veille, Les Porn Flakes, Rock Voisine and Kain.  Finally, Jessica Stafford announced a new partnership.  CSX a railroad company is now a new sponsor for the event and the tower has been renamed the CSX tower.