# Race Hamilton

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Motor race

Labatt's Hamilton Championship Atlantic Championship Location Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 43°15′21″N 79°52′23″W / 43.25583°N 79.87306°W / 43.25583; -79.87306 Corporate sponsor Labatt Brewing Company First race 1978 First Atlantic Championship race 1978 Last race 1978 Laps 39 Duration 47m 24.585s Most wins (driver) Keke Rosberg (1) Most wins (team) Excita/Fred Opert Racing (1) Most wins (manufacturer) Chevron B45 - Ford (1) Circuit information Surface Asphalt Length 1.3 mi (2.1 km) Turns 10 Lap record 1m05.964s (Price Cobb, March 78B - Ford, 1978, Formula Atlantic)

**Race Hamilton**, also known as the **Labatt's Hamilton Championship**, was a 1978 auto race held in [Hamilton](/source/Hamilton%2C_Ontario), [Ontario](/source/Ontario), [Canada](/source/Canada) featuring a round of the [Formula Atlantic Labatt Championship Series](/source/Atlantic_Championship). The event featured future driving stars [Bobby Rahal](/source/Bobby_Rahal), [Keke Rosberg](/source/Keke_Rosberg) and [Danny Sullivan](/source/Danny_Sullivan) competing for $10,000 in first-place prize money.[1]

The race took place on August 7 on a 2.092 km (1.30 miles), 10 turn temporary [street circuit](/source/Street_circuit) in downtown Hamilton with the start/finish line located between the [Hamilton City Hall](/source/Hamilton_City_Hall) and the [Art Gallery of Hamilton](/source/Art_Gallery_of_Hamilton).[2][3]

The race attracted an estimated 60,000 fans, half of those watched for free from the roofs of surrounding buildings and by breaking down barriers.[4][5] After a five-hour delay due to insurance issues with the safety barriers around the course, only 39 of the scheduled 73 laps took place due to darkness. Only 16 of the 29 cars entered, completed the race.[6]

## Race results

Pos No. Driver Team Chassis/Engine Laps Time Speed 1 4 Keke Rosberg Excita/Fred Opert Racing Chevron B45 - Ford 39 47m 24.585s 68.113 mph 2 22 Price Cobb Ecurie Canada March 78B - Ford 39 47m 25.208s 68.098 mph 3 2 Bobby Rahal Pierre's Motor Racing Ralt RT1 - Ford 39 67.704 mph 4 34 Danny Sullivan Bluebonnet Foods/Quaker State March 78B - Ford 39 67.394 mph 5 6 Divina Galica Fred Opert Racing/Olympus Chevron B39 - Ford 39 66.255 mph 6 31 Chip Mead Hanna Car Wash/Pierre's Motor Racing Ralt RT1 - Ford 38 7 9 John Mortensen Doug Shierson Racing March 78B - Ford 38 8 51 Rick Koehler Brooks Stevens Excalibur EE2B - Ford 38 9 19 Bob Earl James Brolin Chevron B-34 - Ford 38 10 78 Rick Bell Ralt RT1 - Ford 38 11 13 Jean-Pierre Alamy March 78B - Ford 38 12 15 Mike Rocke BDN March 77B - Ford 37 13 72 Gilles Leger Ralt RT1 - Ford 37 14 50 Jeff Smith Starr Racing Chevron B34 - Ford 37 15 58 Jon Norman Norman Racing March 78B - Ford 37 16 71 John Connolly Ralt RT1 - Ford 36 17 20 Jeff Wood Great Plains Racing March 78B - Ford 35 Accident 18 66 Peter Robinson Chevron B39 - Ford 34 Accident 19 33 Kevin Cogan Brian Robertson/Ralt American Ralt RT1 - Ford 29 Cross member 20 38 Tom Gloy Tom Gloy/Lane Sports March 77B - Ford 26 Transmission 21 7 Bill Brack STP Special/Ecurie Canada March 78B - Ford 22 Accident 22 8 Howdy Holmes Jiffy Mixes/Doug Shierson Racing March 78B - Ford 10 Mechanical 23 67 R.J. Nelkin Hunter Mountain March 78B - Ford 10 Mechanical 24 21 Michael Follett Ralt RT1 - Ford 10 Spun 25 63 Ralph Manaker R.M. Racing March 76B - Ford 3 Mechanical 26 62 Cliff Hansen Charles Gladding March 78B - Ford 2 Suspension 25 54 Carl Liebich Liebrau Racing Lola T-560 - Ford 0 Accident 28 75 Chris Gleason Whalley BMW Sales March 77B - Ford 0 Accident 29 79 Bobby Brown Automatic Radios March 78B - Ford 0 Accident 30 24 Bertil Roos Racetune/Acme March 77B - Ford 0 Pulled off

[7][8][9]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Zimmermann, John (1998). *A Quarter Century on the Road to Stardom (The Atlantic Championship Series)*. USDC Publishing. pp. 28–32. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9782930120232](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9782930120232).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Hamilton Street Circuit (1978)"](http://theracingline.net/racingcircuits/Canada/on/Hamilton.html). *theracingline.net*. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Hamilton Street Circuit (Formula Atlantic race, 1978)"](https://www.racingcircuits.info/north-america/canada/hamilton.html). *racingcircuits.info*. Retrieved 14 July 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Miller, Tim (Jan 2, 2011). ["Hamilton loved 1978 Formula race, but financially it failed"](http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2173769-hamilton-loved-1978-formula-race-but-financially-it-failed/). *The Hamilton Spectator*. Hamilton: Metroland Media Group. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Webster, George. ["Formula Fiasco"](http://www.prnmag.com/4-wheel-features/75-formula-fiasco.html). *PRN Ignition*. Performance Publications Media Group. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Formula Atlantic – in Hamilton"](http://henleyshamilton1.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/formula-atlantic-in-hamilton/). *Henleys Hamilton 1*. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Formula Atlantic Labatts Championship Series Race - Hamilton, 7 Aug 1978"](http://www.oldracingcars.com/results/result.php?RaceID=K78F). *oldracingcars.com*. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["1978 CASC/SCCA Labatt Challenge Series"](http://www.champcarstats.com/atlantic/year/1978.htm). champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2013-11-24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["1978 CASC Formula Atlantic Labatt Championship Series"](http://www.autocourse.ca/archives/usa/fatlantic/1978-fatlantic.htm). *autocourse.ca*. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

v t e Atlantic Championship Series race venues (1974–2009, 2012, 2014–present) Current (2026) Road courses Road Atlanta Mid-Ohio Road America Watkins Glen Summit Point Kershaw Barber Former Ovals Calgary Chicago Gateway Milwaukee Nazareth New Hampshire Phoenix Road courses Brainerd Bridgehampton Calgary Cleveland Edmonton (Airport) Edmonton (Speedway) Firebird Gateway Gimli Homestead Indianapolis Joliet Laguna Seca Lime Rock Memphis (NC) Mexico City Mont-Tremblant Mosport New Jersey Ontario Palm Beach (NC) Pittsburgh Portland Riverside Sanair Seattle Sebring Shubenacadie Sonoma St-Félicien Topeka Thompson Utah Virginia Westwood Willow Springs Street circuits Denver Des Moines Detroit Granby (NC) Halifax Hamilton Houston Las Vegas Long Beach Miami Monterrey Montreal Québec City Phoenix San Jose Spokane St. John's St. Petersburg Tacoma Toronto Trois-Rivières Vancouver

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Race Hamilton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Hamilton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Hamilton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.