Twelve Canadians and one Canadian organization are among those to be inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame at the Hall’s official Gala scheduled for April 17, 2010 at Sheraton Centre Toronto.

Ten of the inductees were originally nominated for the 2009 Gala, which was moved to this year, while three new inductees have been added to the list for this year’s April event.

The Hall of Fame comes under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation, created by a group of leading international businessmen.

The Canadian Motorsports Heritage Foundation aims to preserve the collection and exhibits installed in the former Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame, as well as provide visitors with a comprehensive and interactive look at the long and storied history of motor racing in Canada.

Canadian Inductees to be honoured in April include: Michel Mercier, Shannonville On. (motorcycle competitor); Wayne Kelly*, Ottawa, (competitor, builder); F.J. Smith, Cayuga, On. (Drag Racing); Bill Adam, Formerly of Oakville, ON now living in Fort Lauderdale, FLa. (competitor ,builder); Norm Mackereth, Toronto, On (Oval Competitor) ; Bill Le Feuvre, Sault Ste. Marie, ON ( Ice/Off road Racing ); Gary and Bruce Vessair , Honey Harbor, On, ( snowmobile competitors); Doug Fairchild* Hamilton, On ( builder, contributor); Alan Bunting,* Toronto, On ( builder, contributor) ; Carl Bastedo, Chatsworth, ON. (competitor, builder, contributor ) Jim O’Donnell, Toronto, On. (contributor, builder) and the Canadian Race Communications Association). * denotes to be awarded posthumously.

The Foundation also created a new International Category for this year and former Le Mans 24-hour winner Carroll Shelby of California is the initial inductee under this new category.

“I was delighted last fall, when the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation announced expansion of the Hall of Fame to include an International category to recognize people outside of Canada who helped develop and grow Canadian motor sport. It was no surprise to me that Carroll Shelby would be the first inductee.” said Paul Cooke, Comstock Racing Team Manager from 1963 to 1968.

“In the 1960’s, Carroll Shelby was hugely instrumental in helping Chuck Rathgeb’s Comstock Racing Team of Canadian drivers such as Ludwig Heimrath, Eppie Wietzes, George Eaton and Craig Fisher become household names as well as all being inducted to the Hall of Fame.”

Chuck Rathgeb forged a long-term relationship with Ford and Carroll Shelby and the Shelby organization worked directly with Comstock to field the Cobra 289, Cobra 427, King Cobra and Shelby Mustangs.

“History shows that the Comstock Racing Team was the most successful Canadian racing team ever seen at the time. The support given to Comstock under the direction of Carroll was invaluable,” concluded Cooke.

Shelby was inducted at a special gala to celebrate his lifetime achievements at the Canadian International Auto Show on February 10. The induction was done amidst 40 of the most significant cars that Shelby ever raced or built for others to race. Eppie Wietzes, one of the first Canadian inductees in the Hall of Fame, presented Shelby with his induction medallion while Paul Cooke presented him with a gold lapel pin.

The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame will be housed in a new facility at Parc Downsview Park. Construction is currently underway at the new home. In addition, the hall had a special display at the Canadian Motorsports Expo January 22-24 at the International Centre in Mississauga, featuring Paul Tracy’s Player’s Indy car and the Multimatic Mustang GTS-1 cars as well as a very large display at the Canadian International Auto Show that featured 10 cars with a significant Canadian history.

For further Information: Sid Priddle, 705 431 6277