The complex at Saint-Pie includes multiple racing surfaces: the main triangular oval, a 0.402 km (0.250 mi) dragstrip, a 0.536 km (0.333 mi) oval, a 0.193 km (0.120 mi) mini-oval, and a 0.241 km (0.150 mi) karting course. A 2.092 km (1.300 mi) road course was also part of the facility at one time but has since been decommissioned. The triangular shape of the main oval gave the track a distinctive character, with tight geometry that placed a premium on late braking and clean exits.
Sanair's highest-profile era came during the mid-1980s when it hosted the Molson Indy Montreal three consecutive years from 1984 to 1986 as part of the CART Championship Auto Racing Teams series. The 1984 event is remembered for a serious accident during practice in which Rick Mears suffered significant foot and leg injuries after crashing on the mainstretch. Mears would eventually recover and continue his career, going on to add further Indianapolis 500 victories.
The 1985 Molson Indy Montreal produced one of the most controversial finishes in CART history. Johnny Rutherford led Pancho Carter under a late caution on the final lap, apparently set for victory. As the field rounded the final corner, the pace car unexpectedly pulled off to pit lane, triggering the field to race to the line. Carter edged past Rutherford at the finish and initially celebrated the win. Rutherford's team protested, arguing that no green flag had waved and therefore no racing should have occurred under caution with one lap remaining. CART officials ultimately agreed and restored the victory to Rutherford, a reversal that generated debate across the paddock about race control procedures.
The facility's dragstrip hosted the NHRA's Le Grandnationals Molson until 1992, when Canadian fuel regulations banning leaded race fuel made it impossible for the NHRA to continue staging a national event in the country. Sanair had been a fixture on the Canadian drag racing calendar, and the end of the NHRA's presence marked a significant reduction in the track's national profile. The facility continued hosting races in the American Canadian Tour and the Sèrie ACT Castrol in subsequent years, serving the regional short-track community.
Sanair appeared regularly on the NASCAR North Series schedule across the late 1970s and early 1980s. Notable winners at the circuit during that period included Beaver Dragon, Robbie Crouch, Bobby Dragon, Dick McCabe, Randy LaJoie, and Claude Leclerc. The facility ran under the name Sanair International Speedway in its earlier years before adopting the Sanair Super Speedway branding.
Sanair's triangular layout made it an atypical venue in the North American motorsport landscape — a hybrid between a short oval and a road course in terms of its rhythm and braking demands. Its moment of greatest international attention arrived with the controversial 1985 CART race finish, which highlighted the difficulty of enforcing pace car protocols in close racing situations and influenced subsequent rule clarifications across multiple series. The circuit remains operational and continues to serve regional motorsport in Quebec.