The first Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham faced a setback right from the start.
On Friday, the initial day of practice and qualifying for Canada’s only Indy Car event was cancelled because the track wasn’t finished, preventing officials from completing a final safety check. Organizers mentioned they would attempt to fit all of Friday’s track sessions into Saturday’s agenda.
This marks Markham’s first year hosting the event after it moved from Toronto’s Exhibition Place, where it had been held since its inception in 1986.
“Indy Car is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” said Indy Car president J. Douglas Boles in a statement.
“Ontario has always been a fantastic market for our sport and today’s crowd is a great testament to that.”
“New events can always bring logistical challenges and we share in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Mark Coburn from Kitchener, Ont., and Scott Stobo from Waterloo, Ont., who have been attending the race for two decades drove to Markham early Friday. Coburn described it as “good and bad” that practice and qualifying were postponed.
“It’s good because I understand you want a safe track; safety comes first, as having an accident would be terrible,” he said about 30 minutes before the day was officially called off. “Of course, it would have been better if they had done these checks beforehand so everything could run smoothly.”
“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been anything happening on the track today which is disappointing since that’s what attracts fans-especially new ones in this area.”
PHOTOS | Fans gather ahead of Ontario Honda Dealers Indy in Markham:
Indy Car along with the City of Markham announced last September that they were moving from downtown Toronto. The temporary circuit created this week runs between Kennedy Road, Enterprise Boulevard, Unionville GO tracks, and Highway 407.
Some unfinished aspects included a pedestrian bridge over Enterprise Boulevard connecting parking areas to main spectator zones and openings cut into safety fencing for marshals to signal hazard flags through.
“It does feel somewhat random being here in Markham,” said Stobo. “In suburban areas like an industrial park. I was hoping they’d choose Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (in Clarington, Ont.) or something similar.”
The Ontario government revealed on July 27 that it invested $1.5 million into this event while just days later, the federal government announced its contribution of $3.5 million.
Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti confirmed on February 20 that city spending for the race exceeded $12 million primarily for one-time infrastructure improvements like road repaving.
Fridays at Canada’s Indy Car race are free with spectators encouraged to donate whatever they can to Make-A-Wish Foundation instead of buying tickets. Thousands attended around the Markham circuit with temperatures hitting 26 C or feeling like 31 C due to humidity.
“One issue being newer development is there’s not much shade here,” noted Stobo. “Not many chairs either.”
“That makes spending time outside pretty tough without as many indoor options compared to what we had at Exhibition Place.”
Off-track activities including driver autograph sessions went ahead as scheduled on Friday.
This Saturday will be packed with action as Indy Car plans both practice sessions along with its qualifying round throughout the day. Due to timing issues later in the evening, qualifying will follow its usual knockout format seen on road courses.
“Once we hit the track, we believe it will be fantastic,” expressed Boles. “We want to thank Markham city for their incredible support providing us with a layout that’s fast and technical which promises an exciting show come Sunday.”
This weekend also features races from USF2000 Championship, USF Pro 2000, Radical Cup Canada, and NASCAR Canada Series taking place around the road course.
“We talked earlier about possibly coming back after today,” Stobo mentioned. “I think we’ve had enough.”
Source link
Source link
