The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is set to explore a second new location during the 2026 season.
Alongside the previously confirmed INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington, which will take place from March 13-15 on a street circuit around the Dallas Cowboys’ and Texas Rangers’ stadiums, Green Savoree Toronto ULC, the City of Markham, and INDYCAR SERIES announced on Sept. 3 that the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy race will shift from Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto to a brand-new street circuit in Markham, scheduled for Aug. 14-16, 2026. The City of Markham, with a population of 365,000, is located about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Exhibition Place.
“Markham, start your engines, the Indy race is coming to our city,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “This is a major milestone for us. We’re thrilled and honored to host this prestigious three-day racing event. We’re transforming our city streets into a thrilling racetrack.”
<p Renowned track designer Tony Cotman from NZR Consulting, who has worked on multiple NTT INDYCAR SERIES tracks, led the design for the new Markham street circuit. The temporary track will feature a layout with 12 turns spanning 2.19 miles (3.52 km).
“This is an incredibly exciting track, thanks to Tony (Cotman),” Scarpitti noted. “I asked them, ‘How are you going to design a racetrack around all these facilities?’”
Creating a street circuit involves more than just putting up concrete barriers and catch fencing; it’s about crafting a race-ready course from existing infrastructure. Building such circuits requires vision, coordination and thorough planning-from choosing appropriate roads and designing an engaging layout to securing permits and addressing community and business concerns regarding street closures.
The Markham circuit will be located in an active downtown area that hosts many Canadian corporate headquarters as well as York University’s Markham Campus and the renowned Markham Pan Am Centre-a key venue during the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.
“We literally looked at sites all over Ontario before deciding on this spot,” Kevin Savoree, president and COO of Green Savoree Racing Promotions shared.
Green Savoree Racing continues as the promoter for this event just like they did for Honda Indy Toronto.
The track (map shown in photo above) will be constructed in the eastern section of downtown Markham with the Unionville GO Train line running through that area. Due to this train line’s presence, there will be a double-sided pit lane-similar to those used at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear and at Arlington’s new street race.
“Months of planning went into this,” Savoree said. “We’re excited to have a double-sided pit lane. It’s becoming something iconic in INDYCAR.”
The layout includes several prime passing zones featuring good opportunities between Turns 8-10 as well as notably at Turn 5-a hairpin turn leading onto a long straightaway along Enterprise Boulevard where cars are expected to reach speeds over 180 mph before heading into right-hand Turn 6.
The Turn 5 hairpin offers enough width for multiple racing lines.
This same area allows cars to pass beneath the Union GO Station train line between Turns 4 and 5; again after exiting Turn 5 before continuing eastward along Enterprise Blvd.
“There’s an impressive straightaway with fantastic speed potential,” Savoree remarked. “It’s an impressive circuit overall! Frank and his team worked hard to bring this vision alive-and when I say it took tons of paperwork to make it happen-I’m serious.”
Jeff Atkinson, president of Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Markham believes that this new venue will provide fans with an enhanced experience compared to Exhibition Place which featured an older course measuring only 1.786 miles with its eleven turns.
INDYCAR first raced at Exhibition Place back in ’86 but stayed there mainly-except in ’08 due opening-wheel unification along with cancellations in ’20 & ’21 due pandemic challenges.
“It was quite a journey,” Atkinson reflected. “But now we have fresh sightlines along with experiences we just couldn’t offer at our previous site.”
Exhibition Place had reached its capacity limits while relocating provides room for accommodating larger audiences-especially younger diverse crowds which comes at just right time given FOX Sports’ first-year coverage saw viewer increases including an uptick by eighty-one percent among those aged eighteen through thirty-four alongside seventy-two percent rising female viewers within that age bracket!
The City Of MARKHAM HAS begun early development ON THE TRACK AND FESTIVAL SITE TO WORK IN COORDINATION WITH METROLINX HELPING ENSURE SMOOTHER TRANSIT IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA AS WELL AS OTHER LOCAL PARTNERS.
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“IMAGINE THE SOUND IMAGINE THE SIGHTS IMAGINE THE SMELL OF RACE CARS GOING OVER ENTERPRISE ROAD AT MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY MILES PER HOUR LEGALLY ON YOUR STREETS,” PENSKE CORPORATION PRESIDENT BUD DENKER SAID “I CAN’T WAIT.”
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