The Honda Indy Toronto
is an annual IndyCar Series race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto
, it was a Champ Car World Series race held annually from 1986 to 2007. The track has 11 turns, is a street circuit, and is located at Exhibition Place.
The Toronto Indy is one of six Canadian circuits to hold an Indy/Champ Car race, the others being Mont-Tremblant, Sanair, Montreal, Vancouver, and Edmonton.
|
HONDA INDY TORONTO TICKETS
|
History
In 1977 and 1978, the race, then named the
Molson Diamond Indy
and sanctioned by
USAC was held at
Mosport International Raceway in nearby
Bowmanville, Ontario. The first Indy race held in Canada was the 1967 Telegram Trophy 200 race at Mosport, which was won by
Bobby Unser (his first career Indy victory).
In the 1996 race, American driver
Jeff Krosnoff was killed in a crash. In that same crash, volunteer corner marshall
Gary Avrin was killed, and marshall Barbara Johnston also received injuries in the crash; she was treated and released that evening.
The name of the race was changed in 2006 from the Molson Indy Toronto to the
Molson Grand Prix of Toronto
after it was purchased by the Champ Car World Series from
Molson Sports and Entertainment. The name was also changed to distance Champ Car from the rival
Indy Racing League (IRL), which had gained the exclusive right to use the "Indy" name after 2002. In 2007, after Molson dropped their title sponsorship to the race,
Steelback Brewery signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal to become the event’s title sponsor, re-naming it the
Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto
. This marked the first title sponsorship change since the event started in 1986.
The unification of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League was announced on February 22, 2008, and the Grand Prix of Toronto's future was left in doubt. After attempts were made to preserve the race for 2008, it was confirmed on March 5, 2008 that the race had been cancelled.
On May 15, 2008,
Andretti Green Racing (co-owned by
Michael Andretti) purchased the assets of the former Grand Prix of Toronto.
[1] On July 30, 2008, it was confirmed that the race will return to Toronto on July 12, 2009.
[2] On September 18, 2008, Andretti Green Racing announced that it had signed a multi-year agreement with
Honda Canada Inc. for the title sponsorship of the race, thereby running from 2009 as the Honda Indy Toronto.
[3]
Michael Andretti is the all-time race win leader with seven victories.
Past winners
USAC
| Season
| Winning Driver
| Chassis
| Engine
| Team
|
| Telegram Trophy 200 (Mosport)
|
| 1967
| Bobby Unser
| Eagle
| Ford
|
|
| 1968
| Dan Gurney
| Eagle
| Ford
|
|
| Molson Diamond Indy (Mosport)
|
| 1977
| A.J. Foyt
| Coyote
| Foyt
| A.J. Foyt Enterprises
|
| 1978
| Danny Ongais
| Parnelli
| Cosworth
| Interscope Racing
|
CART/Champ Car
| Season
| Winning Driver
| Chassis
| Engine
| Team
| Report
|
| Molson Indy Toronto
|
| 1986
| Bobby Rahal
| March
| Cosworth
| Truesports
| Report
|
| 1987
| Emerson Fittipaldi
| March
| Chevrolet-Ilmor
| Patrick Racing
| Report
|
| 1988
| Al Unser Jr.
| March
| Chevrolet-Ilmor
| Galles Racing
| Report
|
| 1989
| Michael Andretti
| Lola
| Chevrolet-Ilmor
| Newman/Haas Racing
| Report
|
| 1990
| Al Unser Jr.
| Lola
| Chevrolet-Ilmor
| Galles/KRACO Racing
| Report
|
| 1991
| Michael Andretti
| Lola
| Chevrolet-Ilmor
| Newman/Haas Racing
| Report
|
| 1992
| Michael Andretti
| Lola
| Ford-Cosworth
| Newman/Haas Racing
| Report
|
| 1993
| Paul Tracy
| Penske
| Chevrolet-Ilmor
| Penske Racing
| Report
|
| 1994
| Michael Andretti
| Reynard
| Ford-Cosworth
| Chip Ganassi Racing
| Report
|
| 1995
| Michael Andretti
| Lola
| Ford-Cosworth
| Newman/Haas Racing
| Report
|
| 1996
| Adrian Fernandez
| Lola
| Honda
| Tasman Motorsports
| Report
|
| 1997
| Mark Blundell
| Reynard
| Mercedes-Benz
| PacWest Racing
| Report
|
| 1998
| Alex Zanardi
| Reynard
| Honda
| Chip Ganassi Racing
| Report
|
| 1999
| Dario Franchitti
| Reynard
| Honda
| Team Green
| Report
|
| 2000
| Michael Andretti
| Lola
| Ford-Cosworth
| Newman/Haas Racing
| Report
|
| 2001
| Michael Andretti
| Reynard
| Honda
| Team Green
| Report
|
| 2002
| Cristiano da Matta
| Lola
| Toyota
| Newman/Haas Racing
| Report
|
| 2003
| Paul Tracy
| Lola
| Ford-Cosworth
| Forsythe Racing
| Report
|
| 2004
| Sébastien Bourdais
| Lola
| Ford-Cosworth
| Newman/Haas Racing
| Report
|
| 2005
| Justin Wilson
| Lola
| Ford-Cosworth
| RuSPORT
| Report
|
| Molson Grand Prix of Toronto
|
| 2006
| A. J. Allmendinger
| Lola
| Ford-Cosworth
| Forsythe Racing
| Report
|
| Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto
|
| 2007
| Will Power
| Panoz
| Cosworth
| Walker Racing
| Report
|
IndyCar Series
| Season
| Winning Driver
| Chassis
| Engine
| Team
| Report
|
| Honda Indy Toronto
|
| 2009
| Dario Franchitti
| Dallara
| Honda
| Chip Ganassi Racing
| Report
|
Atlantic Championship
| Season
| Winning Driver
|
| 1990
| Freddy Rhemrev
|
| 1991
| Stuart Crow
|
| 1992
| David Empringham
|
| 1993
| Claude Bourbonnais
|
| 1994
| Richie Hearn
|
| 1995
| Richie Hearn
|
| 1996
| Patrick Carpentier
|
| 1997
| Memo Gidley
|
| 1998
| Alex Tagliani
|
| 2000
| Andrew Bordin
|
| 2001
| David Rutledge
|
| 2002
| Michael Valiante
|
| 2003
| A.J. Allmendinger
|
| 2004
| Jon Fogarty
|
| 2005
| Antoine Bessette
|
| 2006
| Robbie Pecorari
|
| 2007
| Franck Perera
|
Indy Lights
| Season
| Winning Driver
|
| 1986
| Fabrizio Barbazza
|
| 1987
| Tommy Byrne
|
| 1988
| Calvin Fish
|
| 1989
| Gary Rubio
|
| 1990
| Paul Tracy
|
| 1991
| P.J. Jones
|
| 1992
| Bryan Herta
|
| 1993
| Bryan Herta
|
| 1994
| Steve Robertson
|
| 1995
| Greg Moore
|
| 1996
| Gualter Salles
|
| 1997
| Helio Castroneves
|
| 1998
| Guy Smith
|
| 1999
| Geoff Boss
|
| 2001
| Townsend Bell
|
| 2002-2008: No races held
|
| 2009
| Sebastian Saavedra
|
Track layout
The Toronto Indy track layout uses local roads that wind through and around Exhibition Place.
The Start/Finish line is located on Princes' Boulevard, slightly west of Newfoundland Drive. From the Start/Finish line, drivers head East towards the
Princes' Gates, turning right (south) onto Canada Boulevard before reaching the gate.
From Canada Boulevard, the track blends onto
Lake Shore Boulevard (west) which comprises the longest straightaway on the circuit (this straightaway is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Shoreline Drive during race telecasts).
Driver's re-enter the Exhibition grounds at Ontario Drive, heading North towards Prince's Boulevard where they turn left (west).
The circuit continues on to Manitoba Drive and heads north-east then east until reaching Nova Scotia Avenue.
At Nova Scotia Avenue, drivers turn right (south) then navigate a left-right-left series of turns until rejoining Prince's Boulevard and heading east towards the Start/Finish line.
Race day attendance
| Year
| Attendance
|
| 1986
| 60,000
|
| 1991
| 60,000
|
| 1993
| 66,225
|
| 1994
| 66,503
|
| 2000
| 72,976
|
| 2001
| 73,628
|
| 2002
| 73,160
|
| 2003
| 73,255
|
| 2004
| 72,561
|
| 2005
| 73,155
|
References
- Andretti Green buys Toronto Champ Car race.
- Toronto, Edmonton on 2009 IndyCar Schedule.
- Honda Indy Toronto News