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MARKHAM — The inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham had a misfire at the starting line.
The first day of practice and qualifying at the only IndyCar event in Canada was cancelled Friday because the track was not completed and officials couldn’t do a final safety check. Organizers said they will try to squeeze all of the first day’s track sessions into Saturday’s schedule.
It’s the first year Markham has hosted the event after it was moved from Toronto’s Exhibition Place, where it had been held since its inaugural running in 1986.
“IndyCar 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 IndyCar president J. Douglas Boles in a statement. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that.
“New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Mark Coburn of Kitchener, Ont., and Scott Stobo of Waterloo, Ont., have been attending the race for 20 years and drove to Markham on Friday morning. Coburn said it was “good and bad” that the practice and qualifying sessions had been delayed.
“Like good, I can understand that you want a safe track, and safety comes first because it’d be horrible to have an accident and put a bad mark on things,” he said about 30 minutes before the day was officially cancelled. “Obviously, it would be nice if they did all these checks before today, so at least it could run smoothly.
“There’s been nothing all day today, unfortunately, on the track, which is the attraction and generates interest for fans and new fans, especially in the area.”
IndyCar and the City of Markham announced the move from downtown Toronto last September. The temporary circuit, built for the first time this week, runs between Kennedy Road, Enterprise Boulevard, the Unionville GO tracks and Highway 407.
Some of the incomplete features included a pedestrian bridge over Enterprise Boulevard that would connect parking to the main spectator compound as well as ports cut into safety fencing for marshals to wave hazard flags through.
“It does feel like from the start that being at Markham feels a little random,” said Stobo. “In the ‘burbs, in a kind of an industrial park.
“I was hoping they’d go to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (in Clarington, Ont.) or something.”
The Ontario government announced on July 27 that it had invested $1.5 million into the event. Four days later the federal government announced it had put in $3.5 million.
