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The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 to 2007. After a one-year hiatus, it has been part of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule since 2009. The race takes place on a 2.874 km (1.786 mi), 11 turn, temporary street circuit through Exhibition Place and on Lake Shore Boulevard. Toronto is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit.[1]

Quick Facts NTT IndyCar Series, Location ...
Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto
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NTT IndyCar Series
LocationExhibition Place
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
43°38′14″N 79°24′56″W
Corporate sponsorOntario Honda Dealers
First race1986
First ICS race2009
Laps90
Previous namesMolson Indy Toronto (1986–2005)
Molson Grand Prix of Toronto (2006)
Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto (2007)
Honda Indy Toronto (2009-2023)
Most wins (driver)Michael Andretti (7)
Most wins (team)Newman/Haas Racing (7)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chassis: Dallara (15)
Engine: Chevrolet (13)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt/Concrete
Length2.874 km (1.786 mi)
Turns11
Lap record0:58.806 (Brazil Cristiano da Matta, Lola B02/00, 2002, CART)
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It is IndyCar's second-longest running street race, only behind the Grand Prix of Long Beach[2] and is the third oldest race on the current schedule (tied with the Mid-Ohio 200) in terms of number of races run.[3] The Toronto Indy is one of seven Canadian circuits to have held an IndyCar race, the others being Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Mont-Tremblant, Sanair, Montreal, Vancouver, and Edmonton.

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Origins

Motorsport and automobile demonstrations has a history at Exhibition Place going back over 100 years.[4][5] Automotive shows, displays, races and driving demonstrations have taken place on the grounds since the invention of the automobile, including the first appearance of an indy car, the 1916 Indianapolis 500 winning Peugeot during the 1918 Canadian National Exhibition.[6]

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2003 Molson Indy pit lane and front straight.

From 1952 until 1966 the grandstand hosted stock car racing on a paved quarter mile circuit on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons, hosting crowds upwards of 20,000 often broadcast live on CBC in Toronto.[7][8] In 1958 the venue hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race, the Jim Mideon 500. The race was the first of Richard Petty's 1,184 starts in NASCAR and was won by his father Lee Petty.

Following the 1977 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, Labatt, the sponsor who held the rights to F1 racing in Canada at the time, as well as the owners of Mosport Park revived the proposal to move the race to Exhibition Place after the FIA deemed Mosport as an unsuitable host facility going forward.[9] Toronto city council turned down the proposal by a margin of two votes and within a few hours, Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau had negotiated with Labatt to move the race permanently to Montreal.[10][11][12]

In 1984, Molson Breweries in-house promotional division, Molstar Sports & Entertainment acquired the rights to CART sanctioned IndyCar races in Canada and ran the first Molson Indy at the Sanair Speedway outside Montreal. The tight tri-oval was unpopular with the CART teams in part due to a severe injury to Rick Mears during the first event.[13] In the spring of 1985, Molson revived the idea of a street circuit through Exhibition Place in Toronto for a third time. Toronto City Council approved the race by two votes in July 1985 for the race to be held the following year. [14]

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Race history

The first Molson Indy Toronto was won by Bobby Rahal on July 20, 1986. The event quickly became Canada's second largest annual sporting event, eclipsed only by the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, with three-day attendance figures routinely around 170,000 people.[15]

Time trials for the 2013 race.

In the 1996 race, American driver Jeff Krosnoff was killed in a crash with 4 laps remaining. In that same crash, volunteer corner marshal Gary Avrin was killed, and marshal Barbara Johnston also received injuries in the crash; she was treated and released that evening. Adrián Fernández won the race.

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 Molstar 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, multimillion-dollar deal to become the event's title sponsor, renaming 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.[16] On July 30, 2008, it was confirmed that the race would return to Toronto on July 12, 2009.[17] 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, henceforth named from 2009 onward as the Honda Indy Toronto.[18]

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Looking towards the Direct Energy Centre during the 2013 race. Team Penske pits are at the bottom of the image.

In 2013, the race weekend was changed to a 2 race format with one race Saturday and one race Sunday. The Saturday race would feature a standing start while the Sunday race would be a rolling start. After an aborted standing start Saturday leading to a rolling start, teams and officials agreed to try the standing start again Sunday. The Sunday standing start was successful on its first attempt and was the first successful standing start in unified IndyCar series history (the Champ Car World Series had used standing starts late in its history shortly before unification). In 2014, weather forced both races to be run Sunday, exposing the difficulty in logistics of running two races in an already packed schedule. By 2015, both standing starts and the two race format were abandoned.

In 2016, the track layout was modified to accommodate the newly constructed Hotel X Toronto. Under the new layout, the pit lane was moved to the opposite side of the race course, starting at the outside of turn 9 and exiting just after turn 11. This, in turn, made turn 11 a sharper turn than it had been in the previous configuration.[19]

Michael Andretti is the all-time race win leader with seven victories.

The 2020 and 2021 editions of the event were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, marking the second gap in the race's history. This came due to the restrictions that were in place barring non-essential travel at the Canada–United States border (as most IndyCar Series races are within the United States) and after Mayor John Tory announced that all mass public gatherings were banned throughout the summers of 2020 and 2021 respectively in response to the pandemic.[20][21]

Following the cancellation of the 2020 race, a new three-year agreement was reached in September 2020 between Exhibition Place and Green Savoree Toronto to host the event through 2023.[22]

On March 14, 2024 it was announced that the new title partner of the race would be the Ontario Honda Dealers, changing the name to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.[23]

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Past winners

More information Season, Date ...
Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race distance Race time Average speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
CART IndyCar / Champ Car
1986 July 20 United States Bobby Rahal Truesports March Cosworth 103 183.34 (295.057) 2:05:50 87.414 Report
1987 July 19 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing March Chevrolet-Ilmor 103 183.34 (295.057) 1:54:35 95.991 Report
1988 July 17 United States Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing March Chevrolet-Ilmor 103 183.34 (295.057) 1:59:34 91.994 Report
1989 July 23 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet-Ilmor 103 183.34 (295.057) 2:01:00 90.9 Report
1990 July 22 United States Al Unser Jr. Galles/KRACO Racing Lola Chevrolet-Ilmor 94* 167.32 (269.275) 2:13:26 75.997 Report
1991 July 21 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet-Ilmor 103 183.34 (295.057) 1:50:57 99.143 Report
1992 July 19 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 103 183.34 (295.057) 1:52:21 97.898 Report
1993 July 18 Canada Paul Tracy Penske Racing Penske Chevrolet-Ilmor 103 183.34 (295.057) 1:53:58 96.51 Report
1994 July 17 United States Michael Andretti Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Ford-Cosworth 98 174.44 (280.733) 1:48:15 96.673 Report
1995 July 16 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 98 174.44 (280.733) 1:50:25 94.787 Report
1996 July 14 Mexico Adrian Fernandez Tasman Motorsports Lola Honda 93* 165.912 (267.009) 1:41:59 97.548 Report
1997 July 20 United Kingdom Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz 95 163.495 (263.119) 1:45:43 92.779 Report
1998 July 19 Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 95 163.495 (263.119) 1:52:24 87.274 Report
1999 July 18 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team Green Reynard Honda 95 166.725 (268.317) 1:56:27 85.897 Report
2000 July 16 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 112 196.56 (316.332) 2:00:02 98.248 Report
2001 July 15 United States Michael Andretti Team Green Reynard Honda 95 166.725 (268.317) 1:59:58 83.375 Report
2002 July 7 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Lola Toyota 112 196.56 (316.332) 2:06:19 93.361 Report
2003 July 13 Canada Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 112 196.56 (316.332) 2:02:36 96.189 Report
2004 July 11 France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 84 147.42 (237.249) 1:45:36 83.749 Report
2005 July 10 United Kingdom Justin Wilson RuSPORT Lola Ford-Cosworth 86 150.93 (242.898) 1:46:10 85.296 Report
2006 July 9 United States A. J. Allmendinger Forsythe Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 86 150.93 (242.898) 1:38:01 92.386 Report
2007 July 8 Australia Will Power Walker Racing Panoz Cosworth 73 128.115 (206.181) 1:45:58 72.534 Report
2008 Race cancelled following reunification of Champ Car and IRL.
IndyCar Series
2009 July 12 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 85 149.175 (240.073) 1:43:47 86.24 Report
2010 July 18 Australia Will Power Penske Racing Dallara Honda 85 149.175 (240.073) 1:47:15 83.451 Report
2011 July 10 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 85 149.175 (240.073) 1:56:32 76.805 Report
2012 July 8 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Dallara Chevrolet 85 149.175 (240.073) 1:33:27 95.787 Report
2013 July 13 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 85 149.175 (240.073) 1:41:17 88.37 Report
July 14 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 85 149.175 (240.073) 1:35:02 94.177
2014 July 20* France Sébastien Bourdais KV Racing Technology Dallara Chevrolet 65* 114.075 (183.585) 1:15:44 90.37 Report
United Kingdom Mike Conway Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara Chevrolet 56* 98.28 (158.166) 1:20:36 73.168
2015* June 14 United States Josef Newgarden CFH Racing Dallara Chevrolet 85 149.175 (240.073) 1:39:00 90.41 Report
2016 July 17 Australia Will Power Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 85 151.81 (244.314) 1:42:39 88.739 Report
2017 July 16 United States Josef Newgarden Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 85 151.81 (244.314) 1:35:05 95.79 Report
2018 July 15 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 85 151.81 (244.314) 1:37:00 93.898 Report
2019 July 14 France Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 85 151.81 (244.314) 1:30:16 100.9 Report
2020 July 12 Race cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 July 11
2022 July 17 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 85 151.81 (244.314) 1:38:45 92.234 Report
2023 July 16 Denmark Christian Lundgaard Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda 85 151.81 (244.31) 1:41:55 89.361 Report
2024 July 21 United States Colton Herta Andretti Global with Curb Agajanian Dallara Honda 85 151.81 (244.31) 1:39:28 91.568 Report
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1997 Molson Indy Toronto
  • 1990: Race shortened due to rain.
  • 1996: Race shortened due to fatal crash involving Jeff Krosnoff and a track marshal.
  • 2014 I: Race postponed from Saturday to Sunday morning due to rain. Shortened to accommodate regularly scheduled Sunday race.
  • 2014 II: Race shortened due to time limit.

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Road to Indy

More information CART American Racing Series, Season ...
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SCCA Trans-Am Series

More information Year, Winning driver ...
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Pirelli World Challenge – GT

More information Season, Winning driver ...
Season Winning driver Car
2007 United States Randy Pobst Porsche 911 GT3
2010 United States Randy Pobst (GT)
United States Peter Cunningham (GTS)
Volvo S60
Acura TSX
2013 United States Johnny O'Connell (GT)
United States Lawson Aschenbach (GTS)
Cadillac CTS-V
Chevrolet Camaro
2014 Race 1
United Kingdom Nick Tandy (GT)
Brazil Marcelo Hahn (GTA)
United States Dean Martin (GTS)
Porsche 911 GT3 R
Lamborghini Gallardo GT3
Ford Mustang Boss 302S
Race 2
Canada Kuno Wittmer (GT)
United States Michael Mills (GTA)
Canada Mark Wilkins (GTS)
Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R
Porsche 911 GT3 R
Kia Optima
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Pirelli World Challenge – Touring Car

More information Season, Winning driver ...
Season Winning driver Car
2007 United States Peter Cunningham Acura
2010 Canada Nick Wittmer Honda Civic Si
2013 Race 1
United States Michael Cooper (TC)
United States Joel Lipperini (TCB)
Mazdaspeed 3
Honda Fit
Race 2
United States Michael Cooper (TC)
United States Ernie Francis Jr. (TCB)
Mazdaspeed 3
Mazda 2
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CASCAR Super Series

More information Year, Race name ...
Year Race name Winner Car Ref
1999 Miller Lite 100 Canada Robin Buck Pontiac [29]
2000 Exide 99 Canada Kevin Dowler Ford [30]
2001 Canada Robin Buck Pontiac [31]
2002 CASCAR Toronto Indy, presented by NAPA Canada Kevin Dowler Ford [32]
2003 Avenue ACDelco 100 Canada Jeff Lapcevich Chevrolet [33]
2004 CASCAR Toronto Indy 100 Canada Jeff Lapcevich Chevrolet [34]
2005 ATTO 100 Canada Kerry Micks Ford [35]
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NASCAR Pinty's Series

The Indy Toronto circuit is based around Exhibition Place, but the heritage of NASCAR and Exhibition Place dates considerably earlier than the 2010 Canadian Tire Series round at Indy Toronto. In 1958, the 31st round of NASCAR's Grand National (now Cup Series) championship was held at the third Exhibition Stadium (located on the site of BMO Field). That race marked the Cup debut of Richard Petty.

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Ron Beauchamp, Jr. practicing for the 2010 Jumpstart 100
More information Year, Race name ...
Year Race name Winner Car Ref
2010 Jumpstart 100 Canada Andrew Ranger Dodge [36]
2011 Streets of Toronto 100 Canada Andrew Ranger Dodge [37]
2016 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Canada Alex Tagliani Chevrolet [38]
2017 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Canada Kevin Lacroix Dodge [39]
2018 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Canada Andrew Ranger Dodge [40]
2019 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Canada Alex Tagliani Chevrolet [41]
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
2022 Grand Prix of Toronto Canada Kevin Lacroix Dodge [42]
2023 Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto Canada Alex Tagliani Chevrolet [43]
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Stadium Super Trucks

Stadium Super Truck racing at Toronto in 2016
More information Year, Winner ...
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Lap records

As of July 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Grand Prix of Toronto (Exhibition Place) are listed as:

More information Category, Time ...
CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent
Second Grand Prix Circuit: 2.824 km (1996–present)[50]
CART0:58.806[51]Cristiano da MattaLola B02/002002 Molson Indy Toronto
IndyCar0:59.7140[52]Will PowerDallara DW122018 Honda Indy Toronto
Indy Lights1:04.0124[53]Esteban GuerrieriDallara IPS2011 Toronto 100
Formula Atlantic1:05.487[54]Graham RahalSwift 016.a2006 Toronto Formula Atlantic round
Indy Pro 20001:07.0213[55]Rasmus LindhTatuus PM-182019 Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Toronto
US F20001:10.9853[56]Rasmus LindhTatuus USF-172018 US F2000 Grand Prix of Toronto
Porsche Carrera Cup1:11.501[57]Trenton EstepPorsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup2022 Toronto Porsche Carrera Cup North America round
Barber Pro1:11.771[58]A. J. AllmendingerReynard 98E2002 Toronto Barber Pro round
Trans-Am1:12.149[59]Paul GentilozziJaguar XKR2004 Toronto Trans-Am round
Radical Cup1:14.042[60]Jon FieldRadical SR3 SRX2023 Toronto Radical Cup North America round
Super Touring1:15.599[61]Randy PobstHonda Accord1996 Toronto NATCC round
GT41:16.730[62]Charles RobinMercedes-AMG GT42022 Toronto Sports Car Championship Canada round
TCR Touring Car1:17.473[63]Richard BoakeAudi RS 3 LMS TCR2023 Toronto Sports Car Championship Canada round
F16001:18.440[64]Edouard AubeEuroSwift SC921998 Toronto Canadian F1600 round
Mazda MX-5 Cup1:24.7092[65]Matt CresciMazda MX-5 (ND)2017 Toronto Mazda MX-5 Cup round
Original Grand Prix Circuit: 2.871 km (1986–1995)[50]
CART0:58.830[66]Bobby RahalLola T95/001995 Molson Indy Toronto
Indy Lights1:03.799[67]Robbie BuhlLola T93/201995 Toronto Indy Lights round
Trans-Am1:10.553[68]Scott PruettChevrolet Camaro1994 Toronto Trans-Am round
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Current series

Former series

Besides the main event, Honda Indy Toronto also holds races of lower levels before. These are known as support series. A variety of racing series have previously run as support series on the race weekend. These include:[69]

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Charities

During the tenure of Molson's original race ownership, the Molson Indy Festival Foundation hosted various fundraising events in the city in the week leading up to the race week. As of 2004 the foundation had donated $5.6 million towards community groups and charitable organizations.[70]

In 2010 the race introduced the annual Fan Fridays to the race weekend. In lieu of paid admission, attendees are encouraged to make a contribution to the Make-A-Wish Foundation upon entering the grounds.[71] The initiative has raised $820,000 as of 2019 for the organization dedicated to granting wishes for children with critical illnesses.[72][73]

Race day attendance

More information Year, Attendance ...
Year Attendance
1986 60,000
1987 64,000
1988 59,155
1989 61,156
1990 64,245
1991 61,264
1992 65,094
1993 66,225
1994 66,503
1995 68,238
2000 72,976
2001 73,628
2002 73,160
2003 73,255[74]
2004 72,561
2005 73,155
2006
2007
2008 Not held
2009 15,000 est.[75]
2010
2011 25,000 est[76]
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See also

References

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