Sunday, July 16, 2017

Sunday at Honda Indy Toronto 2017

Update: Josef Newgarden won the 2017 Verizon IndyCar race with Alexander Rossi second and hometown favourite James Hinchcliffe finishing third.
Josef and the launch of confetti
L-R; Alexander, Josef and James on the podium
Honda Indy Toronto 2017 Victory Circle
On the media platform in Victory Circle showing how hectic it is

IndyCar qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six was determined Saturday, today brings the headline race at the Honda Indy Toronto. It might get a little damp on Sunday, July 16 as rain is forecast to start in the afternoon but as long as you bring a rain poncho you can stay dry and it makes for some exciting racing. It only ended up raining a few drops!
Drivers will have a chance this morning to get in a quick warm up on the track and then the pre-race show starts at 3:00pm. Cars will be moved to the grid at 2:50pm then the starting ceremony will proceed at Victory Circle with speeches and driver introductions. Green flag is expected to drop at 3:47pm with the 85 laps (just over 151 miles) ending around 5:45pm.

Grand Marshal Tom Cochrane on the Indy stage

Singer, songwriter Tom Cochcrane will be the race Grand Marshal and the Grid Girls will be the Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders. As part of the preshow Sgt David Grenon will sing the National Anthems and Captain Hilary Anderson from the 433 Tactical Flying Squadron will do a fly over in a CF-18 Hornet.
Mazda Mx5
The day also includes a number of races by USF2000, Mx5, Indy Lights and GT3 series.

Toronto's 11-turn, 1.786 mile temporary course is one of ten IndyCar road/street tracks in the 2017 series. They race on 16 tracks which also include 3 short ovals and 3 superspeedways. The Toronto track opened in 1986. Last year the race was won by Will Power with Helio Castroneves second and James Hincliffe third.
Coming into Toronto the drivers with the most top finishes in 2017 are Simon Pagenaud (8), Scott Dixon (7), Helio Castroneves and Will Power (6) and Josef Newgarden (5). IndyCars are a Dallas IR-12 chassis (from 2012 to present) running on Firestone Firehawk tires and using a Honda V-6, twin-turbocharged (550-700 horsepower) engine. The fuel for these open wheel race cars is Sunoco E85R fuel which is a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. IndyCar is planning to change their chassis in 2018.

After the race was over it was announced that Honda Canada has renewed its sponsorship agreement with Green Savoree Racing Promotions and the Honda Indy Toronto through 2020.

"Honda Canada has been the title sponsor of the race since 2009 when Green Savoree Racing Promotions relaunched the event with the Verizon IndyCar series as the feature. The 2018 Honda Indy Toronto will be a special event with Honda's 10th year of partnership. "Honda's DNA is built on racing - a heritage started by our founder Mr. Honda - which we've celebrated and are very proud of for nearly 60 years. Honda and IndyCar have enjoyed a fantastic partnership over the last nine years bringing racing excitement to the streets of Toronto every July," said Dave Gardner, President & CEO of Honda Canada Inc."

See more photos of the Honda Indy Toronto after the jump.


Josef in the lead

Honda SPEED ZONE


The stands were jam packed and the crowds in General Admission were thick along the available viewing areas



Looking down Thunder Alley




During pre-race the cars and drivers are brought out to the grid and the pit lane is open


Practicing some good ear protection
Driver introductions with the Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders and Josef Newgarden
James Hinchcliffe wearing his race firesuit signed by fans donating to Make-A-Wish at Honda World. He also got all the drivers to sign the suit as well and it will be auctioned to add to the donations.


Josef Newgarden
L-R; Alexander, Josef and James on the podium with their William Ashley Crystal Trophies


Once the race is done crews quickly start packing everything away

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