Some of the biggest names in racing have won in Toronto, including Michael Andretti (seven times), international champion Emersion Fittipaldi, and IndyCar legend Bobby Rahal.
Last year, Toronto was dropped from the IndyCar schedule when two different racing series, Champ Car and IndyCar, merged.
Michael Andretti didn’t want to see such an excellent event fade away, so Andretti Green Promotions teamed up with Honda to present the 2009 Honda Indy Toronto weekend, on July 10–12. (Honda organizes the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with Andretti Green and supplies all the engines used in IRL IndyCar racing.)
This weekend’s IndyCar race will feature four former winners: Will Power (2007), Justin Wilson (2005), Dario Franchitti (1999), and Canada’s two-time winner (1993, 2003) Paul Tracy. Tracy will be driving for KV Racing in a car sponsored by Ontario Honda Dealers and www.woundedwarriors.ca, a foundation that helps injured soldiers when they arrive for surgery at military hospitals.
The racing is intense around Toronto’s 11-turn, 2.77 km street-course. There are several corners that lend themselves to passing, so fans all around the track are guaranteed high-speed excitement.
The weekend features non-stop racing action, with a Vintage GT race, an Acura Sports Car Challenge race, an Indy Lights race, and the main event. With all the practice and qualifying races, there will be cars on the track almost constantly.
Besides racing, the city has scheduled special events all week long to give visitors their money’s worth and to keep residents involved, including race-themed parties, driver autograph sessions, and the Honda Indy Run, Walk, N’ Wheelathon for Spinal Cure Research (register at www.shootforacure.org.)
For more information about Honda Indy Toronto, please visit http://www.hondaindytoronto.com.
