Qualifying Groups for Honda Indy Toronto
Tag: Honda Indy Toronto
Herta Paces Morning Practice
Colton Herta turned the quickest lap in his morning’s pre qualifying practice session and will lead group 2 in round 1 this afternoon at 2 PM.
The start of practice was delayed 33 minutes because of incidents in support series. In Indy Pro 2000 qualifying, a car spun at the entrance to pit lane and dislodged the tire barrier. In the Porsche Cup qualifying session two cars collided and had hard contact with the wall and tires, moving the wall out of place and severing a camera cable.
There were problems for a few title contenders and several incidents of wall contact. Only two incidents resulted in red flags.
Alex Palou made contact and suffered damage to the left front suspension. he limped into the pits as action continued. Josef Newgarden noticed an oil pressure light on his dash and came into the pits. The car did not return to the track. An engine change might be coming before qualifying.
Romain Grosjean brought out the first red flag after heavy right rear wall contact. He slowly rolled back to the pits with the wheel close to separating from the car. With less than a minute remaining in the session, Takuma Sato had the hardest hit of the day. The car suffered heavy left side damage.
We will probably see some laps under one minute in qualifying on the red tires.
Qualifying begins at 2 PM, and several teams have a lot of work to do.
TheTop 13
Toronto Qualifying- Experience May be the Key
Today’s schedule: All times Eastern
GATE HOURS 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM
8:00 AM – 8:20 AMUSF 2000 Qualifying 2
8:35 AM – 8:55 AM Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying 2
9:10 AM – 9:40 AM Porsche Carrera Cup Qualifying 1
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 Peacock
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM Sports Car Championship Canada Qualifying1
2:00 PM – 12:45 PM USF2000 Race 1
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM Indy Pro 2000 Race 1
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying Peacock
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1
4:30 PM – 5:10 PM Sports Car Championship Canada Race 1
Drivers who have raced at Toronto before will probably have the upper hand in qualifying today. In yesterday’s practice the top 10drivers all had raced here previously. Christian Lundgaard in 11th was the highest ranked river with no Toronto experience.
From last night:
Draining the Talent Pool
https://thepitwindow.blog/2022/07/15/draining-the-talent-pool/
Simon Pagenaud may become our 10th straight pole winner this season. The Meyer Shank driver won the race in 2019 from the pole and just missed P1 yesterday. Graham Rahal may make his first Fast Six of 2022, although he seemed concern about the car’s pace on the red tires.
Qualifying is key here because of the tightness of the circuit.
Reminder: Tomorrow’s race is exclusively on Peacock. It’s only $5. Check your satellite or cable company. several include Peacock at no cost. You can cancel Peacock n Monday if you want and no one’s feelings will be hurt.
Rossi Leads Toronto Practice 1
Alexander Rossi had the fastest lap in the first practice for the Honda Indy Toronto this afternoon with a lap of 1:00.6090. Simon Pagenaud was second, just 0,0901 seconds behind. Graham Rahal was third, 0.0941 seconds off Rossi’s lap.
The session stopped four times. The first red flag was for a track inspection of a manhole cover in turn 2. Callum Ilott tagged the wall his front wing to cause the second halt to action. Jimmie Johnson spun in turn eight, just lightly brushing the barrier with the end plate of the front wing, and Helio Castroneves caused the final red flag when the went into the tire barrier n turn eight and stalled his car.
Alex Palou put aside this week’s controversy and turned in the10th best time. He told the media this morning that he will not make further comments on the situation. Palou said he is concentrating on repeating as series champion.
Points leader Marcus Ericsson finished the session in fourth place, ahead of his two closest rivals. Will Power ninth and Josef Newgarden was fifth.
Rahal’s third place is the first time this year the team has been in the conversation at the end of a session. He said that a test at Sebring gave the team a good idea of what would work at Toronto. Rahal would like to find more pace on the red alternate tires.
Notes
I had forgotten how tight and narrow the Toronto circuit is. There is little room for error anywhere on the track.
Pit entrance and exit look very tight. Pit boxes have been reduced to 35 feet from their normal 40 foot space to accommodate the extra entries. The grid is expected to be even larger in 2023. The series is working with the promoter to redesign the pit lane for more cars..
It was great seeing the Princes’ Gate again. I have always thought that the track should be driving through it at the start of each lap rather than it being part of the runoff area.
Results
Toronto Returns- Race Preview
Today’s Schedule:
All Times Eastern
| Time | Series | Session |
|---|---|---|
| GATE HOURS | 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM | |
| 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM | USF2000 | Practice 1 |
| 8:45 AM – 9:10 AM | Indy Pro 2000 | Practice 1 |
| 9:25 AM – 10:00 AM | Porsche Carrera Cup | Practice 1 |
| 10:15 AM – 11:35 AM | NASCAR Pinty’s Series | Practice 1 & Qualifying |
| 11:50 AM – 12:20 PM | Sports Car Championship Canada | Practice 1 |
| 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Autograph Session |
| 12:35 PM – 12:55 PM | USF2000 | Qualifying 1 |
| 1:10 PM – 1:40 PM | Porsche Carrera Cup | Practice 2 |
| 1:55 PM – 2:15 PM | Indy Pro 2000 | Qualifying 1 |
| 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM | NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Practice 1 Peacock |
| 4:00 PM – 5:20 PM | NASCAR Pinty’s Series | Race |
After a two year absence, the Honda Indy Toronto returns to Exhibition Place. Sunday’s event will be the 35th race in Toronto. Double headers took place in 2013 and 2014. While it is one of he older races on the calendar, this year presents some new challenges. This weekend marks the first race in Toronto for the aeroscreen. Because of the two year COVID hiatus, only 12 of the 25 drivers have raced at this track.
Toronto is the first race following the dispute between Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren SP over the services of Alex Palou for 2023. I prefer my racing drama on the track, but I am interested in seeing how this plays out. I will discuss my thoughts on this later today.
Will Power didn’t seem to think the lack of experience will be an issue. he told the media Tuesday that experience is not a factor.
“Basically with simulators and video and everything, it doesn’t really give you an advantage any more. I think people turn up, they pretty
much know the track.
Yeah, it’s anyone’s guess who will be the quickest there
and what the top 10 would be, honestly,” Power said.
Power thinks the forward weight of the aeroscreen might help at Toronto.
“I’ve actually found at Toronto, as the weight has gone forward,
it’s really helped. On those really slippery cement patches, the actual weight downforce matters, so you get more weight force on the
front tires, and it actually helps turn the car. That was a big
problem when the car had really rearward weight, that the
front tires would not work over that cement.”
This weekend will be the first race in 2022 without a woman driving a car. The number 11 car of A. J. Foyt Racing is not entered due to nonpayment by the sponsor, Rokit. The car may return later in the season.
Paddock Drama
The Andretti team drama we saw at Mid Ohio should be gone this week. Toronto is not a track to be running into other cars. I haven’t heard how the team test at Iowa went, but I think we’ll see good behavior from the drivers thuis weekend.
Chip Ganassi racing confirmed that Alex Palou will drive for them this weekend after the midweek dispute with Arrow McLaren SP over his 2023 employment. Both claim to have a deal with palou for next season, though McLaren doesn’t necessarily intend for him to be in Indycar. I will have thoughts on this topic in a separate story later today.
Points Battle
Marcus Ericsson takes a 20 point lead over Will Power and a 34 point lead over Josef Newgarden into Canada. Alex Palou is just 35 points behind, and Pato O’Ward trails the leader by 65 points.
Ericsson needs at least one more win to be in a good position to win the title. More important, Ericsson does not need is a bad race.
We could possibly see a change at the top of the standings Sunday.
First Repeat Pole Winner?
I have a feeling the string of nine different pole winners in nine races will be broken on Saturday by either Josef Newgarden or Will Power. Both Penske drivers have had success at Toronto, and Team Penske is having a strong season.
I still believe the series will match the record of 10 different pole winners set in 1952.
Dixon’s 52nd Win
Will Scott Dixon win again? Sunday mat be the day the six time series champion finally gets the victory that ties him with Mario Andretti on the all time career list. I think this week’s race is probably is last best chance this year.
One of the reasons I planned to go to all the races this year was to witness Dixon’s 52nd win. It stands to reason it will happen at the one race I don’t get to.
A reminder– Sunday’s race is only on Peacock Premium. I understand there are deals for a one week free trial out there in cyberspace. This week would ne a good one to find that offer.
Honda Indy Toronto Fast Facts
Note: the entry list is posted on The Pit Window page on Facebook
| Race weekend: Friday, July 15 – Sunday, July 17 Track: Streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place, an 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street course Race distance: 85 laps / 151.81 miles Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires in the race. Twitter: @HondaIndy, @IndyCar, #IndyTO, #IndyCar Event website: www.HondaIndy.com INDYCAR website: www.INDYCAR.com 2019 race winner (most recent event): Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet) 2019 NTT P1 Award winner (most recent event): Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet), 58.4293 seconds, 110.041 mph Qualifying record: Gil de Ferran, 57.143 seconds, 110.565 mph, July 17, 1999 (Note: Josef Newgarden set a qualifying mark of 58.4129 seconds, 110.072 mph, for the current layout in 2019.) SportsNet 360 race telecast: Honda Indy Toronto 3 p.m. ET Sunday, July 17, SportsNet 360 (Canada)/Peacock Premium (United States) (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports’ coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and NTT P1 Award Qualifying streams live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product in the United States, SportsNet Now in Canada and on INDYCAR Live! for most international viewers. NBC Sports’ coverage of the Honda Indy Toronto will be exclusively streamed with limited commercial interruptions on Peacock Premium in the U.S. and on INDYCAR Live! for international viewers in selected markets. INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Joel Sebastianelli and Alex Wolff are the pit reporters. The Honda Indy Toronto race (3 p.m. ET Sunday), NTT P1 Award Qualifying (2 p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. At-track schedule (all times local): Friday, July 15 2:30-3:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, Peacock Premium/INDYCAR Live! Saturday, July 16 10-11 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes limited guarantee), Peacock Premium/INDYCAR Live!2-3:15 p.m. – Qualifying for NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Premium/INDYCAR Live! Sunday, July 17 10:55-11:25 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock Premium/INDYCAR Live! 3 p.m. – Peacock Premium/SportsNet 360 on air 3:23 p.m. – The Honda Indy Toronto “Drivers, start your engines” 3:30 p.m. – The Honda Indy Toronto (85 laps, 151.81 miles), Peacock Premium/SportsNet 360 (Live) Race notes: There have been six different winners in nine NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach and Road America), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park), Colton Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500) and Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park) have all won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.There have been six different winners in the last 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races (Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson and Will Power). The only repeat winners in that stretch are Newgarden (Texas 2022, Long Beach 2022 and Road America 2022) and McLaughlin (St. Petersburg 2022 and Mid-Ohio 2022). There have been nine different NTT P1 Award winners in 2022. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg), Felix Rosenqvist (Texas Motor Speedway), Colton Herta (Streets of Long Beach), Rinus VeeKay (Barber Motorsports Park), Will Power (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Scott Dixon (Indianapolis 500), Josef Newgarden (Raceway at Belle Isle Park), Alexander Rossi (Road America) and Pato O’Ward (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course) have won pole positions in 2022. The modern-day record for most different pole winners to start a season is 10 set in 1952. The record for most pole winners in a season is 12 set in the 1999 CART season. The Honda Indy Toronto will be the 36th INDYCAR SERIES race held on the streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place. The race returns after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Simon Pagenaud won the last time the race was held, in 2019. Scott Dixon and Will Power are tied as winningest active INDYCAR SERIES drivers at Toronto with three victories apiece (Power won in 2007, 2010 and 2016, and Dixon won both races in 2013 and the 2018 race). Michael Andretti has the most wins at the track with seven. Dixon and Power, along with previous race winners Josef Newgarden (2015 and 2017) and Simon Pagenaud (2019), are entered this year. ACTIVE RACE WINNERS Will Power-3-2007, 2010, 2016 Scott Dixon-3-2013 Race #1, 2013 Race #2, 2018 Josef Newgarden-2-2015, 2017 Simon Pagenaud-1-2019 Drivers who have won poles at Toronto entered in this year’s race are Will Power (2011 and 2015), Scott Dixon (2013 Race 2 and 2016), Simon Pagenaud (2017 and 2019), Helio Castroneves (2000) and Josef Newgarden (2018). The polesitter has won the race seven times since the first race in 1986, most recently by Pagenaud in 2019. ACTIVE POLE WINNERS Will Power-2-2011, 2015 Scott Dixon-2-2013 Race #2, 2016 Simon Pagenaud-2-2017, 2019 Helio Castroneves-1-2000 ( Note: also started 2014 Race #2 on pole as awarded by points) Josef Newgarden-1-2018 From 2009-2019, the eventual NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion won the Toronto race six times. Dario Franchitti won in 2009 and again in 2011. Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2012, Scott Dixon swept both races in 2013 and won the single race in 2018, and Josef Newgarden won in 2017. Seven other drivers have claimed the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season they won at Toronto. They are Bobby Rahal (1986), Al Unser Jr. (1990), Michael Andretti (1991), Alex Zanardi (1998), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Paul Tracy (2003) and Sebastien Bourdais (2004).Twelve drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Exhibition Place. Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Will Power (15) have made the most starts at Toronto among the entered drivers. Seven entered drivers have led laps at the track (Dixon 200, Power 162, Josef Newgarden 120, Simon Pagenaud 114, Castroneves 101, Graham Rahal 23 and Takuma Sato 1). Chip Ganassi Racing has won seven times at Toronto: Michael Andretti (1994), Alex Zanardi (1998), Dario Franchitti (2009 and 2011) and Scott Dixon (2013, both races, and 2018). Team Penske has five wins at the track (Paul Tracy 1993, Will Power 2010 and 2016, Josef Newgarden 2017 and Simon Pagenaud 2019). Team Penske has 10 pole positions at the track: Danny Sullivan (1988 and 1990), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Helio Castroneves (2000), Gil de Ferran (2001), Will Power (2011 and 2015), Simon Pagenaud (2017), Josef Newgarden (2018) and Simon Pagenaud (2019).Scott Dixon has finished on the podium in five of his last 11 races at Toronto. He has nine top-five finishes in 15 starts…Will Power has finished on the podium in five of his 15 Toronto starts…Simon Pagenaud has finished in the top five in five of his 11 starts at Toronto…Toronto-area natives Devlin DeFrancesco and Dalton Kellett are among the 13 drivers who will make their first INDYCAR SERIES start in Canada. Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 298th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history. |
Track Layout at Toronto has Changed with Exhibition Place Growth
The Honda Indy Toronto hasn’t run since 2019, and I had forgotten what the track looked liked. Of course, at my age I forget what I had for breakfast by 9:30, but I did look up the configuration.
The current track is the third version of the circuit at Exhibition Place. Some modifications were a result of new construction, and some changes were to improve the racing.
The first race in 1986 used this layout
In 1996 some modifications were made. The front stretch became longer, and a longer pit lane was added. Turns 10 and 11 were changed.
In 2016 the track configuration used today debuted. The main difference is the location of the pits. The entrance is in turn 9 and the exit is onto the beginning of the main stretch instead of past the start/finish line.
I have only been to Toronto once, and I remember thinking there was not a lot of room for changes. I wonder if ew structures will at some point force this event to find another home.
Foyt Parks the No. 11
As expected, A. J. Foyt Racing announced today that the number 11 car of Tatiana Calderon will not be entered in this weekend’s race. The issue is late payments from Rokit. Larry Foyt said the car may return later in the season. It sounds like this will be a race to race situation.
This weekend begins four consecutive weeks of racing and five races for Indycar, which might make it difficult to get the car back on track. J. R. Hildebrand is schedule to drive the car at the oval races at Iowa and Gateway.
Honda Indy Toronto Schedule
It’s Race Week. After a two week break, Indycar returns with five races in four weeks. here is ths coming weekend’s schedule for Toronto, which returns to the schedule for the first time since 2019. Note that the race is only on Peacock this week.
| Time | Series | Session |
|---|---|---|
| GATE HOURS | 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM | |
| 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM | USF2000 | Practice 1 |
| 8:45 AM – 9:10 AM | Indy Pro 2000 | Practice 1 |
| 9:25 AM – 10:00 AM | Porsche Carrera Cup | Practice 1 |
| 10:15 AM – 11:35 AM | NASCAR Pinty’s Series | Practice 1 & Qualifying |
| 11:50 AM – 12:20 PM | Sports Car Championship Canada | Practice 1 |
| 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Autograph Session |
| 12:35 PM – 12:55 PM | USF2000 | Qualifying 1 |
| 1:10 PM – 1:40 PM | Porsche Carrera Cup | Practice 2 |
| 1:55 PM – 2:15 PM | Indy Pro 2000 | Qualifying 1 |
| 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM | NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Practice 1 Peacock |
| 4:00 PM – 5:20 PM | NASCAR Pinty’s Series | Race |
Saturday
| Time | Series | Session |
|---|---|---|
| GATE HOURS | 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM | |
| 8:00 AM – 8:20 AM | USF2000 | Qualifying 2 |
| 8:35 AM – 8:55 AM | Indy Pro 2000 | Qualifying 2 |
| 9:10 AM – 9:40 AM | Porsche Carrera Cup | Qualifying 1 |
| 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Practice 2 Peacock |
| 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM | Sports Car Championship Canada | Qualifying |
| 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM | USF2000 | Race 1 |
| 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM | Indy Pro 2000 | Race 1 |
| 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Qualifying Peacock |
| 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM | Porsche Carrera Cup | Race 1 |
| 4:30 PM – 5:10 PM | Sports Car Championship Canada | Race 1 |
Sunday
GATE HOURS 8:45 AM – 5:00 PM
9:45 AM – 10:25 AMUSF2000Race 2
11:05 AM – 11:35 AM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm-Up Peacock
11:40 AM – 12:20 PM Indy Pro 2000Race 2
12:35 PM – 1:15 PM Sports Car Championship Canada Race 2
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2
2:40 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions
3:30 PM NTT INDYCAR SERIES Honda Indy Toronto Peacock
It’s Official! Toronto Returns
After a two year absence due to COVID 19 the Honda Indy Toronto will return July 15-17. Tickets will go on sale April 14.
The announcement guarantees Indycar’s 17 race schedule for 2021.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 