RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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MARKHAM, Ontario – IndyCar's first weekend on the streets of Markham has gotten off to a disastrous start, with the series having to call off its Friday practice session for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham .
On Thursday, it became clear to those in the paddock that the race's promoter, Green Savoree Racing Promotions, was well behind on its preparation for the new street race on the 12-turn, 2.19-mile track. Despite the series reiterating its intentions to race Thursday evening and throughout the day Friday, Green Savoree Racing Promotions never got the track to a place that met the regulations of the FIA and IndyCar's competition team.
IndyCar's first open gate day in Markham collapsed as each hour passed, and no race cars made it on track. Throughout the day, spectators – who had free admission to Friday's (lack of) activities – were left mainly in the dark about postponements and eventual cancellations that took place. Green Savoree Racing Promotions failed to give consistent public address updates on changes to the schedule, even to the point of having teams pack cars back into transporters and drivers leaving the track before IndyCar made the postponement public.
Mishaps at new street circuits are bound to happen. The most recent example being in 2021, when grandstands were still being built the morning of the inaugural Music City Grand Prix in downtown Nashville. But Green Savoree Racing Promotions – which also manages the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Grand Prix of Portland – was unprepared for Friday to a level that is somewhat embarrassing for the promoter and the series that partners with it for multiple events per year.
"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,” IndyCar president Doug Boles said in a news release. "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.
"Once we hit the track, we believe the circuit will be spectacular. We would like to thank the city of Markham for the major support it has made to provide IndyCar a layout, which is fast, technical and will put on a terrific show on Sunday."
Green Savoree Racing Promotions has not responded to IndyStar's request for a statement.
The debacle has led to IndyCar squeezing two practice sessions (10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) into Saturday with qualifying (6:30). Qualifying was supposed to be at 2:25 on FS1, but the postponement of the first practice has caused the start of the session to be streamed only on the Fox One app until it reaches FS2 at 7. (The Washington Nationals and New York Mets play on FS1 at 4:30, and horse racing will be on FS2 at 6.) The altered schedule will also not allow IndyCar to use its newly introduced one-car qualifying for the Fast Six round, as the final six cars will be in a timed session together.
Markham is the second of two new street races in IndyCar this year. The first, the Grand Prix of Arlington, received tremendous reviews from the paddock based on the event Penske Entertainment, the Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment put on. The third, next weekend's Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., will be promoted by Monumental Sports & Entertainment and is set to have plenty of eyeballs on it after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to race on the National Mall in January.
Perhaps IndyCar's enhanced effort to organize the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in just over six months led to a level of neglect for the creation of the Markham circuit, which is organized by a group the series is familiar with. And while the percentage of blame shared between IndyCar and Green Savoree Racing Promotions can be debated, the details are irrelevant to those in the Markham area who may not have ever attended a Toronto race.
The absence of on-track action Friday and lack of communication as to why reflects poorly on IndyCar's first trip to Markham. And now, IndyCar and Green Savoree Racing Promotions must redeem themselves on Saturday and Sunday, if such an outcome is possible in the eyes of the spectators.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Disastrous start of IndyCar Markham weekend with postponements, communication shortage
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