Grand Prix of Toronto

Annual car race in Canada
the other races

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 , 11 turn, temporary street circuit through Exhibition Place and on Lake Shore Boulevard. Toronto is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit. It is IndyCar's second longest running street race, only behind the Grand Prix of Long Beach and is the third oldest race on the current schedule (tied with the Mid Ohio 200) in terms of number of races run. 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.

Motorsport and automobile demonstrations has a history at Exhibition Place going back over 100 years. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. On July 30, 2008, it was confirmed that the race would return to Toronto on July 12, 2009. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace distanceRace timeAverage speed(mph)Report Laps Miles (km) CART IndyCar / Champ Car 1986 July 20 Bobby Rahal Truesports March Cosworth103183.34 (295.057)2:05:5087.414 Report 1987 July 19 Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing March Chevrolet Ilmor103183.34 (295.057)1:54:3595.991 Report 1988 July 17 Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing March Chevrolet Ilmor103183.34 (295.057)1:59:3491.994 Report 1989 July 23 Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet Ilmor103183.34 (295.057)2:01:0090.9 Report 1990 July 22 Al Unser Jr. Galles/KRACO Racing Lola Chevrolet Ilmor94*167.32 (269.275)2:13:2675.997 Report 1991 July 21 Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet Ilmor103183.34 (295.057)1:50:5799.143 Report 1992 July 19 Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford Cosworth103183.34 (295.057)1:52:2197.898 Report 1993 July 18 Paul Tracy Penske Racing Penske Chevrolet Ilmor103183.34 (295.057)1:53:58 96.51 Report 1994 July 17 Michael Andretti Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Ford Cosworth98174.44 (280.733)1:48:15 96.673 Report 1995 July 16 Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford Cosworth98174.44 (280.733)1:50:25 94.787 Report 1996 July 14 Adrian Fernandez Tasman Motorsports Lola Honda93*165.912 (267.009)1:41:5997.548 Report 1997 July 20 Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Reynard Mercedes Benz95163.495 (263.119)1:45:43 92.779 Report 1998 July 19 Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda95163.495 (263.119)1:52:2487.274 Report 1999 July 18 Dario Franchitti Team Green Reynard Honda95166.725 (268.317)1:56:27 85.897 Report 2000 July 16 Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford Cosworth112196.56 (316.332)2:00:0298.248 Report 2001 July 15 Michael Andretti Team Green Reynard Honda95166.725 (268.317)1:59:58 83.375 Report 2002 July 7 Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Lola Toyota112196.56 (316.332)2:06:1993.361 Report 2003 July 13 Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing Lola Ford Cosworth112196.56 (316.332)2:02:36 96.189 Report 2004 July 11 Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford Cosworth84147.42 (237.249)1:45:36 83.749 Report 2005 July 10 Justin Wilson RuSPORT Lola Ford Cosworth86150.93 (242.898)1:46:10 85.296 Report 2006 July 9 A. J. Allmendinger Forsythe Racing Lola Ford Cosworth86150.93 (242.898)1:38:0192.386 Report 2007 July 8 Will Power Walker Racing Panoz Cosworth73128.115 (206.181)1:45:5872.534 Report 2008 Race cancelled following reunification of Champ Car and IRL. IndyCar Series 2009 July 12 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda85149.175 (240.073)1:43:4786.24 Report 2010 July 18 Will Power Penske Racing Dallara Honda85149.175 (240.073)1:47:1583.451 Report 2011 July 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda85149.175 (240.073)1:56:32 76.805 Report 2012 July 8 Ryan Hunter Reay Andretti Autosport Dallara Chevrolet85149.175 (240.073)1:33:27 95.787 Report2013July 13 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallaraHonda85149.175 (240.073)1:41:1788.37ReportJuly 14 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallaraHonda85149.175 (240.073)1:35:0294.1772014July 20* Sébastien BourdaisKV Racing TechnologyDallaraChevrolet65*114.075 (183.585)1:15:4490.37Report Mike ConwayEd Carpenter RacingDallaraChevrolet56*98.28 (158.166)1:20:3673.168 2015* June 14 Josef Newgarden CFH Racing Dallara Chevrolet85149.175 (240.073)1:39:0090.41 Report 2016 July 17 Will Power Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet85151.81 (244.314)1:42:3988.739 Report 2017 July 16 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet85151.81 (244.314)1:35:0595.79 Report 2018 July 15 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda85151.81 (244.314)1:37:0093.898 Report 2019 July 14 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet85151.81 (244.314)1:30:16100.9Report 2020 July 12 Race cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic. 2021 July 11 2022 July 17 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda85151.81 (244.314)1:38:4592.234 Report 2023 July 16 Christian Lundgaard Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda85151.81 mile (244 km)1:41:5589.361 Report

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.

CART American Racing Series Season Date Winning driver 1986 July 20 Fabrizio Barbazza 1987 July 19 Tommy Byrne 1988July 17 Calvin Fish 1989 July 23 Gary Rubio 1990 July 22 Paul Tracy CART Firestone/PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Series 1991 July 21 P. J. Jones 1992 July 19 Bryan Herta 1993 July 18 Bryan Herta 1994 July 17 Steve Robertson 1995 July 16 Greg Moore 1996 July 14 Gualter Salles 1997 July 20 Hélio Castro Neves 1998 July 19 Guy Smith 1999 July 18 Geoff Boss 2000Not held 2001 July 15 Townsend Bell IndyCar Indy Lights 2002Not held 2003Not held 2004Not held 2005Not held 2006Not held 2007Not held 2008Not held 2009 July 11 Sebastián Saavedra 2010 July 18 Jean Karl Vernay 2011 July 10 Stefan Wilson 2012 July 7 Gustavo Yacamán 2013 July 13 Jack Hawksworth 2014 July 20 Alexandre Baron2015 June 13 Spencer Pigot June 14 Spencer Pigot2016 July 16 Felix Rosenqvist July 17 Felix Rosenqvist2017 July 15 Kyle Kaiser July 16 Kyle Kaiser2018 July 14 Patricio O'Ward July 15 Santiago Urrutia2019 July 13 Aaron Telitz July 14 Oliver Askew 2020Cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic. 2021 2022 Not held 2023 Not held

Star Mazda Championship Season Date Winning driver 2007 July 7 Dane Cameron 2008Not held 2009Not held 2010Not held 2011Not held 2012 July 7 Jack Hawksworth July 8 Jack Hawksworth Pro Mazda Championship2013 July 13 Matthew Brabham July 14 Matthew Brabham2014Not held2015 June 13 Florian Latorre June 14 Garett Grist2016 July 16 Aaron Telitz July 17 Aaron Telitz2017 Not held2018 July 14 Rinus VeeKay July 15 Rinus VeeKay Indy Pro 2000 Championship2019 July 13 Danial Frost July 14 Kyle Kirkwood2020Cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic.2021 2022 July 16 Louis Foster July 17 Louis Foster USF Pro 2000 Championship 2023 July 15 Michael d'Orlando July 16 Myles Rowe

Formula Ford 2000 Championship Season Date Winning driver2006 July 8 J. R. Hildebrand July 9 J. R. Hildebrand 2007 to 2009, No series, not heldU. S. F2000 National Championship2010Not held2011Not held2012Not held2013 July 13 Neil Alberico July 14 Danilo Estrela2014July 20 Jake Eidson Florian Latorre2015 June 13 Jake Eidson June 14 Nico Jamin2016 July 16 Victor Franzoni July 17 Parker Thompson2017 July 15 Parker Thompson July 16 Parker Thompson2018 July 14 Kyle Kirkwood July 15 Kyle Kirkwood2019 July 13 Darren Keane July 14 Christian Rasmussen2020Moved to Road America COVID 19 pandemic.2021Cancelled due to COVID 19 Pandemic 2022 July 16 Myles Rowe July 17 Jace Denmark 2023 July 15 Simon Sikes July 16 Nico Christodoulou

Atlantic Championship Season Winning driver 1990 Freddy Rhemrev 1991 Stuart Crow 1992 David Empringham 1993 Claude Bourbonnais 1994 Richie Hearn 1995 Richie Hearn 1996 Patrick Carpentier 1997 Memo Gidley 1998 Alex Tagliani 1999Not held 2000 Andrew Bordin 2001 David Rutledge 2002 Michael Valiante 2003 A. J. Allmendinger 2004 Jon Fogarty 2005 Antoine Bessette 2006 Robbie Pecorari 2007 Franck Perera

Year Winning driver Car Ref 1993 Scott Sharp Chevrolet Camaro 1994 Tommy Kendall Ford Mustang 2004 Jorge Diaz, Jr. Jaguar XKR 2005 Paul GentilozziJaguar XKR 2010 R. J. LopezChevrolet Corvette

Season Winning driver Car 2007 Peter Cunningham Acura 2010 Nick Wittmer Honda Civic Si2013Race 1 Michael Cooper (TC) Joel Lipperini (TCB) Mazdaspeed 3Honda FitRace 2 Michael Cooper (TC) Ernie Francis Jr. (TCB) Mazdaspeed 3Mazda 2

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. Year Race name Winner Car Ref 2010 Jumpstart 100 Andrew Ranger Dodge 2011 Streets of Toronto 100 Andrew Ranger Dodge 2016 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Alex Tagliani Chevrolet 2017 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Kevin Lacroix Dodge 2018 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Andrew Ranger Dodge 2019 Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Alex Tagliani Chevrolet 2020Cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic. 2021 2022 Grand Prix of Toronto Kevin Lacroix Dodge 2023 Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto Alex Tagliani Chevrolet

Year Winner Ref 2013 Justin Lofton Sheldon Creed 2014 Sheldon Creed Sheldon Creed 2015 Scotty Steele Keegan Kincaid 2016 Matthew Brabham Sheldon Creed 2019 Cole Potts Gavin Harlien 2020Cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

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. 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. The initiative has raised $820,000 as of 2019 for the organization dedicated to granting wishes for children with critical illnesses.

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 2004 72,561 2005 73,155 2006 2007 2008 Not held 2009 15,000 est. 2010 2011 25,000 est