The inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham had a misfire at the starting line. The first day of practice and qualifying at the only IndyCar event in Canada was cancelled Friday because the track was not completed and officials couldn’t do a final safety check. Organizers said they will try to squeeze all of the first day’s track sessions into Saturday’s schedule. It’s the first year Markham has hosted the event after it was moved from Toronto’s Exhibition Place, where it had been held since its inaugural running in 1986. “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,” said IndyCar president J. Douglas Boles in a statement. “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.” Mark Coburn of Kitchener, Ont., and Scott Stobo of Waterloo, Ont., have been attending the race for 20 years and drove to Markham on Friday morning. Coburn said it was “good and bad” that the practice and qualifying sessions had been delayed. “Like good, I can understand that you want a safe track, and safety comes first because it’d be horrible to have an accident and put a bad mark on things,” he said about 30 minutes before the day was officially cancelled. “Obviously, it would be nice if they did all these checks before today, so at least it could run smoothly. “There’s been nothing all day today, unfortunately, on the track, which is the attraction and generates interest for fans and new fans, especially in the area.” IndyCar and the City of Markham announced the move from downtown Toronto last September. The temporary circuit, built for the first time this week, runs between Kennedy Road, Enterprise Boulevard, the Unionville GO tracks and Highway 407. Some of the incomplete features included a pedestrian bridge over Enterprise Boulevard that would connect parking to the main spectator compound as well as ports cut into safety fencing for marshals to wave hazard flags through. “It does feel like from the start that being at Markham feels a little random,” said Stobo. “In the ‘burbs, in a kind of an industrial park. “I was hoping they’d go to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (in Clarington, Ont.) or something.” The Ontario government announced on July 27 that it had invested $1.5 million into the event. Four days later the federal government announced it had put in $3.5 million. Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti confirmed on Feb. 20 that the city’s capital spending for the race, primarily on one-time infrastructure upgrades like repaving the roads, had exceeded $12 million. Fridays at Canada’s IndyCar race are free with spectators encouraged to donate what they can to the Make-A-Wish Foundation instead of buying a ticket. There were thousands of fans around the Markham track with the temperature reaching 26 C or 31 C with humidity. “The thing here being maybe a newer development is that there’s not a lot of shade,” said Stobo. “There’s not a lot of chairs to sit. “That’s kind of where it makes the day in the sun pretty hard and not as many indoor options as what there was at Exhibition Place.” Activities off the track, including autograph sessions with drivers, went head as planned. Saturday will be a significantly longer day at the track, with IndyCar holding both of its practice sessions and its qualifying round in the day. Due to time constraints in the early evening, the qualifying will be in its traditional road course knockout format. “Once we hit the track, we believe the circuit will be spectacular,” said Boles. “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.” USF2000 Championship, USF Pro 2000, Radical Cup Canada, and NASCAR Canada Series will also be running races around the road course this weekend. “We talked this morning about maybe coming back after today,” said Stobo. “I think we’ve had our fill.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2026. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
