Coordination between multiple partners and event promoter Green Savoree Toronto allowed the Honda Indy Toronto to remain at Exhibition Place for 2015.
Organizers and INDYCAR sought a resolution to avoid a conflict with the July 10-26 Pan American Games. A weekend doubleheader the past two years in mid-July, the June 14 race on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn street circuit achieved the goal of accommodating both high-profile events.
It will be the 28th Indy car race in downtown Toronto.
“Everybody worked really hard to find another week that worked. We appreciate the flexibility of the partners in Toronto. Frankly, our own teams, as well,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., the parent of INDYCAR. “It's no secret that the Toronto event was challenged by the fact that the Pan American Games will be in Toronto in what I would call its traditional date. That's a big event for any country.”
Click it: Print the 2015 schedule
An alternative explored was moving the 2015 race to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario (about an hour’s drive east of Toronto).
“There was a lot of discussion about moving Toronto there where it represents a lot of back-to-back weekends of being on the track,” Miles continued. “I, for one, was just delighted to see the paddock come together and say, ‘Absolutely, Toronto is an important venue to us, and if we can't be exactly in the traditional week we have to at least keep them on the calendar.’ ’’
On July 20, Sebastien Bourdais won the opener of the same-day doubleheader and Mike Conway won the second race. Ticket packages for the 2015 race weekend will be announced soon. The race will be telecast on NBCSN at 3 p.m. (ET).
“Scheduling an event of this magnitude is complicated in a normal year,” said Charlie Johnstone, president of the Honda Indy Toronto. “Toronto is a growing city with many moving parts, and the same can be said for professional auto racing. There are a lot of details and coordination that go into the teams, the schedules, the races and the various sites, especially with street courses. We’re celebrating today and getting ready for the road ahead.”
Road Racing Drivers Club adds members
Fifteen race car drivers and motorsports professionals have been voted into the Road Racing Drivers Club, including 10-time Indianapolis 500 starter Geoff Brabham and former Verizon IndyCar Series driver Katherine Legge.
Bobby Rahal is president of the Road Racing Drivers Club, which was formed in 1952 as a way to give champion drivers a say in their sport and has evolved to serve the future of road racing by mentoring amateur and professional drivers.
Voted as an associate member was David Klym, the 1977 Indianapolis 500 Mechanic of the Year. Race car designer Adrian Newey was voted in as an honorary member.
Historical marker commemorates life of Wilbur Shaw
The Indiana Racing Memorial Association last week dedicated a historical marker commemorating the life of three-time Indy 500 winner Wilbur Shaw at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.
Shaw was born in Shelbyville, Ind., on Oct. 31, 1902, and raised there. He was 7 years old when he participated in his first race -- a goat-cart race (not go-kart) at the Shelby County Fairgrounds. He didn't have the fastest goat that day but he went on to win the Indy 500 in 1937, 1939 and 1940 (related video below).
He was president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until he died in an airplane crash near Decatur, Ind., on Oct. 30, 1954.
Of note
State Farm has incorporated Sage Karam's rise to the Verizon IndyCar Series into its teen driving campaign. Check it out HERE. ... ClearPlex, makers of leading automotive glass protection film, has signed a multi-year agreement as an associate sponsor of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing program. … Detroit-based Quicken Loans, the nation's largest online mortgage lender and second-largest retail home mortgage lender, will continue as the presenting sponsor of the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Dual in Detroit on May 29-31 under a multi-year extension agreement. … Ethan Ringel, 20, of Windermere, Fla., has signed with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to contest the 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season. He competed in the Atlantic Championship Series in 2014, earning seven podium finishes. … Ben Bretzman recently confirmed that he would be joining Simon Pagenaud as his engineer at Team Penske. They had worked together at Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports the past three seasons.