Welcome back! This weekend is a very exciting weekend. 1) Indycar returns to Canada and Canada returns to Indycar for the first time since the just yesterday/ancient past of 2019. 2) Alex Palou is definitely racing this weekend, which everyone, especially him and especially his Lionel Hutz-esque agent, is totally OK about. For the championship-winning, chicken-eating Spanish wizard has taken a turn towards sorcerer’s apprentice, after an instruction to his agent (the magic mop) to go out and get him a Grand Prix seat, or failing that, more money, set off an uncontrollable chain of events leading to possibly two 2023 contracts, maybe an F1 test, a jeopardized Ganassi seat, and a big stink detectable from Pennsylvania to Woking. This latest idiot wind to blow through Indycar follows hot on the heels (?) of Andretti Autosport: Civil War at Mid-Ohio, which was, you know, also very funny. If I were you, I’d put your money on Team Penske. What, you already have?
Absurd personnel carry-on aside, the other exciting aspect of this weekend is that we are back at the august and mostly beloved street circuit at Exhibition Place, Toronto, a circuit almost as old as the Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal but 1000% more Ontarian. The 1.7-mile layout is pretty simple and defined by its long back straight along Lakeshore Boulevard, which is followed by a hard stop into Turn 3 and then a technical complex of lefts and rights that normally punishes any driver who tries to contest a position much further than Turn 3. Then it’s single-file past the stadium and winding back round to the pits. There are 85 laps of this. It’ll be fun!
Race times are below. Toronto is on your normal Eastern time zone so add 5 hours if you’re in the UK and 6 hours if you’re in western, but not too far western, Europe.
Friday, 15 July
10.15am: NASCAR Pinty’s Series (?) qualifying
12.35pm: USF2000 qualifying 1
1.55: Indy Pro 2000 qualifying 1
2.30: Indycar practice 1
4: NASCAR Pinty’s Series race
Saturday, 16 July
8am: USF2000 qualifying 2
8.35: Indy Pro 2000 qualifying 2
9.10: Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying
10: Indycar practice 2
11.15: Sports Car Championship Canada qualifying
12 noon: USF2000 race 1
1pm: Indy Pro 2000 race 1
2: Indycar qualifying
3.30: Porsche Carrera Cup race 1
4.30: Sports Car Championship Canada race 1
Sunday, 17 July
9.45am: USF2000 race 2
11.05: Indycar warm-up
11.40: Indy Pro 2000 race 2
12.35: Sports Car Championship Canada race 2
1.30: Porsche Carrera Cup race 2
3.30: Indycar RACE RACE RACE
Post your Toronto highlights, and indeed your thoughts about the unexpectedly controversial Indycar series, below. Here’s one to start you off:
