Markham, ON – Louis Foster will start on pole for the inaugural NTT INDYCAR race on the Streets of Markham on Sunday, in Toronto’s suburbs.
It’s quite the challenge to master the new 3.52-km (2.19-mile), 12-turn temporary street circuit for the drivers. Many of them had simulator time prior to race weekend to learn the track but the data was obtained before the city paved the entire racing surface. And, as possible with a brand new track, competition was delayed as the track was still being built and lacked sufficient tire barriers, making it unsafe to run. To everyone’s disappointment, the entire first day on Friday was cancelled.
One driver who appreciated the tire barriers was Will Power, who suffered the biggest accident in the second practice, hitting the Turn 10 wall at speeds approaching 150 mph. The Andretti Global driver damaged the right-side suspension, car floor, and rear of his car.
“Very soft-feeling crash but with a lot of damage, unfortunately,” explained Power, catching the tire barrier, which softened the blow on the treacherous street course driving between cement barriers. “The car went through Turn 9 and was siding into Turn 10. I wasn’t up to speed on new tires and not even going for the lap. Quite technical to line yourself up over the bump in Turn 10. I was really strong (fast) in the sectors. It sucks to lose that time on a new track.”
Other drivers enjoyed the challenge of a new track, but three champions, Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden and Will Power, lost their two fastest laps in qualifying from hitting the wall and bringing out a red flag.
“It was fun, it was a ton of fun,” said Palou, who was fastest in the practice sessions. “We’re not used to having a street course where the tarmac is so good. It’s grippy. Turns 1 and 2 are scary, but it’s also fun. The backstretch is cool. It’s a very cool track. It’s very tiring and very physical, but it’s a lot of fun. I cannot wait for the race.”
Marcus Armstrong was third-fastest in the first practice session and shared his opinion of the track, warning that one should try to earn a fast qualifying lap at the very beginning of the session due to potential incidents.
“It was fun,” said Armstrong, agreeing with Palou about the track layout. “I was surprised because our simulator model was actually pretty good. It was slipperier than I expected, like driving on ice. Also, a bit of a question mark on the tires, because the red (softer tire) is meant to be the grippier (tire). But from my view, it’s not so. As the track evolves, it’s probably going to change. The line that you take at the start of the weekend (through the Turn 5 hairpin) can vary a lot towards the end of the weekend. I imagine qualifying is going to be a red flag festival. Everyone is going to be pushing like crazy. It’s an easy place to make a mistake.”
Armstrong was correct as there were four qualifying penalties, three causing a red flag.
“I just lost the rear,” revealed Palou, after causing a red flag in the second tier of qualifying when he hit the wall approaching Turn 10. “We had an amazing car that was really fast. It was my mistake. I overcooked it a little bit. It will be tough in the race. But having a fast car really helps.”
Foster, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, earned his second-career pole, setting a new track record (and only lap record) for the Markham track with a time of 1:13.2382 (speed of 103.225 mph). Christian Lundgaard will start alongside, about four tenths of a second slower in qualifying.
“We had such a messy session beforehand,” stated Foster, about the two practice sessions before qualifying, while trying to learn the track. “I just tried to piece the lap together. Qualifying has been our Achilles heel this season but, last year, it was our strength. I had a pole last year (Road America) but I’ve been nowhere close this season. My car was awesome and so fast all weekend. Finally, I got the pole this year. I enjoy street circuits. A new track levels the playing field. This track requires a lot of risk. My car was on fire and pretty much damn perfect.”
Drivers will likely attempt to run the 90-lap race with two pit stops, even though their fuel will probably only last 27-29 laps. But caution periods should eliminate fuel saving issues.
On a street course, drivers must run two sets of reds (alternate, softer tire) and one set of black (primary, harder) tires in the race. The other five drivers in the Fast Six ran a second set of new reds, but Foster set his pole speed on a used set of reds, giving him the advantage of having two new sets for the race.
The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy in Markham is scheduled for Sunday at 12:22 p.m. ET, airing on CTV and TSN 1/4.
Discussion about this post