Following an embarrassing start to their first ever event in Markham as the promoters failed to get the circuit ready, IndyCar have announced an updated schedule for Saturday running as Practice 1 was postponed until tomorrow morning.
Despite plenty of time to be ready as the move from Toronto was announced on September 3rd of last year, the venue was nowhere in shape once the series arrived at the circuit on Thursday. Although IndyCar added extra manpower to try and get running in on Friday, time ran out, leading to a change to the schedule. There was absolutely no running as USF2000, USF Pro 2000 and NASCAR Canada were also due out on track on Friday.
IndyCar had been due to run at 15:00 local time initially. That was moved to 18:00 earlier Friday in the hope Practice 1 could be completed. However, they ultimately had to move it to Saturday morning.
Practice 1 is at 10 am, Practice 2 is at 14:30, and Qualifying starts at 18:30, meaning a busy and intense day for all IndyCar crews at Markham.
IndyCar statement on the events in Markham today:
“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,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said.
“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.
“Once we hit the track, we believe the circuit will be spectacular. 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.”
