Grand Prix of Toronto facts for kids
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| NTT IndyCar Series | |
|---|---|
| Location | Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario, Canada 43°38′14″N 79°24′56″W / 43.63722°N 79.41556°W |
| Corporate sponsor | Ontario Honda Dealers |
| First race | 1986 |
| First ICS race | 2009 |
| Laps | 90 |
| Duration | 258.66 kilometres (160.72 mi) |
| Previous names | Molson Indy Toronto (1986–2005) Molson Grand Prix of Toronto (2006) Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto (2007) Honda Indy Toronto (2009–2023) |
| Most wins (driver) | Michael Andretti (7) |
| Most wins (team) | Newman/Haas Racing (7) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Chassis: Dallara (16) Engine: Chevrolet (14) |
| Circuit information | |
| Surface | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Length | 2.874 km (1.786 mi) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Lap record | 0:58.806 ( Cristiano da Matta, Lola B02/00, 2002, CART) |
The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is an exciting annual Indy Car race. It takes place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This race is famous for being held on a temporary track built right on the city streets.
The race track is about 2.874 kilometers (1.786 miles) long. It has 11 turns and winds through Exhibition Place and along Lake Shore Boulevard. It's a challenging course for the drivers!
This event has been a big part of racing history. It was first known as the Molson Indy Toronto. It was part of the CART series from 1986 to 2003. Then it joined the Champ Car World Series until 2007. After a short break, it became part of the NTT IndyCar Series in 2009.
The Toronto Indy is one of the longest-running street races in IndyCar history. Only the Grand Prix of Long Beach has been around longer. It's also one of the oldest races on the current IndyCar schedule.
Contents
How the Race Started
Racing has a long history at Exhibition Place in Toronto. Over 100 years ago, there were car shows and driving demonstrations there. Even an early Indy car appeared there in 1918.
From 1952 to 1966, the grandstand at Exhibition Place hosted stock car races. These races happened on a paved quarter-mile track. Crowds of up to 20,000 people would come to watch. In 1958, a NASCAR Cup Series race was held there. It was the first race for the legendary driver Richard Petty.
Later, in 1984, a company called Molson Breweries got the rights to hold CART IndyCar races in Canada. They first tried a track near Montreal. But the drivers didn't like it much.
So, in 1985, Molson suggested building a street circuit at Exhibition Place in Toronto. The city council approved the idea. This led to the first Molson Indy Toronto race in 1986.
Race Highlights and Changes
The first Molson Indy Toronto was won by Bobby Rahal on July 20, 1986. The event quickly became one of Canada's biggest sports events. Many people came to watch, with attendance often reaching around 170,000 over three days.
In 1996, a sad accident happened during the race. American driver Jeff Krosnoff and a volunteer track marshal, Gary Avrin, were killed in a crash. Adrián Fernández won that race.
The race name changed a few times over the years. In 2006, it became the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto. This was to show it was part of the Champ Car series, not the rival Indy Racing League. In 2007, a new sponsor, Steelback Brewery, took over. The race was then called the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto.
In 2008, the Champ Car series and the Indy Racing League joined together. This made the future of the Toronto race uncertain. The race was cancelled for 2008. But then, Andretti Green Racing bought the rights to the event. They brought the race back in 2009. Honda Canada Inc. became the main sponsor, and the race was renamed the Honda Indy Toronto.
In 2013, something new happened: the race weekend had two races! One on Saturday and one on Sunday. The Saturday race was supposed to have a standing start, where cars wait still until the green light. The Sunday race would have a rolling start, where cars are already moving. After some tries, the Sunday standing start was successful. It was the first successful standing start in the unified IndyCar series. However, by 2015, the two-race format and standing starts were no longer used.
In 2016, the track layout changed a bit. This was to make space for a new hotel. The pit lane, where teams work on the cars, moved to the other side of the track. This also made one of the turns sharper.
The driver with the most wins at this race is Michael Andretti. He has won seven times!
The races in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario and travel restrictions. But the race returned in 2022.
In 2024, the race got a new main sponsor, the Ontario Honda Dealers. So, the race is now called the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. The 2025 race was 90 laps long, making it the shortest race on the IndyCar Series schedule.
Helping the Community
The Indy Toronto race isn't just about racing. It also helps the community. For many years, the Molson Indy Festival Foundation raised money for local groups and charities. By 2004, they had donated $5.6 million!
Since 2010, the race has had "Fan Fridays." Instead of paying to get in, fans are asked to donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This charity grants wishes for children with serious illnesses. By 2019, this program had raised $820,000 for Make-A-Wish.
Past Winners of the Main Race
| Season | Date | Driver | Team | Chassis | Engine | Race distance | Race time | Average speed (mph) |
Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||||
| CART / Champ Car | |||||||||||
| 1986 | July 20 |  Bobby Rahal |
Truesports | March | Cosworth | 103 | 183.34 (295.057) | 2:05:50 | 87.414 | Report | |
| 1987 | July 19 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
Patrick Racing | March | Chevrolet-Ilmor | 103 | 183.34 (295.057) | 1:54:35 | 95.991 | Report | |
| 1988 | July 17 | Al Unser Jr. |
Galles Racing | March | Chevrolet-Ilmor | 103 | 183.34 (295.057) | 1:59:34 | 91.994 | Report | |
| 1989 | July 23 | Michael Andretti |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Chevrolet-Ilmor | 103 | 183.34 (295.057) | 2:01:00 | 90.9 | Report | |
| 1990 | July 22 | Al Unser Jr. |
Galles/KRACO Racing | Lola | Chevrolet-Ilmor | 94* | 167.32 (269.275) | 2:13:26 | 75.997 | Report | |
| 1991 | July 21 | Michael Andretti |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Chevrolet-Ilmor | 103 | 183.34 (295.057) | 1:50:57 | 99.143 | Report | |
| 1992 | July 19 | Michael Andretti |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 103 | 183.34 (295.057) | 1:52:21 | 97.898 | Report | |
| 1993 | July 18 |  Paul Tracy |
Penske Racing | Penske | Chevrolet-Ilmor | 103 | 183.34 (295.057) | 1:53:58 | 96.51 | Report | |
| 1994 | July 17 | Michael Andretti |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Reynard | Ford-Cosworth | 98 | 174.44 (280.733) | 1:48:15 | 96.673 | Report | |
| 1995 | July 16 | Michael Andretti |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 98 | 174.44 (280.733) | 1:50:25 | 94.787 | Report | |
| 1996 | July 14 |  Adrian Fernandez |
Tasman Motorsports | Lola | Honda | 93* | 165.912 (267.009) | 1:41:59 | 97.548 | Report | |
| 1997 | July 20 |  Mark Blundell |
PacWest Racing | Reynard | Mercedes-Benz | 95 | 163.495 (263.119) | 1:45:43 | 92.779 | Report | |
| 1998 | July 19 |  Alex Zanardi |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Reynard | Honda | 95 | 163.495 (263.119) | 1:52:24 | 87.274 | Report | |
| 1999 | July 18 | Dario Franchitti |
Team Green | Reynard | Honda | 95 | 166.725 (268.317) | 1:56:27 | 85.897 | Report | |
| 2000 | July 16 | Michael Andretti |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 112 | 196.56 (316.332) | 2:00:02 | 98.248 | Report | |
| 2001 | July 15 | Michael Andretti |
Team Green | Reynard | Honda | 95 | 166.725 (268.317) | 1:59:58 | 83.375 | Report | |
| 2002 | July 7 | Cristiano da Matta |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Toyota | 112 | 196.56 (316.332) | 2:06:19 | 93.361 | Report | |
| 2003 | July 13 | Paul Tracy |
Forsythe Racing | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 112 | 196.56 (316.332) | 2:02:36 | 96.189 | Report | |
| 2004 | July 11 |  Sébastien Bourdais |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 84 | 147.42 (237.249) | 1:45:36 | 83.749 | Report | |
| 2005 | July 10 | Justin Wilson |
RuSPORT | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 86 | 150.93 (242.898) | 1:46:10 | 85.296 | Report | |
| 2006 | July 9 | A. J. Allmendinger |
Forsythe Racing | Lola | Ford-Cosworth | 86 | 150.93 (242.898) | 1:38:01 | 92.386 | Report | |
| 2007 | July 8 |  Will Power |
Walker Racing | Panoz | Cosworth | 73 | 128.115 (206.181) | 1:45:58 | 72.534 | Report | |
| 2008 | Race cancelled following reunification of Champ Car and IRL. | ||||||||||
| IndyCar Series | |||||||||||
| 2009 | July 12 | Dario Franchitti |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 149.175 (240.073) | 1:43:47 | 86.24 | Report | |
| 2010 | July 18 | Will Power |
Penske Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 149.175 (240.073) | 1:47:15 | 83.451 | Report | |
| 2011 | July 10 | Dario Franchitti |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 149.175 (240.073) | 1:56:32 | 76.805 | Report | |
| 2012 | July 8 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Andretti Autosport | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 149.175 (240.073) | 1:33:27 | 95.787 | Report | |
| 2013 | July 13 |  Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 149.175 (240.073) | 1:41:17 | 88.37 | Report | |
| July 14 | Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 149.175 (240.073) | 1:35:02 | 94.177 | |||
| 2014 | July 20* | Sébastien Bourdais |
KV Racing Technology | Dallara | Chevrolet | 65* | 114.075 (183.585) | 1:15:44 | 90.37 | Report | |
| Mike Conway |
Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara | Chevrolet | 56* | 98.28 (158.166) | 1:20:36 | 73.168 | ||||
| 2015 | June 14 | Josef Newgarden |
CFH Racing | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 149.175 (240.073) | 1:39:00 | 90.41 | Report | |
| 2016 | July 17 | Will Power |
Team Penske | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 151.81 (244.314) | 1:42:39 | 88.739 | Report | |
| 2017 | July 16 | Josef Newgarden |
Team Penske | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 151.81 (244.314) | 1:35:05 | 95.79 | Report | |
| 2018 | July 15 | Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 151.81 (244.314) | 1:37:00 | 93.898 | Report | |
| 2019 | July 14 | Simon Pagenaud |
Team Penske | Dallara | Chevrolet | 85 | 151.81 (244.314) | 1:30:16 | 100.9 | Report | |
| 2020 | July 12 | Race cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | |||||||||
| 2021 | July 11 | ||||||||||
| 2022 | July 17 | Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 151.81 (244.314) | 1:38:45 | 92.234 | Report | |
| 2023 | July 16 |  Christian Lundgaard |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 151.81 (244.31) | 1:41:55 | 89.361 | Report | |
| 2024 | July 21 | Colton Herta |
Andretti Global with Curb Agajanian | Dallara | Honda | 85 | 151.81 (244.31) | 1:39:28 | 91.568 | Report | |
| 2025 | July 20 | Pato O'Ward |
Arrow McLaren | Dallara | Chevrolet | 90 | 160.72 (258.65) | 1:48:23 | 88.972 | Report | |
- 1990: Race was shorter because of rain.
- 1996: Race was shorter due to a serious crash.
- 2014 I: Race was moved from Saturday to Sunday morning due to rain. It was shortened to fit with the regular Sunday race.
- 2014 II: Race was shorter because of a time limit.
Other Races at the Event
Besides the main IndyCar race, the Toronto Indy weekend often features other exciting races. These are called "support races." They include different types of racing series, where up-and-coming drivers compete.
Road to Indy Races
The "Road to Indy" is a program that helps young drivers move up to IndyCar. Races like Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and USF2000 are part of this program. Many future IndyCar stars race here first!
Other Support Races
Over the years, many other racing series have also held races at the Toronto Indy. These include:
- Atlantic Championship
- SCCA Trans-Am Series
- Pirelli World Challenge (GT and Touring Car classes)
- CASCAR Super Series
- NASCAR Pinty's Series
- Stadium Super Trucks (trucks that jump and race on ramps!)
These support races add even more action and excitement to the race weekend. They give fans a chance to see many different kinds of racing.
Images for kids
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2003 Molson Indy pit lane and front straight.
See also
In Spanish: Gran Premio de Toronto para niños
