IndyCar calls off opening day in Markham after promoter fails to complete track

MARKHAM, Ontario (AP) — IndyCar officials called off the first day of practice and qualifying Friday at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham after the race promoter failed to complete the track.

The event is in its first year in Markham after leaving Toronto’s Exhibition Place, the race site since its inaugural running in 1986.

Once the track is completed, IndyCar will inspect the circuit to ensure it’s safe. Officials hoped to squeeze all the activities scheduled for Friday into the Saturday schedule ahead of the race Sunday.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

The temporary circuit, built for the first time this week, runs between Kennedy Road, Enterprise Boulevard, the Unionville GO tracks and Highway 407.

Some of the incomplete features included a pedestrian bridge over Enterprise Boulevard that would connect parking to the main spectator compound as well as ports cut into safety fencing for marshals to wave hazard flags through.

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