Honda Indy Toronto: Thirty years since Rahal, things have changed

Here are five big differences between this year’s event and the inaugural race in 1986, won by Bobby Rahal: SPONSOR: For 20 years starting in 1986, Molson’s was the title sponsor and the race was called the Molson Indy. In 2007, new sponsor Steelback Breweries changed the name to the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto. In 2009, the first Honda Indy Toronto was held. The Honda Indy will continue through at least 2018. SANCTIONING BODY: Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was the inaugural sanctioning body but the Champ Car World Series took over in the early 2000s. The race today is sanctioned by IndyCar. TRACK: The circuit is essentially the same as it was in 1986, winding through Exhibition Place and out onto Lake Shore Blvd. West, necessitating its closing for the duration of the event. When the Enercare Centre was built, it meant an “S” section near the front straight had to be tightened. And this year, because of a hotel being built on the grounds, the pits have been moved from the south side of Princes’ Blvd. to the north of the street. PERSONALITIES: The famous names of IndyCar racing were in Toronto in 1986 — Rahal, Sullivan, Andretti, Unser Jr., Luyendkyk, Rutherford and Jacques Villeneuve Sr., who didn’t last the first lap.

Thirty years later, the names are still famous if you’re in IndyCar fan — Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Sebastien Bourdais, James Hinchcliffe — but not as wellknown among the general population. ATTENDANCE, ATTENTION: In 1986 and for the following 10 years, the Molson Indy was one of the three big Toronto summertime festivals. But as a direct result of a split in IndyCar racing in the mid-1990s that saw half the teams go in one direction and half the teams another, the event suffered and when there was no race in 2008, it put promotion behind the 8-ball. But as much as the Blue Jays had to rebuild attendance following the 1994 players strike, the Honda Indy is inching back.

It is a work in progress, but things are improving year-to-year. Norris McDonald