INDY LIGHTS TORONTO

Pato O’ward and Santi Urrutia were the only winners in Indy Lights’ sad seven-car display at Toronto. O’ward took the lead of the championship with a solid drive to victory on Saturday while his rivals all made crucial errors.

His Andretti Autosport team-mate Colton Herta had fractured his thumb in an accident in practice, although he still took pole position. At the drop of the green in race one, though, Urrutia ran his Belardi car into the back of Herta, briefly jacking his rear wheels off the ground and considerably delaying his getaway. Herta climbed back from fourth to second and was pressuring O’ward, but then had the steering wheel ripped from his hands over the Turn 5 kerbs, and he struck the wall.

Urrutia, who had lost momentum during his startline collision, climbed back to second. He then spun as the clouds deposited a light drizzle, allowing Victor Franzoni’s Juncos car through – only for Franzoni to replicate Herta’s accident. Urrutia thus finished second.

Without his mentor, the late Jeff Green, to pay for his damage, an emotional Franzoni elected to start Sunday’s race but then park. A similar decision was made for Herta by his father, Bryan, after the youngster struck the wall again in qualifying for the second race.

With Ryan Norman and Dalton Kellett off the pace and lagging, polesitter Urrutia, O’ward and the second Belardi car of Aaron Telitz drove around the course for 35 laps in close formation and finished 1-2-3.

O’ward now leads Herta by 18 points.