president apologizes after botched opening day
The president of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham has apologized after the event's opening day was cancelled due to track certification delays. The race, which moved from Toronto to Markham this year, faced significant logistical challenges in meeting FIA safety standards for the new street course.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the complexities of hosting major international sporting events and the regulatory hurdles involved in certifying new street circuits.
The president of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham is proud of how the event came together, but he’s sorry that most fans went home disappointed after the event’s opening day. Jeff Atkinson said that setting up the track around the streets of downtown Markham, Ont., for the first time and getting it approved by safety inspectors from Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the world governing body for motorsports, was the event’s biggest challenge. His team wasn’t able to get the course finished until early Saturday morning, forcing Friday’s full day of on-track activities to be cancelled. “We know we disappointed a lot of the people that were here on our Ontario Honda Dealers present Free Fam Friday, and for that we’re sorry,” said Atkinson on Wednesday.
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