A Historic First: Speed, Diversity, and Local Pride at the Inaugural Honda Indy Markham
Written by Fête Chinoise Editorial Team (Kayla Lo)
Photography Credits: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, Alex Urosevic for the City of Markham, Ralph Saceda for Metropia
Photography credits: Ralph Saceda for Metropia
From August 14 to 16, 2026, the quiet streets of Downtown Markham were replaced by the roar of twin-turbo V6 engines as the city hosted the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy. The 3.52-kilometre street circuit brought high-speed motorsport into the heart of Markham Centre, reshaping the surrounding urban footprint for three days of intense racing, live music, and community turnout.
As an organisation rooted and based in Markham, watching our home city step onto such a massive stage was nothing short of inspiring.
Photography Credits: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham
What is INDYCAR?
For those new to motorsport, the NTT INDYCAR Series is North America's premier open-wheel racing championship—often described as the continent's answer to Formula 1. The race in Markham was a high-stakes points race on the official 18-race NTT INDYCAR Series championship calendar.
IndyCars are custom-engineered, single-seater machines where drivers sit in an open cockpit with exposed wheels. Powered by hybrid-assisted twin-turbo V6 engines pushing speeds well over 300 km/h, these cars rely on advanced aerodynamics to grip tight city street corners. Because every team uses the exact same standardized chassis design (manufactured by Dallara), races are won through raw driver talent, pit-stop strategy, and precise engineering setups.
An Indy race weekend is a complete festival of speed. Beyond the headlining NTT INDYCAR Series, the event featured a packed schedule of support races across multiple distinct categories—including stock cars in the NASCAR Canada Series, sports prototypes in the Radical Cup, and open-wheel feeder series like USF2000 and USF Pro 2000—giving fans non-stop track action from morning to evening.
Photography credits: Ralph Saceda for Metropia
Action on the Circuit
Photography credits: Ralph Saceda for Metropia
The track hosted a dense schedule of competition across five distinct racing series over the weekend. While Friday’s opening practice sessions faced significant delays as officials and crews finalized track logistics and safety checks, the schedule picked up full momentum on Saturday and Sunday, delivering non-stop action right through to the feature events.
In the headlining NTT INDYCAR Series on Sunday, pole-sitter Louis Foster led the early laps before clipping an inside curb and crashing out of contention. That opened the door for a thrilling finish, as Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global executed a decisive late-race pass on Romain Grosjean with just five laps remaining to capture the inaugural Markham victory. Grosjean held on for second, while Will Power mounted an extraordinary charge from 25th on the starting grid to take third place on the podium.
In the NASCAR Canada Series, Marc-Antoine Camirand dominated the Markham 125, holding off the field through a late overtime restart to take the checkered flag ahead of Andrew Ranger and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.
The weekend also highlighted lightweight prototype sports cars in the FEL Emzone Radical Cup Canada, where Timothe Pernod took top honors in Race 1, followed by veteran driver Alex Tagliani claiming the win in Race 2. Meanwhile, open-wheel ladder series USF2000 and USF Pro 2000 saw strong drives from rising talents Sebastian Garzon and Jack Jeffers across their respective feature races.
Photography Credits: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham
Photography Credits: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham
The Historic Move & Downtown Markham Changeover
For nearly 40 years, Ontario’s IndyCar race was anchored at Exhibition Place along Toronto's waterfront, growing since 1986 into North America's second-longest-running street event. As Exhibition Place undergoes major site transformations to prepare for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the race needed a new home—making the move north to Markham Centre an ambitious new chapter for motorsport in Ontario.
The 3.52-kilometre street circuit wrapped around key city landmarks, connecting the new York University Markham Campus, the Markham Pan Am Centre, and the Unionville GO Station along the Enterprise Boulevard corridor. Unionville GO Station brought thousands of fans directly to the edge of the circuit. Watching cars thunder down Enterprise Blvd and navigate the Turn 5 hairpin beneath the rail bridge near the station was easily one of the most striking visual moments of the entire weekend.
As one of Canada’s most diverse municipalities—where over 80% of residents identify as visible minorities—Markham’s multicultural character was evident throughout the grounds. Local families, die-hard racing fans, and weekend visitors filled Markham Centre, exploring interactive brand experiences inside the Pan Am Centre from Honda and Nintendo, alongside outdoor fan zones featuring key partners like Firestone, Aviva, the City of Markham, The Remington Group, RE/MAX, 407 ETR, and many more. Off-track entertainment was anchored by a special Saturday evening performance on the SiriusXM Stage by JUNO Award-winning rock band The Glorious Sons. Lined with regional food trucks and community vendors across the plaza spaces, the crowd mirrored the dynamic, multi-generational energy that defines the city every day.
Photography credits: Alex Urosevic for the City of Markham
Photography credits: Alex Urosevic for the City of Markham
Photography Credits: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham
A Local Perspective
For our team at Fête Chinoise, watching our home city step onto this stage brought a quiet sense of pride. The race cars flew right past our colourful Fête Chinoise covers, representing over a decade of Canadian storytelling and publishing, adding a splash of colour to the track alongside Steve Driscoll’s vibrant artwork along the UnionCity hoarding.
Taking over a dense city center for a major sporting debut naturally involves an operational learning curve, from navigating street closures to refining site access. However, as the logistics settled over the course of the weekend, the inaugural run established a solid operational baseline. With a multi-year agreement securing the event's return, we look forward to watching the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy evolve in the years ahead as part of Markham’s growing story.
Photography credits: Ralph Saceda for Metropia
Photography: Ralph Saceda for Metropia
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