Toronto has long been one of the biggest markets for open-wheel racing in North America. Last year marked the first time
in 22 years there was no open-wheel event there.
Even after what some observers called one of the most exciting IRL races of the year, promoters of the Honda Indy Toronto street race were peppered with questions about attendance, economic impact and the race’s future.
While event manger Charlie Johnstone and Kevin Savoree, of Andretti Green Promotions, didn’t give much information about crowd size, they said the race would definitely be back on next year’s IRL schedule.
Media members were unrelenting after the race, continuing to ask the duo about bare patches in the grandstands and insisted on crowd and revenue comparisons to the days when the race was a Champ Car event.
“We have a five-year plan to rebuild this car race,” said Savoree, whose company is a division of Andretti Green Racing and helps run the event. “As far as the on-track product today, it was fantastic. There was something for everyone.
“We have lot of confidence that fans will be back next year, and that’s what we’ll focus on. Honda has a policy of reflection—we’ll do that, we’ll reflect on the event, and we’ll make it bigger and better next year. We accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish for 2009 event.”
Savoree added that his firm and the IRL have a three-year contract for the race in the streets of Toronto with options to continue beyond that.
To follow The Score on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ibjthescore.
Back to Top
IBJ Conversations
30 Comments
Add Comment
I'm curious to see if the series that doesn't race in N America gets anywhere near the massive ratings that the IRL pulls.
Thanks.
ALl signes point up.
Perhaps the racing series' you refer to are defunct, but they set a standard for all other series to ascend to. Perhaps the media in Toronto was correct....WHY was the crowd so small? What happened? Maybe Honda needs reflection?
Marketing Lesson 101: Know what your target audience wants. The IRL still thinks it's an all oval series, right? Oh wait, now they are the saviors of all North American OW racing, tight? I'll guarantee the IRL has NO IDEA what the OW audience wants. SO, it flounders about trying to immitate CART/CCWS.
One thing is clear about Toronto....they apparently don't care for the IRL. They only care that it fails.....
Why did CART go bankrupt twice in 12 years with just the loss of one race?
Why are you and TOney failures with the one race, with the Hulman family trust, and withouty any competitor?
As far as your response, if cart had the cars and the stars, the big time sponsors, the tracks (minus one) and the business plan you guys all tout, even the Hulman Family money could not have caused its downfall. That would be like you telling me that if I had a billion dollars, I could cause the downfall of NASCAR or F1. Doubtful.
SSD,
Still didn't answer my question. Why did cart fail when it had everything going for it?
TG money was Hullman money.
Toronto will be Belle Island'ed next year. no more IMS dough to prop it up.
why did the CEO of the series that has the one race not see in any hope for the future of the mess he created and therefore throw in the towel.