Mustard “visits” the Toronto INDY!…
The 2024 ‘Honda Dealers’ Indy Toronto is one spectacular event. The week-end’s atmosphere is electric… and the excitement of Race Day is nothing short of combustible. This year, The Mustard Report was granted full Media access to cover the entire event’s weekend of non-stop excitement, including the BIG race on Sunday… this was Mustard’s biggest (and most challenging) opportunity since it’s inception – and it did NOT disappoint!
The Indy event [for Media] begins Thursday, [we] Media show up with a waiver photo (obtained online pre event) to access the Enercare Centre where weekend set-up is feverishly taking place. Once inside, Media makes their way to Salon 5 to pick up their official credentials which sets the tone for the weekend – step one & done.
Every Event day (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) begins with a photographers briefing at 8am to go over the “do’s & don’ts” of what you can & can’t access in & around the track, according to your specific credentials. (This meeting happens every morning, as rules and regs can change daily for Media). The supervisors in charge are thorough and they’re there to field comments, take feedback and answer any questions before you hit the Track space to start your coverage. If you’re caught breaking any of the rules, you will be stripped of credentials and asked to leave the Event grounds. It’s a lot to take in as a “first-timer”, but the adrenaline keeps you from becoming too overwhelmed.
FRIDAY…
Friday is “Fan Friday” and the Indy grounds are open to the public to enter the gates for a small donation to the Make a Wish Foundation. It’s a superb way for those that may not have the means to afford tickets, or are simply curious to catch a slice of what takes over the Lakeshore every summer. The day is filled with families and kids that are all seemingly in awe of the spectacle going on around them. When the first cars hit the track for the practice runs, you can see kids staring in disbelief with their eyes wide and mouths open as they see these crazy machines blow by at unimaginable speeds. Hearing protection is a must, and most, if not all, kids are wearing some form of ear protection, but that does not take away from the excitement you see on the faces of the public all over the grounds.
Its not just families and kids on Fan Friday, the true race fans (the fanatics of the sport), show up in droves and line up for hours to meet and get autographs from their favourite drivers. The drivers are way more than accommodating, they’re signing photos, memorabilia, die cast replicas, helmets, you name it, and it did not look like any of them were complaining, thats class behaviour on part of these athletes.
The real buzz starts when the first cars roll out of the indoor paddock area and await their time on the track for the first round of practice laps…
Fan Friday is a really fun day for all, there is tons to see, do and eat all over the grounds. If you’re not a dedicated race car fan, but enjoy a colourful, fun, interesting and different day out, you should come Friday… and who knows, you may leave a bigger fan than you think.
SATURDAY…
Saturday is a “paid admission” day, and brings a more serious crowd to the track. On this day, the Race Teams have completed their practice runs from the day before and it’s on to Qualifying. It’s basically, for all intents and purposes, a “race day” for the Indy cars (and the support races), to determine pole position on the starting grid for the big race on Sunday.
The “Support Races” are the different types of cars, that are “not” Indy cars, that race throughout the day and add an amazing variety of excitement to the weekend’s atmosphere… of all things FAST.
First up is the Radical Class. These are unique cars that fly around the track at crazy speeds and with great aggression, these drivers give it their all no matter what, its fun to watch for a few reasons, the speed and skill it takes, and the crashes that are frequent (that is also the most frustrating part, as the cars must do laps behind the pace car on a yellow flag until the crash and track are cleaned f debris), then it’s back to racing!
Next up in the support race class is SCCC (Sports Car Championship Canada). These are modified street cars, set up to race! There are three different SCCC classes;
The GT4 cars (factory built cars) These are cars that are available to the public to purchase (if you can afford that class of car). These cars are modified, but modified in a way that the public could do the same if they desire.
The TCR cars (touring cars). These are front wheel drive cars with highly tuned engines that can produce up to 350HP and can reach speeds of up to 225km/h – in a car that size, look out!
The TCA cars (small [usually] foreign cars such as Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Toyota). These cars are built ready to race, modified with roll cages and engines that produce over 200HP.
SCCC is a class of racing that would be the closest thing to “street racing” that you will see on a track. These are recognizable cars, that race at high speeds… and when they race at high speeds… they also crash at high speeds – and these hits can move the concrete walls.
Open Wheel Class support series:
The USF 2000 and USF “Pro” 2000. These are the drivers at their first stage of racing on the road to becoming professional Indy car drivers. This event takes them from the smaller track circuit and allows them to run their cars on the real course. Again, these young drivers are out to prove a point, that “they ‘gots‘ what it takes”, this kind of confidence also leads to aggressive driving, and crashing (much to the dismay of the teams – and the total delight to the crowds).
USF Pro 2000, this is the level up from USF 2000. The “pro” series drivers are the drivers that are poised to take the next step and they’re looking to get noticed by the Professional Indy Teams looking for the next and best up and comers on the circuit. Their cars are pretty much the same as the “non Pro” cars, but the engines have been modified to bring the speed, which brings the action, which requires the skill, which brings the excitement! At this level of racing, there is nothing left to do but to prove that you can drive, and that you can drive fast. This is where dreams are made.
Every category of car goes through Qualifying on Saturday for Sunday – when the full on racing takes place!
SUNDAY!!…
Sunday!… the BIG day arrives. For the Mustard Report, it’s been a long hot first few days, meeting other photographers, gathering all the intel possible (important track tips & tricks from veteran Indy shooters), figuring out the best angles and track positions to capture the the most compelling shots of the big race, it’s a lot, but its amazing. This re-con comes at a price physically, the full track is just shy of 3km’s long, and the only way to figure out where the best angles and vantage points are, is to continually walk the whole track during all the practice and qualifying runs, on all three days. As a first-timer to Indy shooting (with media access), there is no easy way out of this gruelling exercise. Should Mustard Report be invited back to cover INDY Weekend again, the hard work is now in the books, the rules and track layout are now familiar, so the main focus can be put on taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of the day – and capturing beautiful images.
Once the pre-race formalities finish, that [familiar to race fans] sound is heard over the loud speakers; “Gentleman…. start your engines!”, and the race is on! It’s 85 laps of nail biting racing, as these INDY cars pound the track at speeds of over 300km/h weaving in, out and around each other with mere inches separating them …and when you’re standing 3 feet from these cars, it can take the breath right out of your lungs. It’s exciting enough to watch from the stands, when you are standing track-side, it is an indescribable rush, you can feel the force of these machines.
The big race day ended with pole position winner Colton Herta holding his front row position for the whole race, and taking his first ever Honda Indy Toronto win. Herta became the first driver to complete a ‘weekend sweep’ in IndyCar history, racing to the fastest times in “practice sessions”, “qualifying”, and “Sunday’s warm-up” before taking victory in the final race. To say this was “a big weekend” for Colton Herta would be the understatement of all understatements!
Mustard’s INDY WEEKEND! in conclusion…
To wrap up the weekend for the Mustard Report. This was an unforgettable experience that will have lingering memories and leave stories to tell that will last a lifetime. Personally, as a photographer, I’ve grown leaps and bounds in skill & technique from this one very weekend. The years of hard work practising, experimenting with settings and different techniques, switching up gear and shooting other racing events around the GTA was well worth it, it finally paid off. Getting to shoot the Honda Indy Toronto is big league stuff, and not an event to show up to as a rookie shooter, things happen fast at the Indy and you have to be ready to pivot at a second’s notice. It was physically exhausting, but ultra invigorating to know that The Mustard Report held it’s own while shooting with the top pros from all over the world that showed up to do the very same thing. What a weekend!!
The Mustard Report cannot thank Jack Carney and Steve Bidlack of Green Savoree enough for offering up this (hopefully not last) ‘opportunity of a lifetime’.
