Simon Pagenaud’s experience with the motorway is a little different.
The French IndyCar driver won the last Honda Indy in Toronto in 2019, and with him returning to the city this weekend after a two-year absence due to the pandemic, he’s eager to feel the “rush” of racing down Lake Shore Boulevard again at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour, hopefully with traffic in his mirror.
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“Lake Shore is one of a kind.  You know, when you see the helicopter shot, it really gives you an idea that you’re actually racing on the streets, and most kids who want to be race car drivers dream of driving a race car on the street,” Pagenaud told CP24.com.  week as he discussed the 11-turn, 1.8-mile circuit around the Fairgrounds.  “I love this track.”
The Honda Indy Toronto is the fourth oldest continuously running race on the IndyCar circuit, dating back to 1986.
But it has been canceled the past two summers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with dozens of other popular events and festivals.  That, in turn, has created a unique situation for Pagenaud, who will find himself as the defending champion on the starting grid three years after taking the checkered flag.
He’s changed teams and cars since then and admits he’s had to “relearn a lot of things” since joining Meyer Shank Racing, but he’s excited to return to a track and city he’s become quite familiar with over the years.
Toronto, he says, is simply unique in the world of racing because of its combination of pavement types, tight turns and the direct track on Lakeshore Boulevard that provides one of the track’s only breathing opportunities.
“The match is very physical.  The cars are very physical to drive, there is no power steering.  So it’s a place where you can rest your arms, catch your breath a bit, and reset for the next corner.  So it’s definitely a high track score,” he said.  “It’s very technical (the track).  You know, second gear, third gear in corners.  So it’s about technique more than anything else and being precise, inch, inch precise in terms of where you put the car.”
Six matches will be played over the weekend
Sunday’s Honda Indy will be the culmination of three days of racing along Toronto’s lakefront, with cars competing on six different tracks lining up on the starting grid at various points.
The big race, which drew crowds of more than 30,000 in 2019, comes about halfway through the IndyCar schedule and will be pivotal for drivers like Pagenaud looking to climb the standings.
But for Honda Indy Toronto President Jeff Atkinson, the return of the so-called “Roar on the Lake Shore” is about much more than checkered flags and fast cars.
He’s excited to throw himself into what he calls the “immersive experience” of the event, whether that means the “sights, sounds or smells” of auto racing, which tend to permeate most of the western neighborhoods around the dance floor.
He also hopes to reconnect with many of the 600 volunteers who make the event possible.
“This means a lot. It’s a world-class motorsports festival that we’re putting on in the streets of Toronto and there’s a lot that goes into the event. So to see all those (familiar) faces again that you haven’t seen in three years, whether it’s the volunteers, the employees, the fans, I’m excited to reconnect with everyone and I think the city is excited to reconnect with Honda Indy Toronto,” Atkinson told CP24.com this week. “You know it’s going to be nice to to hold this event again after our absence and also to see these cars back on the streets of Toronto.”
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of 10 races during the 2020 IndyCar season, including the Honda Indy.
But in 2021 plans were well underway to bring back the race, until a spring wave of the pandemic prompted the city of Toronto to again cancel permits for summer events and festivals.
It ended up being the only event on the IndyCar schedule to be canceled outright.
“2021 was difficult.  If you look at the schedule, you’ll see in August the Blue Jays were able to come back, the Rogers Cup started and it was great for the city, but there were previous events like the RBC Canadian Open and the Honda Indy that they couldn’t,” Atkinson said.  “We were so close to being able to do it and we were ready if we could.  We worked until the cancellation trying to organize the 2021 event for our city.”
Many big summer events are returning to the streets
The Honda Indy is just the latest major event to return to the streets of Toronto this summer, coming after the first pride parade since 2019 earlier this month.
The Caribbean Carnival also returns with the Grand Parade set for the grounds of Exhibition Place on July 30.
Speaking to CP24.com, Pagenaud said he’s excited to be back in Toronto and plans to “indulge this weekend” as much as possible, noting that the pandemic has taught him to “appreciate things a little better.”
He just won’t see the scenery on Sunday afternoon.
“You better look ahead because the next corner is coming fast.  I mean, this part is a rush, it really is.  You’re constantly dancing with the car from corner to corner, braking as hard and accelerating as hard as you can immediately,” he said.  “It’s a bit like music.  Driving is similar to music, it’s about rhythm and for me the rhythm on a road course is very different and very exciting because you’re 100 percent all the time very close to the walls with no margin for error.”
In addition to the races this weekend, fans will also be able to view a series of interactive exhibits along the festival grounds and grab a bite from a myriad of food trucks.
Sunday’s big game starts at 3:30 p.m
There will be 25 cars on the starting grid, including those driven by Canadian drivers Dalton Kellett and Devlin DeFrancesco.