IndyCar race in Toronto scrapped over coronavirus
The IndyCar race in Toronto has been canceled for the second consecutive year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The event was scheduled for July 9-11 but can t take place because of restrictions in Canada. The race has been on the IndyCar schedule since 1986, and Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles called its cancellation heartbreaking.
Miles has previously said IndyCar would likely schedule a second race at another venue already on the IndyCar calendar if Toronto got canceled.
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After IndyCar s race at Mid-Ohio on July 4, the series is now scheduled to be off until Aug. 8 for the inaugural Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. That is the first of three races on consecutive weekends.
The Pittsburgh Pirates said on Friday that they will no longer require fans who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear a facemask while at PNC Park.
Fans who are not yet fully vaccinated must continue to wear a facemask while at PNC Park as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Next week, the Pirates said they plan to announce details regarding capacity increases for the remainder of the season and further adjustments to the health and safety protocols at PNC Park.
âWe are excited to be able to quickly adjust our facemask policy, consistent with the Department of Healthâs announcement. This is another huge step in our return to normalcy here in Pittsburgh,â Pirates president Travis Williams said.
IndyCar cancels Honda Indy Toronto race due to COVID-19
14 May, 2021
The NTT IndyCar Series has cancelled the Honda Indy Toronto race, scheduled for July 11, due to the COVID-19 protocols still in force in Ontario.
The event last took place in 2019 and will now face a second year off the calendar, with the 2021 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix also cancelled.
A new race has not yet been announced to fill the open slot, but IndyCar is “considering various scenarios” as it looks to fill out the 2021 calendar.
Speaking on the news, Penske Entertainment Corp president and CEO Mark Miles said: “The NTT IndyCar Series race around Exhibition Place and Princes’ Gates is a hallmark of our summer schedule. To have that void for a second straight year is heartbreaking. We deeply miss our fans there and urge them to remain safe during these unprecedented times. IndyCar looks forward to a high-powered return in 2022 and for years to come.”
Republicans opposed the measure in a party-line vote.
Councilor Josh Bain, who initially pushed for a repeal of the mask mandate last year, argued that the council should be the body to create the guidelines. All we are doing here is shifting all of our responsibility over to the county health department, Bain said. I think what we should do here is we should have timelines on the guidelines that we are passing.
But Democrats voiced support for following public health experts, including Dr. Virginia Caine, the director of the Marion County Public Health Department. The council is made up of some amazingly smart individuals with very diverse backgrounds and expertise, said Democratic majority leader Maggie Lewis. However, when I check our current roster there are no medical doctors that serve on the Indianapolis City-County Council. Therefore, I think it s up to us a leaders of this community to get behind Dr. Caine.
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Roger Penske has had “more than a couple” of conversations with new Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about the series’ prospects of returning to the Racing Capital of the World, but Penske told the IndyStar that expectations to land a race as soon as the 2022 season are still a bit premature.
“He’d love to come to Indy, but I think they have to decide about how many races they can have in North America,” Penske told IndyStar in an exclusive interview. “We’re always interested, but we’re going to need to look at the economics.
“And I don’t think you’d expect us, based on what we’ve been through in 2020 and 2021 here, to be ready to overcommit to an F1 race right now. But it’s on the horizon.”