Antipodeans excited by Toronto challenge

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 18 July 2025

Team Penske stars Will Power and Scott McLaughlin are determined to bounce back when IndyCar heads to the challenging streets of Toronto this weekend.

Despite strong results on the Saturday, Power and McLaughlin ended the recent double header at Iowa in disappointing fashion.

Both are keen to return to the front of the field this weekend as IndyCar heads to Toronto, a staple of open-wheel racing since 1986.

Aussie Power has won at Toronto in 2010 and 2016, but knows it presents a different challenge on each visit.

“Toronto has been one of the premier events on the schedule for years,” Power said.

“Canadians love our sport and have contributed a lot of great drivers over the years.

“But it’s also one of our most challenging tracks and probably the street circuit that undergoes the most change year over year.

“That makes it a great challenge every time we go back, and we all love that about Toronto.”

Toronto is on one of the few street circuits McLaughlin has been unable to enjoy significant success at, but still has a best result of sixth.

But he still loves driving around the “beast” each time.

“The backdrop of downtown Toronto – one of the largest cities in the world – makes this such a unique event,” McLaughlin said.

“It has been one of the models of what a street race could be, and you see this type of racing becoming popular in all types of series around the world.

“It’s a beast of a track with the Canadian winters making it an ever-changing surface that is tough to begin with.”

Jacob Douglas is representing NZ in USF Pro 2000 Championship.

There will be another Kiwi to keep an eye on at Toronto with Jacob Douglas and Sebastian Manson racing in the penultimate round of the 2025 USF Pro 2000 Championship.

Rookie Manson has been in and out of the points so far, but after a solid ninth in Mid-Ohio, sits 13th in the standings.

But having won at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, fellow Kiwi Douglas is leading the charge.

He has secured a spot in the top five, but is just 44 points away from second place.

The 20-year-old brings valuable experience to the Canadian street course, having raced at Toronto four times in USF2000, where he scored two top-five finishes and finished outside the top ten only once.

He hopes to put this to good use.

“This is one of my favourite tracks, and I’m so excited to get back out there,” said Douglas. “We’ve had some strong results here in the past, so we’ll be gunning for more this weekend.

“The championship battle from second through sixth is super tight, and a strong showing in Toronto could see Pabst Racing holding first and second in the standings.

“We’ve shown strong pace all year, and with only four races left, there’s no reason we can’t add to that tally.”

Main image: Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo

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Antipodeans excited by Toronto challenge

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