Louis Foster wins pole position at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham

Foster also posted the fastest practice lap, putting down a time of 1:14.1793 in the second session of the day.

He was the only driver in the Fast Six to not put on new tires for the final round of qualifying, allowing him to have two sets of soft reds for Sunday’s race.

“The lap was damn good, to be honest with you. It just clicked,” said Foster. “(The tires) cooled down over the five minutes or whatever we had, and it just kind of stiffened them up a little bit and it felt good. I had no dramas.

“The tires didn’t fall off too bad. I was expecting less grip than I had but pretty much every corner was damn perfect on that lap, so there wasn’t really much more in it.”

Christian Lundgaard will join Foster at the front of the grid for Sunday’s IndyCar race around the streets of downtown Markham, Ont. Lundgaard took P1 at the 2023 edition of the race and won the title that year.

“Does that mean I’ll finish second?” joked Lundgaard. “I started first in ’23 and finished first, so by that logic I’ll finish second.”

Organizers had to cancel the first day of track sessions on Friday because the course was not completed and had not undergone safety inspections.

As a result, both practice sessions and qualifying were all done in one day. Drivers had to drive with the setting sun in their eyes for qualifying.

“I think we would have all have liked to have had a (first practice) on Friday,” said Lundgaard. “A night to sleep on it, figure out where we need to go, form a direction, on setup.”

It’s the first year Markham has hosted the race after it moved from Toronto’s Exhibition Place, where it had been held since its inaugural running in 1986.

Alex Palou had the fastest time in the morning’s first practice session. He made it around in 1:14.9915. He reached the final 12 in qualifying but bent his left rear wheel after bumping a wall in Turn 10.

Palou finished four seconds ahead of Felix Rosenqvist at Portland for his sixth IndyCar victory of the season last Sunday. That extended his lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood in the driver rankings as he closes in on his fifth IndyCar title.

Saturday was the first time Palou has not been in the top 10 of qualifying since 2025.

“Well, I mean, it made my life easier today. That’s for sure,” said Foster of Palou qualifying 12th. “But, yeah, unfortunate. He doesn’t do it very often.”

Last year, Pato O’Ward used a strong tire strategy to charge from 10th on the starting grid and earn his first career victory on the streets of Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Louis Foster wins pole position at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham

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