Austin Riley headlines hometown Radical Race in Toronto

The Streets of Toronto is one of the premier venues on the NTT IndyCar Series calendar, and this weekend, for the very first time it will also play host to the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America program. Joining Canada’s own Emzone Radical Cup Canada means over 30 Radical cars on track, with a large local contingent, headed by reigning outright champ Austin Riley.

“Being able to drive the streets of Toronto is a dream come true,” said Riley. “I grew up near Toronto and have watched my heroes race at Honda Indy. And now it’s my turn. We’ve got a huge group of people who support the Racing with Autism program, as well as friends and family coming out this week, so it’s going to be special when we roll out for the first time.”

Riley won the 2022 Blue Marble Radical Cup outright championship on a countback of a number of race wins after tying in points with Texan Palmer Miller. He was also the Pro 1340 class champion after a title fight with Illinois’s Mike Anzaldi came down to wire at Sonoma. His 2022 North American title comes a year after clinching the Emzone Radical Canada Cup title.

This year Riley has stepped up to the ultra-competitive Pro 1500 class alongside fellow countryman Robert Soroka, who is another star in the making, series stalwarts such as Gregg Gorski, as well as a long list of American young guns including Danny Dyszelski, Nick Persing, and Aurora Straus.

Huw Leahy will be flying the Maple Leaf in the Pro 1340 class, against title contenders Ken Savage, Seth Bacon and Jace Bacon.

Another Canuck, Kevin Poitras, hopes to rebound after a strong debut in the Platinum Class at Road America ended with a heavy crash while running second. He is expected to fight for race wins against former American Le Mans LMP1 champ Jon Field and former series class champions Indy Al Miller and Kevin Poitras.

Meanwhile, 12 Canadians will line up in the Emzone RCC, including Canadian Superbike Champion and three-time Canadian Sport Bike Champion Kenny Riedmann and current series points leader Jake Cowden.

“Radical is known for producing great talent, young and old, and on both sides of the border,” said Radical Global Motorsport Director Tom Drewer.