Detailed scan of Markham’s streets helps drivers prepare for Honda Indy

Romain Grosjean, a Formula 1 driver, has never visited Markham, Ontario, but he will have driven its streets numerous times before racing at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy. To prepare for the Honda Indy race, Grosjean has been training in a Driver-In-The-Loop Simulator, a Honda Racing Corporation USA tool that helps drivers familiarize themselves with the track.

The simulator scans the radius of corners, bumps, and the tarmac, then incorporates this data into a realistic video game. Grosjean explained that it is essentially a video game that is "very real." The Grand Prix of Toronto, formerly held in Toronto's Exhibition Place, has been moved to Markham, a suburb on Toronto's northeast border, for the 2026 race.

This 12-turn, 3.52-kilometre street course features various challenges, such as changes in surface texture and the notorious Princes' Gate corner. To ensure safety and performance, the course was fully scanned, and the information was used to create a virtual representation. Drivers like Grosjean must adapt to the course's unique features, and they do this by initially learning the track in the simulator and then familiarizing themselves with the physical course through walking it.