Louis Foster cements dominant day with record-breaking pole at Markham

Jeffrey Hrunka
5 hours ago
3 min read

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor

A new track record.

Louis Foster dominated the timing sheets in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ debut around the Markham Street Circuit on Saturday, topping the final practice session en route to his second career pole and his first on a street course.

“I think we just rolled off with a good car. From the get-go I felt comfortable and confident in the car from FP1,” Foster, driver of the No.45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No.45 Honda, said. “It requires a lot of risk, this track. It requires a lot of balls. I was willing to throw everything at it. I think that's probably the combination of those couple things.”

He starts ahead of former Ontario Honda Dealers INDY winner Christian Lundgaard, driver of the No.7 Arrow-McLaren Chevrolet, where the Danish driver picked up his first career on the streets of downtown Toronto. Unfortunately, for him, the speed from Foster could be too fast to beat.

"Not really. I thought we were going to be whatsoever,” Lundgaard said. “Just been on the struggle bus all weekend. Balance has been very tough to read. I feel like we just lacked a lot of grip to the faster cars. Obviously you see Louis being I think 4/10ths faster. I don't have that, so... I think it's fortunate for us to at least be on the front row.”

From the get-go, Foster showed that he would be someone to watch, only overshadowed by championship-leader Alex Palou, who timed the fastest in first practice with the first sub-1:15-minute lap time. Foster instantly ran a faster lap time of 1:14.179-minute lap in the final practice session.

Both drivers continued to trade blows through practice and into qualifying. However, everything changed when Palou hit the Turn 10 wall in the second round of qualifying, forcing him out of the session. His twelfth-place starting spot marked his worst qualifying effort of the season.

Foster's pole position highlighted a decisive showing from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, where all three Hondas were able to advance to the final round of qualifying, with only Foster advancing to the Firestone Fast 6. Graham Rahal, driver of the No.15, and Mick Schumacher, driver of the No.47, ended the session tenth and eleventh, respectively.

“I think we've been the lead car all weekend,” Foster said. “We started with a particular setup that Mick and Graham migrated towards. So I had time to adapt to mine.”

With Foster’s consistent pace throughout Saturday, confidence to win the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers INDY at Markham is at an all-time high.

“We have to optimize everything we've got,” Foster said. “ “That's something we've done good this year, is making sure everything works well.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Markham Qualifying Results (Top-12):