2012 Honda Indy Toronto

Canadian, James Hinchcliffe, leaving pit lane in practice.

They had Free Friday again at this year's Honda Indy. I went last year and thought I'd go again to see if there was anything different.

Things were different for sure... but, not in a good way. There were less cars (I think it was the NASCAR cars that were absent from this year's race) and they didn't have the Indy drivers' autograph session. It's not that I was interested in getting anyone's autograph, but that was a great opportunity to get some decent shots of the drivers.

This year was also unbearably hot. Not even taking the humidity into account, the forecast high was a tarmac melting 36C. Try sitting in the bleachers with the sun beating down on your head for very long and you'd be risking sun stroke.

Like last year I took the TTC down. Unless you were willing to shell out $20 to park your vehicle this was definitely the best option.

The streetcar dropped us off at the Ricoh Centre where all visitors had their bags check by security. No food or water was allowed. How ridiculous is that? They told people they had to dump their water there and they could refill their bottles at a fountain inside. But, I'm sure they just wanted everyone to spend their hard earned money at the concession stands. I passed one place that was selling ice cream bars for nearly $8 a piece. Who are they kidding? Even if it was a premium brand it wasn't worth anything near that.

When I entered the Direct Energy Centre I couldn't help but notice how empty it looked (compared to last year). Like I said before, I believe it was the NASCAR vehicles that were missing this time. The only cars inside were the Ferrari Challenge ones and the Star Mazda cars (young drivers series).

I was a bit late catching the Indy cars practice. Perhaps I thought they'd be driving around the track a little longer. I spent a bit of time a the back straightaway (along Lakeshore Boulevard) seeing if I could get some good shots (which I couldn't because of the high fences). By the time I finally made it around to the main grandstand along pit lane there was only around 10 minutes of practice time left. That was disappointing.

The Indy Cars paddock gave me another opportunity to get some close up shots of the cars which was nice. I saw two or three drivers wandering around there and got some pictures. But last year I saw at least two or three times as many.

Maybe the novelty has worn off for me after attending only two years. We'll see if I go again next year.