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Tourist Guide: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

It May Be Rural, but There’s Lots to Do at or Near the Ultrafast Circuit in Ontario

 

By John Oreovicz

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Heading to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for next weekend’s Chevrolet Grand Prix? It’s not too late to add a day or two to your itinerary to make the most of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s only annual visit to Canada.

 

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Photo: Destination Ontario

While very much a classic rural road course, CTMP (or as it is more commonly known by its original name, “Mosport”) is located just to the east of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and just 50 miles as the crow flies from the city center. Toronto is worth a diversion or a detour because it’s one of the most underrated cities in the world, with restaurants and entertainment on the level of London or New York, but generally substantially less expensive.

 

 

Venture half an hour north of the circuit, and you’ll find Lake Scugog, a 68-square-kilometer manmade body of water rimmed by a handful of quaint villages. Port Perry is the highlight, with Victorian architecture and a host of galleries and farm-to-table restaurants. The Lake Ontario coastline lies about 15 miles south.

 

A quick glimpse at a map of eastern Ontario shows just how rustic the lake-dotted terrain gets north and east of the track. There are no major urban areas for nearly 200 miles until you finally reach Ottawa, the nation’s capital city and home of the National Gallery of Canada art museum. IMSA race weekend coincides with Ottawa’s TD Place Stadium hosting a doubleheader of the Pacific Four Series 2023 for women’s rugby, with matches scheduled between Australia and the United States, and Canada against New Zealand.

 

Race weekends can often be hectic, so it’s nice to know that Canada has a strong network of native chain restaurants that can reliably be found in most communities. Here’s a primer on the Canadian food scene:

 

  • Tim Hortons – NHL hockey star Tim Horton opened his first donut shop in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, and the chain is now Canada’s largest purveyor of “good food served quickly.” While Tim Hortons has now cracked the U.S. market (owned now by Burger King International, the company operates more than 5,000 stores in 15 countries), it’s still a hot spot for American tourists, who flock to “Timmie’s” for strong black coffee and the popular TimBits donut holes.

 

  • Pizza Pizza – Another Canadian chain dating to the 1960s, Pizza Pizza features more than 500 locations, mostly in Ontario. It’s often compared to America’s Little Caesars, which even used the phrase “Pizza Pizza!” as its advertising jingle starting in 1979. While the menu has expanded, Pizza Pizza is best known for what’s stated in its name – cheap and cheerful pizza.

 

  • Harvey’s – Often compared to Burger King (for a while, the logos were even quite similar), Harvey’s offers flame-broiled burgers at nearly 300 locations across Canada.

 

  • Mary Brown’s – While you can find popular venues like KFC, Popeyes and Church’s in Canada, the United States does not hold a trademark on fried chicken. Mary Brown’s, founded in 1969, is 100-percent Canadian owned and operated with more than 200 locations across the country. Try the “Taters,” Mary Brown’s seasoned house-cut fried potato wedges.

 

  • Swiss Chalet – Billed as “Canada’s favourite place for rotisserie chicken,” Swiss Chalet has been a national institution since 1954, with locations in all provinces except Quebec. Ribs are a second popular favorite, as are the natural-cut fries. In fact, Swiss Chalet has twice generated controversy in the last 10 years by attempting to change its fries, to public outcry.

 

  • The Keg – Not as fancy as Ruth’s Chris but not as common as Outback, The Keg hits the sweet spot between high-end dining and common chain restaurant fare. Great steaks, salads, desserts and atmosphere, many in unique venues like The Keg Mansion, just blocks from Toronto’s City Centre. Founded in 1971, The Keg is the youngest of Canada’s national chain restaurants, and now features a handful of locations in the U.S. It’s worth seeking out.

 

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As for spending time at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park itself, bring your walking shoes. It is a superb venue for spectators, with hilly terrain that creates numerous viewing areas, including a natural amphitheater at Moss Corner. In fact, the track hosted “Canada Jam” in 1978, a star-studded concert headlined by Canadian hard rock stars Triumph. The show attracted 110,000 spectators, a Canadian music attendance record that stood until eclipsed by a Rolling Stones and AC/DC twin bill in 2003.

 

Moss Corner – actually, a pair of closely linked 90-degree right-hand turns and the slowest segment of the track – is considered the “top” of the circuit and arguably the best vantage point for watching the racing action. But don’t skip out on the rest of the track because every other corner is fast. With an average lap speed of more than 137 mph set by Tom Blomqvist, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was the outright fastest track on the IMSA schedule in 2022.

 

The WeatherTech Championship’s new Grand Touring Prototypes and three other competition classes will take to the high-risk, high-reward track from July 7-9. If you can’t be there, watch the race live at noon ET Sunday, July 9 on NBC.