TORONTO – The likelihood of the NTT IndyCar Series racing in Toronto this year took a major hit on Friday afternoon.

On Friday afternoon the City of Toronto announced that the permits for several major events in July and August had been canceled as Canada continues to battle the COVID-19 virus. Among the permits that were canceled was the permit for Honda Indy Toronto, which was scheduled for July 12 at Exhibition Place.

The event permits that were canceled were for events that were expected to attract more than 250 people.

“We hope this will provide clarity to the organizers who start planning these events well ahead of time and they need to know now before they start signing substantial contracts, which would imperil their financial viability if we then later had to withdraw these permits because the health numbers weren’t good enough,” Mayor John Tory said during a press conference announcing the cancelations.

In a story on RACER.com, Kevin Savoree of event promoter Green Savoree Race Promotions said they are working on potentially rescheduling the race for later in the year.