David Malukas hails new Markham IndyCar circuit as “a blast”

The Team Penske driver went sixth fastest in the delayed opening practice and praised the smooth surface and technical layout

After Friday’s on-track activities were cancelled, compressing the IndyCar Series schedule into a busy Saturday, 24-year-old David Malukas emerged sixth fastest in opening practice for the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. The 24-year-old, currently sitting third in championship points, clocked a 1m15.3298s lap around the new 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street circuit.

Driving the No. 12 Chevrolet for Team Penske, Malukas was instantly impressed by the track's freshly resurfaced pavement.

"Yeah, I love it,” Malukas said. “I think it's fantastic. Super smooth. I think this probably is taking the lead on smoothest street course that we've had. No, it's a blast. I think it's very well-designed. A lot of fun. A lot of difficult corners. From the hairpin to the last section, pit lane through Turn 10, a lot of technicalities we need to fix up, but love it."

The new circuit also presented some early challenges as drivers began to build grip on the surface.

"I think track progression was massive,” Malukas said. “When you look at the first few laps, there was still dust coming from my air intake into my eyes. I was blinking a lot to try to clean up my view. I would say by lap four or five, a lot of that got cleaned up, then the track grip started to build.

"With this new track resurfacing that they did, the grip level is so high, and you could feel it. Once you're kind of building some grip down, it is hooking heavily. I think when you look at lap times, from practice one, by the time we get to qualifying, I think it's going to be a very big difference."

Simulators offered a solid baseline, but the real-world surface threw a few unexpected variables into the cockpit – starting with Turn 10 and elevation changes leading into the hairpin.

"Well, hairpin is definitely different, for multiple reasons,” Malukas said. “Obviously a track change. Also simulators, it's tough to picture elevation. On the sim it was flat. In real life you get a good elevation going up into the hairpin. Other than that, the simulator was pretty spot on. Some corners feel wider and narrower than others. Supposed to be more of like a big turn. It's going to be fun, a lot of fun.”

When asked about the heavy bump heading into Turn 10, Malukas was enthusiastic over the track’s character.

"Yes, on entry, there's definitely a big bump on entry,” he said. “I love it. Bumps just add technicality. You're trying to figure out how to get around it from a braking perspective. It's difficult, but I think it's nice, it's good."

And Malukas further added how the corner was faster than anticipated after the track walk on Friday.

"Well, I mean, after the track walk, everything was a little bit more expected,” he said. “I would just say almost entry of Turn 10, how much speed you're actually carrying through that. I thought on the track walk it was going to be easy flat. It's on edge, for sure."

Brake issues leave Malukas without alternate-tire read

Despite finishing near the top of the speed charts, the session was far from smooth sailing as Malukas struggled with the softer alternate tires, and nearly met the wall because of it.

"We've been dealing with it, especially just me and my car, just trying to build brake temp,” he said. “We get into an issue where tires are ready and brakes aren't (in the optimal temperature).

It's something that obviously we got to work on. I just lost my temper, which I normally don't. Now we don't have a read on the reds and only a few hours to figure it out. Thankfully we got a good read from (teammates) Scott (McLaughlin) and Josef (Newgarden)."

Lap times are expected to tumble in qualifying

With only hours remaining before qualifying on a rapidly evolving layout, Malukas predicts speeds will increase exponentially as track conditions cool down for the evening session.

"It's going to be in seconds,” Malukas said. “Especially if it's cooler tonight, that's even better for us. It's going to be fast."