INDYCAR: Changes made to Toronto circuit

The Verizon IndyCar Series has widened portions of the revised Toronto street circuit overnight, and made efforts to increase friction in two sections of the 1.7-mile temporary course.

With the move of pit lane from the right side of the front straight to the left, the final complex of corners leading onto that straight were narrowed, and with some drivers complaining about the tight confines, IndyCar reacted by opening up Turn 8. Efforts were also made to roughen two sections to provide more grip for the Firestone tires used by every IndyCar team.

"The wall in Turn 8 has been changed to the configuration used in previous years," the sanctioning body announced. "The inside wall has been placed up on the curbing, giving an additional 6 feet on the inside of the track.

"In addition, the smooth concrete patches in Turns 1 and 9 were sandblasted in an effort to provide more consistent grip.

• Visor Cam with James Hinchcliffe at Toronto

"You've got to understand that a third of the track is completely different than what we've been running forever and it's really, really challenging," Hinchcliffe said. "It's so narrow coming through 11 I can't see any way to get side by side for the start, so we're going to need a late green and a late acceleration zone in order to have a chance.

"It's tough because the conditions out there are bumpy and there are so many surface changes. I bet even the fastest guy out there is saying how bad his car feels."

IndyCar drivers will have one session to get a feel for the updated layout and grip levels before this afternoon's qualifying session for Sunday's Honda Indy Toronto event.