Another Impressive Qualifying Run for Rookie Louis Foster at Toronto in No. 45 RLL Droplight Honda, Repairs Needed in Race
Louis Foster in Toronto Turn 1
Foster Qualifies 7th and runs as high at 3rd before contact in the race requires repairs in the pits
By: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Photo Courtesy RLLR)
TORONTO (July 21, 2025) – Luck wasn’t on Louis Foster’s side in the streets of Toronto Sunday as the rookie NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver battled for position in the tight, bumpy circuit around Exhibition Place.
Foster, the 21-year-old competitor from England, has shown impressive speed in road course events recently with his No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Droplight Honda including a pole position at Road America. He just missed out for another Firestone Fast Six qualifying spot Saturday at Toronto with a seventh.
In Sunday’s 90-lap contest, Foster started on the harder primary Firestone tires in an effort to extend a longer early run in the race, and the RLL Droplight team’s strategy looked solid as Louis ran as high as third when the first pit stops occurred. Foster, a race winner in F2000 at Toronto in 2022, worked his way back into the top ten after pit stops.
However, when Jacob Abel and Josef Newgarden made contact, Foster’s car also was hit in the left rear, causing a pit stop for repairs of the lower A-arm of the RLL Droplight Honda. The RLL Droplight crew worked quickly to get Foster back on the track, but Louis was 23 laps behind when he returned to action.
Foster finished a disappointing 21st at the checkered flag after a promising early portion of the race Sunday at the tough 1.786-mile, 11-turn street circuit.
“The start was good as we held on for the most part,” said Foster. “We got overtaken by a few cars as expected while they were on the alternates (softer tires). We held on pretty well. When everyone pitted, we closed the gap back up and I was running P3. It was a decent race at that point, nothing amazing but it was a solid race up until then. But, when I went for a move on Abel, and he turned in on me. I was already past him, but he turned in and hit my rear left. It was as small as a touch can be but it did enough to clearly kill the left rear (A arm) and ruin our race and then that was it for us.”
The Toronto finish moved Foster into a tie with Robert Shwartzman in the current NTT INDYCAR SERIES “Rookie of the Year” points standings as the North American racing tour heads to the West Coast this weekend (July 25-27) for the annual Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at the picturesque WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The Laguna Seca event will be the 14th race in the 17-event NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The Java House Grand Prix of Monterey weekend begins for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars on track on Friday, July 25, at 2 p.m. PDT with a practice round. The second practice round takes place on Saturday, July 26, at 8:30 a.m. PDT followed by qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six at 11:30 a.m. PDT. Sunday’s 95-lap, 212.61-mile feature race is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. PDT. The 14th stop of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES will air live at 3 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. PDT on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
