The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is an open-wheel race held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder and promoter which began as a vision while working at a travel agency in downtown Long Beach. It was the premier circuit in Champ Car from 1996, and was the first event in the World Series each year from 2004. The 2008 race was the last race for Champ Cars as the series merged with the Indy Racing League. It is now an event on the IndyCar Series calendar.
The Long Beach Grand Prix in April is the single largest event in the city of Long Beach. Attendance for the weekend regularly reaches or exceeds 200,000 people.
The Long Beach Grand Prix is the longest running major "street" race held on the North American continent. It started in 1975 as a Formula 5000 race on the streets of downtown, and became a Formula One event in 1976. Incredibly, in an era when turbocharged engines were starting to come to prominence in Formula One, Long Beach remains one of the few circuits used from the time Renault introduced turbos in 1977 until the last Long Beach Grand Prix in 1983 that never once saw a turbo powered car take victory.
John Watson's win for McLaren in the final race at Long Beach holds the F1 record for the lowest ever starting position for a race winner. In a grid consisting of 26 cars, Watson started 22nd in his McLaren-Ford. That same race also saw Watson's team mate (and 1982 Long Beach winner) Niki Lauda finish second after starting 23rd on the grid. René Arnoux, who finished third in his Ferrari 126C2B, was the only driver to ever finish on the Formula One podium at Long Beach using a turbocharged car.
From 1984 to 2008 it was a CART Indycar/Champ Car event. Other popular events during the Grand Prix week include a Firestone Indy Lights race, a Tudor United SportsCar Championship race, and the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.
The Long Beach Grand Prix has been announced since 1978 by Bruce Flanders (and his assorted guest announcers).
Circuit
The current race circuit is a 1.968-mile (3.167 km) temporary road course carved out of the city streets surrounding the Long Beach Convention Center which actually doubled as the pit paddock during the days of Formula One. The circuit also goes primarily over the former location of The Pike historic amusement zone. It is particularly noted for its last section, which sees a hairpin turn followed by a long, slightly curved front straightaway which runs the length of Shoreline Drive. The circuit is situated on the Long Beach waterfront, and is lined with palm trees (especially along the front straightaway), making for a scenic track.
Events
Although the Verizon IndyCar Series race is the main event, a number of other races are also held. On April 8, 2006, the Grand-Am Daytona Prototypes took to the streets, replacing the suspended Trans-Am Series. Beginning in 2007, the American Le Mans Series replaced Grand-Am. Other races include Indy Lights (which replaced the Atlantic Championship in 2009) and the popular Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Starting in 2013, the circuit has also held the Stadium Super Trucks. Additionally, a week of fairs, music, and promotional activities is held.
2008 and the Long Beach/Motegi "split weekend"
During negotiations which led to the merging of the Champ Car World Series and the IRL IndyCar Series, a problem came in the form of a scheduling conflict between the Champ Car race scheduled at Long Beach and the IndyCar race held at Twin Ring Motegi the same weekend. Honda, who owns the Motegi complex and also supplies equipment to the IndyCar Series, could not change their scheduled race date of April 19. Likewise, Long Beach could not change their race weekend (with the Champ Car race scheduled for April 20), such change being a difficult task considering the civil and infrastructural preparations required for a temporary street circuit.
However, all problems were resolved when the two open wheel series agreed to merge in February 2008. Tony George (president of the Indy Racing League), with Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe (the former co-owners of Champ Car) planned an unprecedented "split weekend" of races at Twin Ring Motegi and Long Beach. This compromise allowed all IRL drivers to race in Japan, while ex-Champ Car drivers raced at Long Beach. Both races counted towards the 2008 IndyCar Series Championship. The Long Beach Grand Prix allowed all Champ Car drivers to race with their turbocharged Panoz-Cosworth Champ Cars that would have been used had the merger not taken place. Long Beach/Motegi was the only split weekend of the 2008 IndyCar Series.
Drifting
Beginning in 2005 the event included a demonstration by participants in the Formula D drifting series. Since 2006 Formula D has held the first round of their pro series on Turns 9-11 on the weekend prior to the Grand Prix. In 2013 the Motegi Super Drift Challenge, a drifting competition, was added on the GP weekend, using the same Turn 9-11 course as Formula D. The Motegi Super Drift Challenge is the only event during the GP that runs at night, under floodlights.
North American Touring Car Championship
Long Beach hosted the opening round of the 1997 North American Touring Car Championship season, being won by Neil Crompton in a Honda Accord.
Formula E
A modified version of the Long Beach Grand Prix track will be used during the Long Beach ePrix of Formula E. This championship for electric open-wheel cars will visit Long Beach, California on April 4, 2015, two weeks before the IndyCar race. The track is 2.1 km (1.3 mi) in length and features seven turns. Admission will be free: "the free admission will afford everyone the opportunity to come out and witness this historic and unique event," Jim Michaelian, president of the Grand Prix Assn. of Long Beach, said in a statement.
Future
Promoters of the IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix have announced plans to bid for the race to return to Formula One. The race was originally run as a round of the World Championship under the name United States West Grand Prix from 1976 until 1983 before joining the IndyCar series in 1984. The City of Long Beach and the Grand Prix Association have contracted to hold the Grand Prix through June 30, 2018.
Winners
Atlantics/Indy Lights
American Le Mans Series / Grand-Am / IMSA
- Overall winners in bold
References
Further reading
- Morris, Gordon (December 17, 2013). "More Than 40 Years Ago, The 'Roar On The Shore' Was Born". Long Beach Business Journal.
- The magic of Long Beach - Racer, David Malsher, 7 April 2014
- Long Beach a success story - ESPN, John Oreovicz, 9 April 2014
External links
- Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
- Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info
Interesting Informations
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