Grand Prix of Long Beach: Difference between revisions
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|Series long = [[IndyCar Series]] |
|Series long = [[Verizon IndyCar Series]] |
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|Series short = ICS |
|Series short = ICS |
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|Location = [[Long Beach, California]] |
|Location = [[Long Beach, California]] |
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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 the [[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]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Morales |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Champ Car finale to roar into L.B. |url=http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_8387289 |work=The Long Beach Press-Telegram |publisher=|date=February 27, 2008 |accessdate=2008-02-27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/FREE/71106009/1015/FREE |title=Champ Car schedule "stable" for 2008 |accessdate=2007-10-30 |author=Steven Cole Smith |date=2007-11-06 |work=www.autoweek.com |publisher=}}</ref> and is now an event on the [[ |
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 the [[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]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Morales |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Champ Car finale to roar into L.B. |url=http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_8387289 |work=The Long Beach Press-Telegram |publisher=|date=February 27, 2008 |accessdate=2008-02-27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/FREE/71106009/1015/FREE |title=Champ Car schedule "stable" for 2008 |accessdate=2007-10-30 |author=Steven Cole Smith |date=2007-11-06 |work=www.autoweek.com |publisher=}}</ref> and is now an event on the [[Verizon IndyCar Series]] calendar. |
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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 in April is the single largest event in the city of Long Beach. Attendance for the weekend regularly reaches or exceeds 200,000 people. |
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Revision as of 12:09, 8 April 2014
| File:Long Beach GP logo.jpg | |
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| Verizon IndyCar Series | |
|---|---|
| Location | Long Beach, California 33°45′59″N 118°11′34″W / 33.76639°N 118.19278°W |
| Corporate sponsor | Toyota |
| First race | 1975 |
| First ICS race | 2009 |
| Distance | 157.440 mi (253.375 km) |
| Laps | 80 |
| Previous names | Long Beach Grand Prix (1975) United States Grand Prix West (1976–1979) Toyota Grand Prix of the United States (1980–1981, 1983) Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (1982, 1986-Present) Long Beach Grand Prix (1984-1985) |
| Most wins (driver) | Al Unser, Jr. (6) |
| Most wins (team) | Newman/Haas Racing (6) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Lola (11) |
| Circuit information | |
| Length | 1.968 mi (3.167 km) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Lap record | 1:06.886 (Sébastien Bourdais, Lola B02/00-Cosworth, 2006, CCWS) |
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 the 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,[1][2] and is now an event on the Verizon 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, an American Le Mans Series 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.[3] 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, in which participants engage in controlled slides, moving their cars sideways across the track.
Winners
Atlantics/Indy Lights
American Le Mans Series / Grand-Am / IMSA
| IMSA GT Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GTO | GTU | Report | |||
| 1990 |  Dorsey SchroederMercury Cougar |
John Finger Mazda MX-6 |
report | |||
| 1991 |  Steve MillenNissan 300ZX |
John Fergus Dodge Daytona |
report | |||
| Rolex Sports Car Series | ||||||
| Year | DP | Report | ||||
| 2006 | Scott Pruett Luis DíazRiley Mk XX-Lexus |
report | ||||
| American Le Mans Series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | LMP1 | LMP2 | LMPC | GT1 | GT2 | Report |
| 2007 |  Rinaldo Capello Allan McNishAudi R10 TDI |
 Romain Dumas Timo BernhardPorsche RS Spyder |
No LMPC Class in 2007 | Oliver Gavin Olivier BerettaChevrolet Corvette C6.R |
 Mika Salo Jaime MeloFerrari F430GT |
report |
| 2008 | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr Audi R10 TDI |
Scott Sharp David BrabhamAcura ARX-01b |
No LMPC Class in 2008 | Johnny O'Connell Jan MagnussenChevrolet Corvette C6.R |
Dominik Farnbacher Dirk Müller Ferrari F430GT |
report |
| 2009 | Gil de Ferran Simon Pagenaud Acura ARX-02a |
Adrián Fernández Luis Díaz Acura ARX-01b |
No LMPC Class in 2009 | Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Chevrolet Corvette C6.R |
Patrick Long Jörg Bergmeister Porsche 911 GT3-RSR |
report |
| Year | LMP1 | LMP2 | LMPC | GT | GTC | Report |
| 2010 | David Brabham Simon Pagenaud HPD ARX-01c |
Elton Julian Gunnar Jeannette Oreca FLM09/Chevrolet |
Patrick Long Jörg Bergmeister Porsche 911 GT3-RSR |
Juan González Butch Leitzinger Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
report | |
| 2011 | Klaus Graf Lucas Luhr Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 |
Scott Tucker Christophe Bouchut HPD ARX-03b |
Gunnar Jeanette Ricardo Gonzalez Oreca FLM09/Chevrolet |
Dirk Müller Joey Hand BMW M3 |
Tim Pappas Jeroen BleekemolenPorsche 997 GT3 Cup |
report |
| 2012 | Klaus Graf Lucas Luhr HPD ARX-03a |
Scott Tucker Christophe Bouchut HPD ARX-03b |
 Alex Popow Ryan DalzielOreca FLM09/Chevrolet |
Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 |
Peter LeSaffre Damien FaulknerPorsche 997 GT3 Cup |
report |
| 2013 | Klaus Graf Lucas Luhr HPD ARX-03a |
Scott Sharp Guy Cosmo HPD ARX-03b |
Jon Bennett Colin Braun Oreca FLM09/Chevrolet |
Bill Auberlen Maxime MartinBMW Z4 GTE |
Sean Edwards Henrique Cisneros Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
report |
- Overall winners in bold
References
- ^ Morales, Robert (February 27, 2008). "Champ Car finale to roar into L.B." The Long Beach Press-Telegram. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Steven Cole Smith (2007-11-06). "Champ Car schedule "stable" for 2008". www.autoweek.com. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ^ "Schedule". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
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
External links
| Preceded by Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
Current IndyCar Series races |
Succeeded by Indy Grand Prix of Alabama |
- Grand Prix of Long Beach
- Visitor attractions in Long Beach, California
- Motorsport venues in California
- American Le Mans Series races
- American Le Mans Series circuits
- Champ Car races
- Champ Car circuits
- IMSA GT Championship circuits
- IndyCar Series races
- IndyCar Series tracks
- Recurring sporting events established in 1975