Grand Prix of Long Beach

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For the Formula One race, see United States Grand Prix West. For the 2014 race, see 2014 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach Street Circuit.svg
Verizon IndyCar Series
Location Long Beach, California
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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, 1984-Present)
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 1:06.6294 (Hélio Castroneves, Dallara DW12 Chevrolet, 2015, IndyCar)

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.[1][2] 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

Mark Smith driving in the 1993 race

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 towards the Aquarium of the Pacific), 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. 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

Long Beach Formula E Circuit as was used during the sixth round of FIA 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.[4][5] 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.[6][7]

Future

Promoters of the IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix have announced plans to bid for the race to return to Formula One.[8] 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.[9]

Winners

Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)		 Report
Laps Miles (km)
Formula 5000
1975 Sept 28 United Kingdom Brian Redman Boraxo Lola Lola T332 Chevrolet 50 101 (162.543) 1:10:12 86.325 Report
Formula 1
1976 March 28 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312T2 Ferrari 80 161.6 (260.069) 1:53:18 85.572 Report
1977 April 3 United States Mario Andretti John Player Team Lotus Lotus 78 Ford Cosworth 80 161.6 (260.069) 1:51:35 82.925 Report
1978 April 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312T3 Ferrari 80 161.6 (260.069) 1:52:01 86.555 Report
1979 April 8 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312T4 Ferrari 80 161.6 (260.069) 1:50:25 87.812 Report
1980 March 30 Brazil Nelson Piquet Parmalat Brabham Racing Team Brabham BT49 Ford Cosworth 80 161.6 (260.069) 1:50:18 87.899 Report
1981 March 15 Australia Alan Jones Albilad Williams Racing Team Williams FW07B Ford Cosworth 80 161.6 (260.069) 1:50:41 87.601 Report
1982 April 4 Austria Niki Lauda Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/1B Ford Cosworth 75 159.75 (257.092) 1:58:25 80.939 Report
1983 March 27 United Kingdom John Watson Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/1C Ford Cosworth 75 152.55 (245.505) 1:53:34 80.624 Report
CART Indycar/Champ Car
1984 March 31 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Cosworth 112 187.04 (301.011) 2:15:23 82.898 Report
1985 April 14 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Cosworth 90 150.3 (241.884) 1:42:50 87.694 Report
1986 April 13 United States Michael Andretti Kraco Racing March Cosworth 95 158.65 (255.322) 1:57:34 80.965 Report
1987 April 5 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet-Ilmor 95 158.65 (255.322) 1:51:33 85.33 Report
1988 April 17 United States Al Unser, Jr. Galles Racing March Chevrolet-Ilmor 95 158.65 (255.322) 1:53:47 83.655 Report
1989 April 16 United States Al Unser, Jr. Galles Racing Lola Chevrolet-Ilmor 95 158.65 (255.322) 1:51:19 85.503 Report
1990 April 22 United States Al Unser, Jr. Galles/Kraco Racing Lola Chevrolet-Ilmor 95 158.65 (255.322) 1:53:00 84.227 Report
1991 April 14 United States Al Unser, Jr. Galles/Kraco Racing Lola Chevrolet-Ilmor 95 158.65 (255.322) 1:57:14 81.195 Report
1992 April 12 United States Danny Sullivan Galles/Kraco Racing Galmer Chevrolet-Ilmor 105 166.95 (268.679) 1:48:56 91.945 Report
1993 April 18 Canada Paul Tracy Penske Racing Penske Chevrolet-Ilmor 105 166.95 (268.679) 1:47:36 93.089 Report
1994 April 17 United States Al Unser, Jr. Penske Racing Penske Ilmor 105 166.95 (268.679) 1:40:53 99.283 Report
1995 April 9 United States Al Unser, Jr. Penske Racing Penske Mercedes-Benz-Ilmor 105 166.95 (268.679) 1:49:32 91.422 Report
1996 April 14 United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 105 166.95 (268.679) 1:44:02 96.281 Report
1997 April 13 Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 105 166.53 (268.004) 1:46:17 93.999 Report
1998 April 5 Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 105 165.27 (265.976) 1:51:29 88.946 Report
1999 April 18 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 85 155.04 (249.512) 1:45:48 87.915 Report
2000 April 16 Canada Paul Tracy Team Green Reynard Honda 82 161.376 (259.709) 1:57:11 82.626 Report
2001 April 8 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Penske Racing Reynard Honda 82 161.376 (259.709) 1:52:17 86.223 Report
2002 April 14 United States Michael Andretti Team Green Reynard Honda 90 177.12 (285.047) 2:02:14 86.935 Report
2003 April 13 Canada Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 90 177.12 (285.047) 1:56:01 91.59 Report
2004 April 18 Canada Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 81 159.408 (256.542) 1:44:12 91.785 Report
2005 April 10 France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 81 159.408 (256.542) 1:46:29 89.811 Report
2006 April 9 France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth 74 145.632 (234.371) 1:40:07 87.268 Report
2007 April 15 France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Panoz Cosworth 78 153.504 (247.04) 1:40:43 91.432 Report
2008 April 20 Australia Will Power KV Racing Panoz Cosworth 83 163.344 (262.876) 1:45:25 92.964 Report
Verizon IndyCar Series
2009 April 19 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 85 167.28 (269.211) 1:58:47 84.491 Report
2010 April 18 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda 85 167.28 (269.211) 1:47:13 93.619 Report
2011 April 17 United Kingdom Mike Conway Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda 85 167.28 (269.211) 1:53:11 88.676 Report
2012 April 15 Australia Will Power Penske Racing Dallara Chevrolet 85 167.28 (269.211) 1:54:02 88.021 Report
2013 April 21 Japan Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Honda 80 157.44 (253.375) 1:50:09 85.763 Report
2014 April 13 United Kingdom Mike Conway Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara Chevrolet 80 157.44 (253.375) 1:54:42 82.362 Report
2015 April 19 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Chevrolet 80 157.44 (253.375) 1:37:35 96.8 Report

Atlantics/Indy Lights

American Le Mans Series / Grand-Am / IMSA

IMSA GT Championship
Year GTO GTU Report
1990 United States Dorsey Schroeder
Mercury Cougar		 United States John Finger
Mazda MX-6		 Report
1991 New Zealand Steve Millen
Nissan 300ZX		 United States John Fergus
Dodge Daytona		 Report
Rolex Sports Car Series
Year DP Report
2006 United States Scott Pruett
Mexico Luis Díaz
Riley Mk XX-Lexus		 Report
American Le Mans Series
Year LMP1 LMP2 GT1 GT2 Report
2007 Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
Audi R10 TDI		 France Romain Dumas
Germany Timo Bernhard
Porsche RS Spyder		 United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
Monaco Olivier Beretta
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R		 Finland Mika Salo
Brazil Jaime Melo
Ferrari F430GT		 Report
2008 Germany Marco Werner
Germany Lucas Luhr
Audi R10 TDI		 United States Scott Sharp
Australia David Brabham
Acura ARX-01b		 United States Johnny O'Connell
Denmark Jan Magnussen
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R		 Germany Dominik Farnbacher
Germany Dirk Müller
Ferrari F430GT		 Report
2009 Brazil Gil de Ferran
France Simon Pagenaud
Acura ARX-02a		 Mexico Adrián Fernández
Mexico Luis Díaz
Acura ARX-01b		 United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
Monaco Olivier Beretta
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R		 United States Patrick Long
Germany Jörg Bergmeister
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR		 Report
LMP LMPC GT GTC
2010 Australia David Brabham
France Simon Pagenaud
HPD ARX-01c		 United States Elton Julian
United States Gunnar Jeannette
Oreca FLM09/Chevrolet		 United States Patrick Long
Germany Jörg Bergmeister
Porsche 911 GT3-RSR		 Mexico Juan González
United States Butch Leitzinger
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup		 Report
LMP1 LMP2 LMPC GT GTC
2011 Germany Klaus Graf
Germany Lucas Luhr
Lola-Aston Martin B09/60		 United States Scott Tucker
France Christophe Bouchut
HPD ARX-03b		 United States Gunnar Jeannette
Mexico Ricardo González
Oreca FLM09/Chevrolet		 Germany Dirk Müller
United States Joey Hand
BMW M3		 United States Tim Pappas
Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup		 Report
2012 Germany Klaus Graf
Germany Lucas Luhr
HPD ARX-03a		 United States Scott Tucker
France Christophe Bouchut
HPD ARX-03b		 Venezuela Alex Popow
United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel
Oreca FLM09/Chevrolet		 United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
United States Tommy Milner
Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1		 United States Peter LeSaffre
Republic of Ireland Damien Faulkner
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup		 Report
2013 Germany Klaus Graf
Germany Lucas Luhr
HPD ARX-03a		 United States Scott Sharp
United States Guy Cosmo
HPD ARX-03b		 United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
Oreca FLM09/Chevrolet		 United States Bill Auberlen
Belgium Maxime Martin
BMW Z4 GTE		 United Kingdom Sean Edwards
United States Henrique Cisneros
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup		 Report
Tudor United SportsCar Championship (Professional Classes Only)
Year Prototype GT Le Mans Report
2014 United States Scott Pruett
Mexico Memo Rojas
Riley DP/Ford		 Spain Antonio García
Denmark Jan Magnussen
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R		 Report
2015 United States Ricky Taylor
United States Jordan Taylor
Corvette DP/Chevrolet		 Germany Dirk Werner
United States Bill Auberlen
BMW Z4 GTE		 Report
  • Overall winners in bold
2005 Long Beach Grand Prix, showing turn 10 and the Long Beach skyline.

Broadcasting

Year Network Lap-by-lap Color commentator(s) Pit reporters
1984 NBC Paul Page Johnny Rutherford Gary Gerould and Bruce Jenner
1985 NBC Paul Page Bobby Unser Gary Gerould and Bruce Jenner
1986 NBC Paul Page Bobby Unser Gary Gerould and Bruce Jenner
1987 NBC Paul Page Jackie Stewart Gary Gerould and Bruce Jenner
1988 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Brian Hammons
1989 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Brian Hammons
1990 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1991 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1992 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1993 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1994 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1995 ABC Paul Page Sam Posey and Bobby Unser Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1996 ABC Paul Page Danny Sullivan Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1997 ABC Bob Varsha Danny Sullivan Jack Arute and Gary Gerould
1998 ESPN Bob Varsha Danny Sullivan Jack Arute, Gary Gerould and Jon Beekhuis
1999 ABC Paul Page Parker Johnstone Jon Beekhuis and Gary Gerould
2000 ESPN Paul Page Parker Johnstone Jon Beekhuis and Gary Gerould
2001 ABC Paul Page Parker Johnstone and Scott Pruett Jon Beekhuis and Gary Gerould
2002 FOX Bob Varsha Tommy Kendall Derek Daly, Calvin Fish and Scott Pruett
2003 SPEED Bob Varsha Tommy Kendall and Scott Pruett Derek Daly and Calvin Fish
2004 SpikeTV Bob Jenkins Tommy Kendall Derek Daly, Calvin Fish and Bronte Tagliani
2005 NBC Rick Benjamin Derek Daly Jon Beekhuis and Calvin Fish
2006 NBC Rick Benjamin Derek Daly Jon Beekhuis, Cameron Steele and Michelle Beisner
2007 NBC Bill Weber Wally Dallenbach and Jon Beekhuis Bill Stephens, Cameron Steele and Marty Snider
2008 ESPN2 Marty Reid Scott Goodyear Jack Arute, Jamie Little and Brienne Pedigo
2009 Versus Bob Jenkins Jon Beekhuis and Robbie Buhl Jack Arute, Robbie Floyd and Lindy Thackston
2010 Versus Bob Jenkins Jon Beekhuis and Robbie Buhl Jack Arute, Robbie Floyd and Lindy Thackston
2011 Versus Bob Jenkins Jon Beekhuis and Wally Dallenbach Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Lindy Thackston and Robin Miller
2012 NBCSN Bob Jenkins Jon Beekhuis and Wally Dallenbach Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Townsend Bell and Robin Miller
2013 NBCSN Brian Till Townsend Bell and Wally Dallenbach Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Jon Beekhuis and Robin Miller
2014 NBCSN Leigh Diffey Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Robin Miller
2015 NBCSN Brian Till Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy Kevin Lee, Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Robin Miller

References

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Further reading

External links


Preceded by Current
IndyCar Series races		 Succeeded by
Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

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