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Acura Grand Prix Media Day Takes Over Long Beach Circuit
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It almost felt “normal”. On Tuesday, September 14th, management of the 46th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach held their media preview day on the 1.97-mile 11-corner street circuit that abuts the Pacific Ocean.
To entice media members to write about this upcoming race, there were Acura NSX pace vehicles, an IMSA GTD-class Acura NSX, INDYCAR’s brace of two-seater open-wheel Indy cars - with Stefan Wilson and Matthew Brabham doing the driving, Global Time Attack cars and this weekend’s highlighters, Formula Drift cars for media to see, enjoy rides in, write about and photograph.
Of course it was a Chamber of Commerce day, with temps in the 70s, mostly clear skies and a nice breeze to keep the people cool on the hot parking lot that serves as a paddock for these two race weekends.
Up first, a ride in an Acura NSX pace vehicle with pro driver Zac Anderson, who went directly to Watkins Glen the next day to drive for Porsche in the SRO series that has occasionally raced here at The Beach. It was his first time around the track at speed and we followed a lead driver who knew the course. It was a good ride, he hit his marks and this early trip emphasized the need to clean the circuit before racing begins (Shoreline Drive is one dirty street).
What followed next was a trip around the paddock to see who was in the area for this event. Some of the heavy hitters in Formula Drift, like points leader Matt Field and his Corvette, Ryan Tuerck’s Toyota Corolla, Dai Yoshihara, Auremis “Odi” Bakshis, Justin Pawlak were on hand to torture those who wanted rides from the Seaside Way backstretch and through the final sequence of turns. The tire smoke bothered many in the nearby buildings. Maybe they moved to Long Beach during the pandemic and didn’t know this happens every year?
Before the lunch break, we were introduced to Jason Dienhart, who put together Global Time Attack, a new event for this 46th Grand Prix running. GTA brings together groups of cars, all with VIN numbers that can be hustled around a race circuit. Each car can get upwards of 3 sessions of proscribed time per meeting to set its best lap. Modifications are extensive and only the one top time (obviously, the lower the better) will count for each car in its class. On-site were an first-gen Acura NSX, a nearly-new Toyota GR Supra and a Nissan GT-R.
After lunch I was offered a GTA ride, which I jumped at. I’ve been around this circuit in real pace cars, the INDYCAR two-seater, IMSA sports cars, drift cars - including one ride with Sam Hubinette in a Viper GT-R that was truly memorable - but never experienced one of these vehicles. Owner/builder/driver Steven Chan hollowed out the interior of his Nissan GT-R but kept the bare bones of the central stack. He changed just about everything in the car. It was nasty. And fast. And fun!
This weekend Formula Drift takes over the Streets of Long Beach. Next week it’s INDYCAR, IMSA WeatherTech DPi, GTLM and GTD sports cars, SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks, and two new classes: Historic Formula Atlantic racecar and Global Time Attack. Action begins Friday the 24th and extends through Sunday. The NTT IndyCar Series ends its season at this race and the championship is still up for grabs.
Click Here to Begin Slideshow
It almost felt “normal”. On Tuesday, September 14th, management of the 46th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach held their media preview day on the 1.97-mile 11-corner street circuit that abuts the Pacific Ocean.
To entice media members to write about this upcoming race, there were Acura NSX pace vehicles, an IMSA GTD-class Acura NSX, INDYCAR’s brace of two-seater open-wheel Indy cars - with Stefan Wilson and Matthew Brabham doing the driving, Global Time Attack cars and this weekend’s highlighters, Formula Drift cars for media to see, enjoy rides in, write about and photograph.
Of course it was a Chamber of Commerce day, with temps in the 70s, mostly clear skies and a nice breeze to keep the people cool on the hot parking lot that serves as a paddock for these two race weekends.
Up first, a ride in an Acura NSX pace vehicle with pro driver Zac Anderson, who went directly to Watkins Glen the next day to drive for Porsche in the SRO series that has occasionally raced here at The Beach. It was his first time around the track at speed and we followed a lead driver who knew the course. It was a good ride, he hit his marks and this early trip emphasized the need to clean the circuit before racing begins (Shoreline Drive is one dirty street).
What followed next was a trip around the paddock to see who was in the area for this event. Some of the heavy hitters in Formula Drift, like points leader Matt Field and his Corvette, Ryan Tuerck’s Toyota Corolla, Dai Yoshihara, Auremis “Odi” Bakshis, Justin Pawlak were on hand to torture those who wanted rides from the Seaside Way backstretch and through the final sequence of turns. The tire smoke bothered many in the nearby buildings. Maybe they moved to Long Beach during the pandemic and didn’t know this happens every year?
Before the lunch break, we were introduced to Jason Dienhart, who put together Global Time Attack, a new event for this 46th Grand Prix running. GTA brings together groups of cars, all with VIN numbers that can be hustled around a race circuit. Each car can get upwards of 3 sessions of proscribed time per meeting to set its best lap. Modifications are extensive and only the one top time (obviously, the lower the better) will count for each car in its class. On-site were an first-gen Acura NSX, a nearly-new Toyota GR Supra and a Nissan GT-R.
After lunch I was offered a GTA ride, which I jumped at. I’ve been around this circuit in real pace cars, the INDYCAR two-seater, IMSA sports cars, drift cars - including one ride with Sam Hubinette in a Viper GT-R that was truly memorable - but never experienced one of these vehicles. Owner/builder/driver Steven Chan hollowed out the interior of his Nissan GT-R but kept the bare bones of the central stack. He changed just about everything in the car. It was nasty. And fast. And fun!
This weekend Formula Drift takes over the Streets of Long Beach. Next week it’s INDYCAR, IMSA WeatherTech DPi, GTLM and GTD sports cars, SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks, and two new classes: Historic Formula Atlantic racecar and Global Time Attack. Action begins Friday the 24th and extends through Sunday. The NTT IndyCar Series ends its season at this race and the championship is still up for grabs.
Click Here to Begin Slideshow
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