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Next week there will be no speed limits on some of Long Beach, California’s downtown streets, when the 47th annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach takes place on a 1.97-mile, 11-turn street course next to the Pacific Ocean. The Grand Prix has been a rite of spring since 1976 - the first Formula 5000 race took place in September of 1975 and last year’s 46th race was also held in September - and the event brings as many as 180,000 revelers to this city of nearly 400,000 for three-plus days of racing activities.
As a prelude to the race, which includes the third event of this year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES as its Sunday cornerstone, an IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship on Saturday and a myriad of support series, the Grand Prix Association held a media day on Tuesday, March 29th to showcase the cars and stars of INDYCAR, IMSA, Formula Drift and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. In addition to those elements, the weekend includes the new Historic IMSA GTP Challenge on both Saturday and Sunday, along with Robby Gordon’s SPEED/UTV Stadium SUPER Trucks race with jumps aplenty both weekend days.
There were, during this media day, opportunities for major media to take rides in INDYCAR’s Ruoff Mortgage two-seaters, with Gabby Chaves and Matthew Brabham showing celebs the left-and-right-hand turns, including a trip around a fountain by the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and how to take the famous hairpin final turn that places cars on the long front stretch with its kink just past the Shoreline Drive start/finish line.
One of the celebs able to take a ride, with Matthew Brabham is AJ “Mercenary” McKee, who is the Bellator MMA Featherweight World Champion and is from Long Beach. He’s got an 18-0-0 record and said he loves fast cars. After taking his tour around the Long Beach circuit, McKee was asking about driving schools. At 5’9” and 145 pounds, this southpaw is just about the right size for a race car - and like most who get the opportunity to ride in a Ruoff INDYCAR two-seater, he’s hooked!
For those unable to access the two-seaters, pace car rides in Acura NSX cars were available, as well, with professional drivers slamming through the corners. IMSA GTD standout Ryan Eversley gave tours in the actual pace NSX, which has nothing on the race-prepped Acura NSX car he’ll be driving next week.
Formula Drift, which has custody of the three final turns on the 11-corner street track this weekend as it begins its new season in its traditional home, had many of its front-runners on site to give rides in 800 horsepower Ford Mustangs, Toyota GR Supras, Nissan SX14s and 15s, a Corvette and a Viper. Stars like reigning Toyota GR Supra champion Fredric Aasbo, his teammate Ryan Tuerck (in a camouflaged 2023 Corolla), Justin Pawlak (JTP ih a Mustang), Chelsea DeNofa’s Mustang, Michael Essa’s BMW, last year’s Long Beach winner Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis in his Nissan and Matt Field’s Corvette gave rides throughout the day, leaving many a bumper behind as they crushed the walls.
Pawlak noted the track was as green as it normally is without any prior rubber laid down, but with a heavy rainstorm on Monday, the day before media day, at least the dust that normally permeates the Long Beach circuit was MIA. And that made it better for the Formula Drift cars to gain traction they needed to get around the circuit. Finding the limit of both engines and tires in these powerful cars is an art and Formula Drift relies on the talents of its driver troops to get it right this Friday and Saturday for two days of season-starting competition.
Of course the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is a bit more than three days of on-track competition. It includes the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame ceremony on Thursday, April 7, during which two-time Long Beach race winner Alex Zanardi and all-time winningest IMSA driver (and local resident) Bill Auberlen will be inducted. Jimmy Vasser, already on the Walk of Fame, will accept for Zanardi, still recovering from a bicycle accident. That night the public can access Thunder Thursday at the Pike Outlets, with freestyle motocross, a car show, driver autohgraph session and NTT INDYCAR SERIES pit stop competition.
Friday is dedicated to practice and qualifying sessions for all races plus the first of two nights of Super Drift Challenge practice and eliminations. Saturday features five events (Super Trucks race, Porsche Carrera Cup, IMSA’s WeatherTech feature race, Historic IMSA GTP Challenge and the second night of Super Drift Challenge). Sunday’s four race events are her 47th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach INDYCAR feature race, the Historic IMSA GTP Challenge, Stadium Super Trucks and Porsche Carrera Cup.
For media day, the organizers used wristband access from the 46th race, held last year. They also had wristbands from the stillborn 46th race that was intended for April of 2020, making that a collector’s item. This writer has been privileged to work 46 Long Beach races and will work her 47th. Living close to the circuit, the logistics are a bit easier than they might be for others. It’s the one weekend of each year when I can sleep in my own bed and walk to work in less than 10 minutes. For a “home” race, it just doesn’t get much better than this!
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