- Long Beach Grand Prix
Infobox Indycar race
Name = Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Track_
Venue = Streets ofLong Beach, California
Time =UTC -5 (UTC-4 DST)
Sponsor =Toyota
First race =1975
First IRL race =2009
Distance = 1.968 miles
Laps = TBA
Previous names = Inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix (1975)
United States Grand Prix West (1976-1983)
Long Beach Grand Prix (1984-1985)
Network =ESPN The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is an
open-wheel race held on a temporary road course inLong Beach, California . It was the premier circuit in the Champ Car World Series and was the first event in the World Series each year. The 2008 race was the last race for Champ Cars as the series merged with theIndy Racing League [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 ] [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=] , and is now an event on the IRL calendar.The Long Beach Grand Prix is also the longest running major "street" race held on the North American continent, having completed its 34th event. 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. It started in1975 as aFormula 5000 race on the streets of downtown, and became aFormula One event the following year. Since1984 it has been a CART/Champ Car event. Other popular events during the Grand Prix week have included aChamp Car Atlantic series race, a Historic Grand Prix featuring pre-1990 cars, and theToyota Pro/Celebrity Race .The Long Beach Grand Prix has been announced since 1978 by Bruce Flanders (and his assorted guest announcers) and is frequently a fan favorite.
Circuit
Motorsport venue
Name = Long Beach
Location = Long Beach,California , USA
Time =UTC -8 (UTC-7 DST)
Events = IRL, ALMS
Capacity =
Length_mi = 1.968
Length_km = 3.167The current race circuit is a 1.968-mile temporary road course carved out of the city streets surrounding the Convention Center of
Long Beach, California . It is particularly noted for its last section, which sees ahairpin turn followed by a long, slightly curved front straightaway which runs the length ofShoreline Drive . The circuit is situated on the Long Beach waterfront, and is lined withpalm trees (especially along the front straightaway), making for a scenic track.Events
Although the Champ Car World Series 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 suspendedTrans-Am Series . Beginning in 2007, theAmerican Le Mans Series replaced Grand-Am. Other races include theChamp Car Atlantic Championship and the popularToyota Pro/Celebrity Race . 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 theIndy Racing League ), withKevin Kalkhoven andGerald 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 will race at Long Beach. Both races will count towards the 2008 IndyCar Series Championship. The Long Beach Grand Prix allowed all Champ Car drivers to race with their turbochargedPanoz -Cosworth Champ Cars that would have been used had the merger not taken place. Long Beach/Motegi will be 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.2009 and the IndyCar series
On
July 30 2008 , the schedule for the2009 IndyCar Series season was released, with Long Beach being scheduled to be the second race of the year, taking place the weekend of the19 April 2009 .Previous winners
References
External links
* [http://www.longbeachgrandprix.com Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach]
* [http://www.champcar.ws Champ Car World Series]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Long+Beach,+California&om=1&ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=33.764807,-118.188987&spn=0.007849,0.021629&t=k Satellite picture by Google Maps]Indycar next race
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