Let Me Ride: The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Makes Noise in the LBC
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach started its motors on April 16 through 19. Fans came in droves to the beachside track for the 51st time with high expectations for the races to come.
The Grand Prix gives fans a variety of events to follow throughout the weekend, from high-speed IndyCars battling side by side through the tight streets, jumping stadium trucks with ramps placed around the track, to multi-class racing with IMSA and controlled chaos with the Formula Drift Challenge in the final sector of the racetrack.
The weekend began on April 16 with Thunder Thursday, an event open to the public to see some of the cars that would compete on Saturday and Sunday, and the Pit Stop Challenge for the NTT IndyCar Series.
Friday was the first day the track was hot with cars, with the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series in its first practice session in their spec 911 Cup car, Type 992.2. TylerMaxson, in the number 77 Top Racing Porsche, finished the session first with the fastest time of 1:20.502 to set the pace for the Grand Prix.
After the Carrera Cup cars ran, the Historic Sportscar Racing had a 20-minute practice session, showing off old sports cars from the 60s to the 90s, from an Oldsmobile to an Audi Quattro.
After the Historics, the International Motor Sports Association WeatherTech SportsCar Championship began practice. IMSA has two classes of cars running in Long Beach: Grand Touring Prototypes and Grand Touring Daytona.
Once IMSA left the track, ramps were set up for Super Stadium Trucks. Robby Gordon’s series featured purpose-built off-road trucks that adapt to the concrete and asphalt of Long Beach.
Once the trucks were returned to their paddocks and the ramps were taken off the track, the Porsche Carrera Cup cars came back out to practice for the second time during the weekend.
The Porsche started to set up their cars for the final session of the day. GMG Racing number 32 driver Tom Sargent finished first in the final practice session with a time of 1:19.827, giving him the best car before qualifying.
Later BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 number 24, driven by Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde, set the fastest prototype lap with a 1:12.284. For the GTD class, Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 number 89, driven by Jack Hawksworth and Frankie Montecalvo, took the fastest lap with a 1:18.654.
When IMSA returned to the paddock, the NTT IndyCars roared to life for the first time that weekend. Andretti Global’s No. 26 car, driven by Will Power, set the fastest lap of the session.
IMSA qualifying began with the GTD class. With 15 minutes on the clock for their class, Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, driven by Hawksworth and Montecalvo, took first place with a 1:18.411, as the DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, driven by Robert Wickens and Mason Filippi, just got inched out with a 1:18.562. Wickens, a paraplegic driver who suffered a spinal injury in 2018, competed using hand controls adapted for his car.
The Formula Drift Challenge opened with a brief delay after fans breached a fence separating media from spectators. Once the fence was reestablished, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis led Day 1, and Jeff Jones took second.
Saturday began with the Historic Sports Car Challenge before Porsche Carrera Cup cars took the track for Race 1. GMG Racing No. 32 driver Sargent controlled the race and claimed the win.
In IndyCar practice, Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian No. 27 driver Kyle Kirkwood posted the fastest time at 01:07.5417 after winning last year’s race from pole.
The 100-minute IMSA race saw Acura Meyer Shank Racing No. 93 lead the field to the green flag and finish first overall, marking a home win for the manufacturer. In GTP, Vasser Sullivan Racing No. 12 finished first in class and 10th overall. The BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 No. 25 sustained heavy damage after contact with the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 No. 5.
IndyCar qualifying followed. Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian No. 60 driver Felix Rosenqvist earned the P1 Award with a time of 1:07.4635. Patricio “Pato” O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren qualified second, putting both on the front row.
The Super Stadium Trucks closed Saturday’s racing. Max Gordon won Race 1 in the No. 77 truck, while Matt Brabham retired because of a mechanical issue.
Sunday opened with warm-ups before Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2, where Sargent again won in the GMG Racing No. 32 car, sweeping the weekend. In Super Stadium Trucks Race 2, Brabham returned to win in the No. 83 truck.
The NTT IndyCar Series concluded the weekend’s racing in front of packed grandstands lining Shoreline Drive. Alex Palou won from third in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda after a clean, caution-free run through the streets of Long Beach. Rosenqvist finished second after starting from pole, holding off late pressure in the closing laps. Only one car failed to finish as Andretti Global No. 28 driver Marcus Ericsson retired on Lap 38 with a hybrid battery issue.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach returns April 16-18, 2027, for its 52nd running, continuing a tradition that has made the downtown street circuit one of the most recognizable stops in American open-wheel racing.
