Grand Prix of Long Beach


 * For the Formula One race, see United States Grand Prix West.

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 the 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, and is now an event on the Izod 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 the following year. From 1984 to 2008 it was a CART/Champ Car event. Other popular events during the Grand Prix week include a Firestone Indy Lights race, an American Le Mans Series 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) and is frequently a fan favorite.

Circuit
The current race circuit is a 1.968-mile (3.167 km) 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 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), making for a scenic track.

Events
Although the Izod 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. 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, in which participants engage in controlled slides, moving their cars sideways across the track.

American Le Mans Series / Grand-Am / IMSA

 * Overall winners in bold



Television history
CART Champ Car & IRL IndyCar races