Historic Formula Atlantic Cars To Race 2020 Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach Weekend

No. 75 Al Lader - Brabham BT40 followed by No. 2 Craig Hill - BT40 No. 91 Archie Snider - BT29 at FBRace-Spdwy-73-4. Image Credit: Mike G. Adams via FB Page, ‎An appreciation of Formula Atlantic

Historic Formula Atlantic Cars To Race 2020 Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach Weekend

Next April 18-19, Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach fans will get a double dose of nostalgia when the Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge, featuring open-wheel race cars from the 1970s and 1980s, lights up the track for a doubleheader weekend.

The twin 20-minute races will run Saturday, April 18 along with the IMSA WeatherTech Championship race and Sunday, April 19, the same day as the NTT IndyCar Series race, with practice and qualifying on Friday.

The Formula Atlantic series ran at Long Beach from 1978-82 and 1989-2008 as one of the premier “feeder” series to top-level open-wheel racing. Drivers such as Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti, Willy T. Ribbs, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser Jr., Jimmy Vasser and Jacques Villeneuve all raced at Long Beach as they worked their way up through the Formula Atlantic ranks. Two former Formula Atlantic drivers, Keke Rosberg and Villeneuve, became Formula One World Champions, while 1979 Long Beach Grand Prix winner Gilles Villeneuve was also a Formula Atlantic graduate. Several other Atlantic drivers were Indy Car champions over the years. The Rosberg, Villeneuve and Rahal cars – along with many others – are expected to be in the race field at Long Beach.

The historic event at Long Beach will be sanctioned by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA)

“Hosting the historic Formula Atlantic cars are a natural at Long Beach,” said Cris Vandagriff, president of the HMSA. “Many of the ‘movers and shakers’ in IndyCar today got their start in Formula Atlantic. It will be so exciting to see these cars on the Streets of Long Beach again and have many of the former drivers attend the Formula Atlantic autograph session. All the cars will be authentic in every detail including the livery they ran in-period.”

“We are excited to be able to showcase these vintage Atlantic cars to our fans in a doubleheader format,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “This will give our fans more on-track action and that added race will be a big part of an enhanced Sunday schedule that we are putting together for the 2020 Acura Grand Prix.”

Off the track, the Acura Grand Prix will have evening concerts, free to Friday and Saturday race ticket holders, along with the popular Lifestyle Expo and Family Fun Zone, the Food Truck Experience, Mothers Exotic Car Paddock (Sunday only) and driver autograph sessions from all race series. Fans will also see lower beer prices and healthier food options throughout the venue.

Tickets will go on public sale beginning Oct. 21, with fans able to renew their 2019 seats beginning Aug. 19. Ticket prices range from $34 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $155 for a three-day ticket that includes Sat./Sun. reserved seating in grandstand upper levels. Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, NTT IndyCar Series Paddock passes, Super Photo tickets and a wide variety of hospitality packages.

Fans can also follow the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook (GrandPrixLB), Twitter @GPLongBeach (#AGPLB) and Instagram @GPLongBeach.
[ht: AGPLB]

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: Formula Atlantic, HMSA, Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach, #AGPLB, Cris Vandagriff, Jim Michaelian, The EDJE

TruSpeed Motorsports And City Of Long Beach Launch Grand Prix Magic

The 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, set to take place April 13-15, took its first step toward the green flag when construction began Monday, February 13 on the outside of turn #10 before the hairpin turn #11 entering Shoreline Drive, the racing circuit’s 185 mph famed front straightaway. Pictured on this drizzly Monday morning from right to left are President and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, Jim Michaelian | City of Long Beach Vice Mayor, Suja Lowenthal | President and Driver for TruSpeed Motorsports, Rob Morgan. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

TruSpeed Motorsports And City Of Long Beach Launch Grand Prix Magic

This Monday morning saw the kick-off celebration of the conversion of the streets around Long Beach's Shoreline Drive and Long Beach Convention Center into the racing venue known every spring as the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. A process that has taken place 37 time before, and the 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is set to take place April 13-15, 2012.

Street course motorsports racing strikes many casual event goers as something that is simple and oddly natural in its creation. "Hey, we drive on streets, so why don't we just close them off and race on them" ... they muse to themselves, while not knowing exactly what is involved with their simple and oddly natural thought processes.

The fact of the matter, it take a huge amount of concrete and effort to magically transform a street into a stable and safe motorsports racing facility. Grand Prix Association of Long Beach Director of Operations Dwight Tanaka and his staff will put in more than 30,000 working hours installing 14 million pounds of concrete blocks that line the track, three miles of fencing and 16,000 bolted-together tires, along with 16 huge spectator grandstands, seven pedestrian bridges and giant-vision boards for full-circuit TV coverage.

The construction got underway with assists from Long Beach Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and TruSpeed Motorsports Pirelli World Challenge team owner/driver Rob Morgan, who appeared at the track for a kickoff photo shoot with his #1 TruSpeed Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3, which was the championship-winning car in the series’ GT category last year.

Patrick Long, driving the then #45 PrivacyStar Porsche, sealed the 2011 GT Driver’s Championship in the Pirelli World Challenge on the season's last race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In doing so, Patrick claimed the title in his first full season in the Series and delivered to TruSpeed Motorsports its first series championship. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Entering its 23rd consecutive season, the Pirelli World Challenge (which will join the IZOD IndyCar Series, the American Le Mans Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Team Drifting Challenge, and Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race weekend events) is one of North America's top production car-based racing championships. Divided into four separate categories (GT, GTS, Touring Car, and Touring Car B-Spec), races feature thrilling standing starts, adrenaline filled door-to-door action and world-class drivers. The Pirelli World Challenge features cars from the world's most popular manufacturers – race-prepped versions of the cars driven on the streets. Sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing, the series races at North America's premier road and temporary street courses.

Morgan’s Costa Mesa-based TruSpeed Motorsports team is preparing to contest the SCCA's GT car 2012 Pirelli World Challenge season which gets underway March 23-25 with a doubleheader at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The plan of TruSpeed Motorsports is to field three cars for the entire eight venue, twelve race GT/GTS Pirelli World Challenge 2012 season.

"We feel honored to help kick off the Grand Prix,” Morgan said. “When you look at the 38 year history and heritage of the event, it’s one of the best in the world. It’s also our home race, so we’re glad to be here today. We will be running three cars in the race ... possibly four. But to be involved in something like this is wonderful. The last two years we have participated in the media 'Press Day' with a couple of race cars, giving the [track] rides and so forth, and this is another way we can promote and enhance our relationship with Jim Michaelian, the race, and the City of Long Beach."

Dwight Tanaka, Grand Prix Association of Long Beach Director of Operations and his staff also install hospitality suites, tents, electrical equipment, phones, porta-johns, trash containers and a hundred other little things up until race weekend. Then on Sunday night, when the last race car has left the track, they start to take everything down, inspect the gear and get everything ready for next year when the grand prix magic begins all over again. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

It takes two months to prepare this part of the City of Long Beach for the 175,000 fans expected during race weekend. All businesses along the race circuit, which includes Shoreline Drive, Aquarium Way and Pine Ave., will remain open during construction of the racetrack.

"We want to make sure that our course is both safe and competitive, and Dwight and is staff as well as the Long Beach city departments deliver on all accounts,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “That phenomenal support is what helps us make the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach America’s number one street race.”

Fans can select and pay for their 2012 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach seats, parking, and paddock passes online at gplb.com. Ticket orders can also be placed by calling the toll-free ticket hotline, (888) 82-SPEED. Ticket prices range from $26 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $130 for a three-day ticket that includes Sat./Sun. reserved seating in grandstand upper levels.

Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, IndyCar Paddock passes, Super Photo tickets and a wide variety of Hospitality Club packages including the exciting Vista Club – featuring a nearly 360-degree view of the race circuit – located high atop the Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

Fans can also follow the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook at GrandPrixLB and on Twitter @ToyotaGPLB.

So if you were one of those people who mused that Street Course racing was something that is simple and oddly natural in its creation ... you're right, close your eyes and "voila" ... the Grand Prix magic will appear in Long Beach April 13-15, 2012 at the 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

... notes from The EDJE



** Article first published as TruSpeed Motorsports And City Of Long Beach Launch Grand Prix Magic on Technorati **

Long Beach Readies Itself For The 2010 Toyota Grand Prix

The Committee of 300 of Long Beach begins its 36th straight year of involvement with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a KICKOFF PARTY Thursday night, Feb. 18 from 6-9 p.m. at V2O Nightclub & Events Center, 81 Aquarium Way in downtown Long Beach. Image Credit: C-300

Long Beach Readies Itself For The 2010 Toyota Grand Prix

Construction began today on the famed 11-turn, 1.97-mile street circuit that, in just 60 days, will host the cars and stars of the 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster poses on K-rail in what will be Turn 10 of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race course [ctrl-click to launch YouTube video]. Image Credit: Andy Witherspoon - GPALB

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster ceremoniously kicked off the construction by helping workers install concrete blocks on Shoreline Drive and, over the next two months, the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach (GPALB) will build what is essentially a small town for one weekend.

More than 14 million pounds of concrete blocks that line the race circuit will be set in place, turning Shoreline Drive and downtown Long Beach into a comfortable circuit for more than 175,000 people to enjoy six racing events April 16-18.

Safety First with helmets and vest. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

What stitches all of this event together from a human perspective after the bleachers are up, the circuit is laid out, and the entrance gates are put in place is a group of courageous volunteers known as the Committee Of 300, or just C-300. The members of this group are part of a nonprofit community service organization dedicated to promoting the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the City of Long Beach. The Committee of 300 became known as "The Redcoats" because of the distinctive red jackets worn by its members. Created in 1975 to assist the inaugural race, the Committee of 300 is always visible during the race weekend, when members serve as grandstand ambassadors, assist in the press facility and manage the Paddock Club.

While the Mayor kicked off the construction of the track today, the Committee Of 300 kicks off its effort for the Grand Prix event on Thursday night, Feb. 18 from 6-9 p.m. with construct of its own, a KICKOFF PARTY held at V2O Nightclub & Events Center, 81 Aquarium Way in downtown Long Beach. This party signals the beginning of the race for the 2010 season of volunteering and camaraderie as it is pursued throughout the year by C-300.

K-rail and bleachers getting ready to form the 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This perspective is from what will become turn 10 looking slightly Northwest toward Pine Avenue. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

It is doubtful that there is another civic-minded organization like it in the whole world. It is the only known organization where anyone can join (social or political pull doesn't count). Only three things are required for membership:

1. Payment of yearly dues.

2. Active participation on race weekend.

3. Exhibiting a desire to become part of a civic-oriented effort to assure the successful growth of the City of Long Beach and its community.

C-300 KICKOFF PARTY 2008 - Just days before the announcement that the ChampCar World Series would merge with the IRL

In addition to its valuable service with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the C-300 can be seen assisting on staffing for the Los Angeles and Orange County Auto Shows, the Belmont Shore Auto Classics Show, the Belmont Shore, Seal Beach, and Daisy Lane holiday parades, and are supporters of the STEEL MAGNOLIAS, an organization for the Stramski Children's Development Center at Memorial Hospital.

Shoreline Drive as it gets lined into a near 190mph race track with the 10,000 pound blocks of concrete known as K-rails [ctrl-click to launch YouTube video] . Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

As far as the track preparations are concerned ... "Race attendees will need everything from luxury suites to rest rooms to trash containers to hundreds of other little, but no less important, things," said Grand Prix Association of Long Beach director of operations Dwight Tanaka.

"Our staff of 40 will put in more than 30,000 working hours installing concrete blocks, three miles of fencing and 16,000 bolted-together tires, along with 15 huge spectator grandstands, seven pedestrian bridges and eight giant-vision boards for full-circuit TV coverage." continued Dwight, "And then, we're only half-done. Beginning Sunday night, we start taking everything down, inspecting it and getting ready again for 2011."

The 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will feature 2009 Long Beach winner Dario Franchitti, Danica Patrick and the rest of the IZOD IndyCar Series stars, along with the always-popular Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series race, Firestone Indy Lights, Team Drifting Challenge and SCCA Pro World Challenge Championships.

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster (left) and President/CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach Jim Michaelian are happy to get this party started. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

"It's a team effort to construct a circuit which is challenging for the drivers and provides a variety of spectacular views for our fans," said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. "Dwight and his staff, together with the City of Long Beach and our suppliers, deserve an enormous amount of credit for building a world-class circuit while, at the same time, minimizing the impact on downtown."

Tickets for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach can be purchased from the Grand Prix ticket office by calling toll-free at (888) 82-SPEED, Ticketmaster or by visiting www.gplb.com. A handy ticket brochure - which includes circuit map, grandstand and parking locations, ticket prices and order form - can be obtained by calling the ticket hotline.

Ticket prices, which remain unchanged for the second straight year, range from $25 for Friday general admission up to $125 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday reserved seats in upper levels of the grandstands. Pre-paid parking packages are also available when ordering through the Grand Prix Ticket Office. Handicapped seating, IndyCar Paddock passes, Super Photo tickets and a variety of hospitality club packages are also available.

Of course, if paying for tickets is not your thing, and you would rather be a part of the show as opposed to just watching the show, come to the Committee Of 300 KICKOFF PARTY Thursday night, Feb. 18 from 6-9 p.m. at V2O Nightclub & Events Center, 81 Aquarium Way in downtown Long Beach. Volunteer and meet the Mayor of Long Beach, Bob Foster, members of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach and the supporting cast of this 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach ... the C-300!

... notes from The EDJE

To Take A Walk On The Honor Side

LONG BEACH MOTORSPORTS WALK OF FAME: Racers Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and Gary Gabelich are inducted. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

To Take A Walk On The Honor Side

On Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 11:00am, the kick-off event to the four-wheel Grand Prix speedfest through the streets of Long Beach was held on the western sidewalk in front of the Long Beach Convention Center and not one engine rev was heard.

The event was the third time in three years where the city of Long Beach honors the motorsports stars that have either lived in Long Beach or have graced the oceanside city with their talent, along the way to a pinnacle career behind the wheel in sporting competition. A one-of-a-kind, two-foot in diameter medallion was cast, listing the name and accomplishments of the honoree, and then set in cement for all race fans and visitors to see as they walk down the east side of Pine avenue in front of the Convention Center.

This year was witness to the honoring of three towering legends of motorsports in Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, and Gary Gabelich and, to be honest, while these men were honored through the ceremony on Pine Avenue, Long Beach became the biggest winner in the exchange.

The Long Beach Motorsports Walk Of Fame induction ceremony helped to put aside the fact that this year is the last year the ChampCar World Series cars and management will be putting on the event of the race (as some of the people involved have) for over twenty years. It is a melancholy year, in that the cars will race but only nine drivers will be awarded points that matter to them for the balance of the year – twenty cars and drivers to honor ChampCar, but only nine with skin in the game.

The Indy Racing League has provided a path of unification where two open-wheel racing series merge into one, but this year, the IRL Management (other than season points recognition for the transitioning drivers) is nowhere to be found. No visibility, no public relations, no official status. This lack of interest extends all of the way to the non-recognition or listing of this 34th edition of the Grand Prix in Long Beach to their website where the race is not mentioned.

The Long Beach Motorsports Walk Of Fame for 2008 was a breath of fresh air and a walk on the honor side. The honor of the accomplishments of sportsmen inducted, the honor of a valiant legacy of American open-wheel racing, and the honor of a city, spirit, and a venue that have no equal. Long Live the Grand Prix of Long Beach … from Shoreline Drive to the short shute along Pine Avenue.

Now let’s go racing and make some history. Let the “fine nine” go immediately to the front of the pack and have a Grand Prix race for the Indy Racing League ages.

This excerpted from the Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA)

Cementing their legacies
WALK OF FAME: Racers Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and Gary Gabelich are inducted.
By David Felton, Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - The man synonymous with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach - Mario Andretti - is now a permanent part of the community.

Andretti, who drove in the very first Grand Prix in 1975 and won the race four times, was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame on Thursday, along with Parnelli Jones and Gary Gabelich.
----
They were honored in an hour-long induction ceremony attended by city dignitaries, family members and racing fans.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

"(Coming to Long Beach) is like coming back home," said Andretti, who won in Long Beach in 1977, 1984, 1985 and 1987. "I don't know anywhere on this planet I feel more welcome than Long Beach."
----
Andretti said he wasn't confident race founder Chris Pook's idea for a street course in Long Beach would work.

"I thought it would never fly," he said. "But I could see it would have a chance when I saw how the city of Long Beach got behind it. The city fathers saw this as a tremendous opportunity to bring this city to the attention of the world.

"Look at this town now," he continued. "This city is a destination."

Grand Prix Association of Long Beach CEO Jim Michaelian said Andretti's thrilling 1977 victory over Jody Scheckter and Niki Lauda "put the stamp of authenticity on this event."
----
Andretti, now 68, won four IndyCar titles and was honored as United States Driver of the Year in 1967, 1978 and 1984, the only driver ever chosen in three decades.

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Jones won the Indy 500 as a driver (1963) and as an owner (1970-71) and also earned four NASCAR victories in 34 starts. He won numerous midget and sprint car races and is a legend in off-road racing as a driver and owner.

In 1975, Jones owned the Formula 5000 car Andretti drove.
----
Jones, 74, was remembered by one speaker as the fiercest competitor he ever faced on a track.
----
Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Gabelich, perhaps more than any of the inductees, had the need for speed.
The San Pedro native began drag racing at 16 and won the first-ever jet-powered drag race in 1959 - topping 200 mph - at 19 years old.

He's best known for the Blue Flame, his 37-foot, 5,000- pound car powered by a liquid gas-hydrogen peroxide rocket engine that broke the land speed record in 1970 at 622.287 mph. The record stood for 13 years.

Gabelich later developed a love for powerboats and set the National Drag Boat Association record at 200.44 mph in 1969.
----
Gabelich was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1984.

His widow is Long Beach Councilwoman Rae Gabelich, who spoke on his behalf. Gabelich's son Guy and mother Rae also attended. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

"It is beyond an honor for Gary to be recognized with two legends of racing," Councilwoman Gabelich said.

While preparing her remarks for Thursday, Gabelich randomly chose one of about 20 books she has on land speed records, trying to find the words to explain why some choose to race the clock instead of each other.

The book she grabbed was "Land Speed Record" by Cyril Posthumus, published in 1971, with a forward written by Gary Gabelich.

In it, he wrote land speed records are "the measure of man's assault ... on speed and time." He also wrote he still looked upon the Blue Flame as "a beautiful woman."

"Today is the most special of all," said Rae Gabelich. "To be recognized in the city he called home ... is an honor."
Reference Here>>

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is set to be televised live on ESPN2 - The race is scheduled to start on the track at 1:00pm PT.

... notes from The EDJE