37th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Being based in Southern California we are lucky to have the opportunity to cover a wide variety of motorsports events and the 37th Grand Prix of Long Beach is one that is always at the top of our lists. Not only does it have something for almost every race fan's taste, but it's a huge beach party with a race car soundtrack. Not to mention that unless you have ESPN “the Ocho” you probably didn't see or hear about the race, so I'm sure you will all enjoy a little race coverage. We are also happy to report that this year we were able to get a close look at a few cars and will be bringing you some sick race car features!
The Long Beach course has seen its share of variations since it first hit the streets of Long Beach in 1975, but the 1.968 miles, 11 turn street course retained its most recent configuration for 2011. A good thing for all race teams, but no reason for any of them to ease off one bit. The street course brings with it many challenges as it is much different than the dedicated race surfaces these teams are used to and the tight corners make for some hairy, yet exciting, situations.
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| As always, the weather was great and many fans came out to check out all the weekend's events. |
The weekend's events started early Friday morning with the ALMS cars hitting the street at 7:15 in the morning for their first and only practice – talk about the perfect alarm clock for the neighborhood! The 2 hour practice session is extremely important as it's the only time the ALMS teams would get to test their set ups on track before their qualifying sessions at the end of the day.
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| This year all the Ferrari squads are using Ferrari 458's. Not only are they a sight to see in the pits, but they've also been putting together strong on track performances. |
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