2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach
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The 2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach (formally known as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a sports car race held at Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 15, 2023. It was the third round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the first round of the 2023 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
Contents
Background
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2022.[1] It was the ninth year the event the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fifteenth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2006 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively. The 2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2023 by IMSA, the shortest of the season in terms of distance, and it was the first round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 1.968 mi (3.167 km) Long Beach street circuit on April 15, 2023.[2]
After the 12 Hours of Sebring four weeks earlier, Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken led the GTP Drivers' Championship with 670 points, ahead of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, and Louis Delétraz with 660 points followed by Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, and Scott Dixon with 600 points.[3] With 708 points, GTD Pro was led by Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella, and Maro Engel with a twenty-six point advantage over Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy, and Frederik Schandorff with 629 points; the trio held a one point gap over Corey Lewis, Bryan Sellers, and Madison Snow.[3] Cadillac, Mercedes-AMG, and McLaren were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Whelen Engineering Racing, WeatherTech Racing, and Inception Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.[3]
On April 3, 2023, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the GTP, GTD Pro, and GTD classes. In GTP, all cars received weight reductions compared to Sebring. The Cadillac ran at the lowest weight (1031 kg), with the BMW and Porsche at 1036 kg, and the Acura at 1045 kg. As a result, the Cadillac ran on 513 kilowatts of power, while the BMW ran on 515 kW (up 2 kW from Sebring), the Porsche ran on 515 kW (down 2 kW from Sebring), and the Acura on 520 kW. Maximum stint energy figures were also adjusted.[4] In GTD Pro and GTD, the Acura and BMW received weight adjustments. The Corvette, Lamborghini, and the Mercedes received air restrictor size changes. Other changes included a change in fuel tank capacity for almost all cars, except the BMW and Mercedes, and an adjustment of average power delta.[4]
Entries
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A total of 28 cars took part in the event, split across three classes. 8 were entered in GTP, 5 in GTD Pro, and 15 in GTD.[5] Risi Competizione and Iron Lynx were absent in GTD Pro while Turner Motorsport moved its entry to GTD. In GTD, Jeroen Bleekmeolen replaced David Brule in the #92 Kelly-Moss lineup. Wright Motorsports scaled down to 1 car after initially citing BoP concerns and scaling back their #16 entry to only contesting the Michelin Endurance Cup.[6] Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR added a partial sprint campaign in addition to committing to the Michelin Endurance Cup.[7]
Practice
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, one on Friday morning and one on Friday afternoon. The first session lasted one hour on Friday morning while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted 105 minutes.[8]
Practice 1
The first practice session took place at 9:00 AM PT on Friday and ended with Ricky Taylor topping the charts for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, with a lap time of 1:11.942.[9] The GTD Pro class was topped by the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Alex Riberas while Alec Udell was fastest in GTD.[10]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTP | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport | Ricky Taylor | 1:11.942 | _ |
| 2 | GTP | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Tom Blomqvist | 1:12.800 | +0.858 |
| 3 | GTP | 6 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Mathieu Jaminet | 1:13.550 | +1.608 |
| Sources:[11][12] | ||||||
Final Practice
The second and final practice session took place at 12:45 PM PT on Friday and ended with Tom Blomqvist topping the charts for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, with a lap time of 1:10.391.[13] The GTD Pro class was topped by the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth while Mario Farnbacher was fastest in GTD.[14][15]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTP | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Tom Blomqvist | 1:10.391 | _ |
| 2 | GTP | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport | Filipe Albuquerque | 1:10.714 | +0.323 |
| 3 | GTP | 25 | BMW M Team RLL | Nick Yelloly | 1:11.693 | +1.302 |
| Sources:[16][17] | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was broken into two sessions. The first was cars in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. Jack Hawksworth qualified on pole in GTD Pro driving the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry and the #27 Heart of Racing Team entry driven by Marco Sørensen set the fastest time among all GTD cars. The session was shortened after Ashton Harrison driving the #93 car for Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR crashed at turn eight. Moments later, P. J. Hyett driving the #80 car for AO Racing Team also crashed at turn eight. The Racers Edge Motorsports Acura caught fire and Harrison walked away from the accident.[18] For causing the red flag, both the #93 and #80 had their best two times from the session deleted. Due to the extensive damage on their cars, Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR and AO Racing Team withdrew from the event.[19][20]
The final session of qualifying was for the GTP class. Filipe Albuquerque qualified on pole driving the #10 car for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, beating Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian entry by over six-tenths of a second.[21]
Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by 
.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTP | 10 |  Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport |
 Filipe Albuquerque |
1:09.909 | _ | 1 |
| 2 | GTP | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian |
 Tom Blomqvist |
1:10.583 | +0.674 | 2 |
| 3 | GTP | 01 | Cadillac Racing |
 Sébastien Bourdais |
1:10.981 | +1.072 | 3 |
| 4 | GTP | 25 | BMW M Team RLL |
Nick Yelloly |
1:11.002 | +1.093 | 4 |
| 5 | GTP | 24 | BMW M Team RLL |
 Augusto Farfus |
1:11.368 | +1.459 | 5 |
| 6 | GTP | 6 |  Porsche Penske Motorsport |
Nick Tandy |
1:11.406 | +1.497 | 6 |
| 7 | GTP | 31 | Whelen Engineering Racing |
Alexander Sims |
1:11.410 | +1.501 | 7 |
| 8 | GTP | 7 | Porsche Penske Motorsport |
Felipe Nasr |
1:11.591 | +1.682 | 8 |
| 9 | GTD | 27 | Heart of Racing Team |
 Marco Sørensen |
1:17.811 | +7.902 | 9 |
| 10 | GTD Pro | 14 | Vasser Sullivan Racing |
Jack Hawksworth |
1:17.817 | +7.908 | 10 |
| 11 | GTD Pro | 23 | Heart of Racing Team |
Ross Gunn |
1:17.958 | +8.049 | 11 |
| 12 | GTD Pro | 9 |  Pfaff Motorsports |
Patrick Pilet |
1:18.083 | +8.174 | 12 |
| 13 | GTD Pro | 3 | Corvette Racing |
 Antonio García |
1:18.329 | +8.420 | 16 |
| 14 | GTD | 12 | Vasser Sullivan Racing |
Frankie Montecalvo |
1:18.376 | +8.467 | 17 |
| 15 | GTD | 1 | Paul Miller Racing |
Madison Snow |
1:18.383 | +8.474 | 13 |
| 16 | GTD | 32 | Team Korthoff Motorsports |
Mike Skeen |
1:18.455 | +8.546 | 14 |
| 17 | GTD | 78 | Forte Racing Powered by US RaceTronics |
Misha Goikhberg |
1:18.831 | +8.922 | 15 |
| 18 | GTD | 57 | Winward Racing |
Russell Ward |
1:18.943 | +9.034 | 18 |
| 19 | GTD | 97 | Turner Motorsport |
Chandler Hull |
1:19.159 | +9.250 | 19 |
| 20 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport |
Patrick Gallagher |
1:19.171 | +9.262 | 20 |
| 21 | GTD | 70 | Inception Racing |
Brendan Iribe |
1:19.188 | +9.279 | 21 |
| 22 | GTD Pro | 79 | WeatherTech Racing |
Daniel Juncadella |
1:19.436 | +9.527 | 22 |
| 23 | GTD | 93 | Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR |
Ashton Harrison |
1:19.583 | +9.674 | 271 |
| 24 | GTD | 77 | Wright Motorsports |
Alan Brynjolfsson |
1;19.629 | +9.720 | 252 |
| 25 | GTD | 66 | Gradient Racing |
Sheena Monk |
1:19.716 | +9.807 | 263 |
| 26 | GTD | 80 | AO Racing Team |
P. J. Hyett |
1:19.767 | +9.858 | 284 |
| 27 | GTD | 92 | Kelly-Moss w/ Riley |
 Jeroen Bleekemolen |
1:19.807 | +9.989 | 23 |
| 28 | GTD | 91 | Kelly-Moss w/ Riley |
Alan Metni |
1:20.789 | +10.880 | 24 |
| Sources:[22][23] | |||||||
- 1 The No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR entry had its two fastest laps deleted as penalty for causing a red flag during its qualifying session.
- 2 The No. 77 Wright Motorsports started at the rear of the GTD class after deciding to change their starting race tires.
- 3 The No. 66 Gradient Racing entry started at the rear of the GTD class after deciding to change their starting race tires.
- 4 The No. 80 AO Racing Team entry had its two fastest laps deleted as penalty for causing a red flag during its qualifying session.
Results
Post-race
As a result of winning the race, Tandy and Jaminet advanced from fifth to first in the GTP Drivers' Championship.[24] In GTD Pro, Barnicoat and Hawksworth moved to first after being second coming into Long Beach.[24] In the GTD Drivers' Championship, De Angelis and Sørensen advanced from fifth to second while Iribe and Millroy dropped from first to fourth. Additionally, Foley and Gallagher jumped from eighth to fifth.[24] Cadillac continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championship while Lexus took the lead of the GTD Pro Manufacturers' Championship while BMW took the lead of the GTD Manufacturers' Championship.[24] Porsche Penske Motorsport, Vasser Sullivan Racing, and Paul Miller Racing took the lead in the trio of Teams' Championships with eight races left in the season.[24]
Class winners are denoted in bold and .
Notes
Standings after the race
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
References
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- ↑ 24.00 24.01 24.02 24.03 24.04 24.05 24.06 24.07 24.08 24.09 24.10 24.11 24.12 24.13 24.14 24.15 24.16 24.17 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
| IMSA SportsCar Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous race: 2023 12 Hours of Sebring |
2023 season | Next race: 2023 Motul Course de Monterey |
