A little over half a year ago Long Beach went on to occupy a prominent place in the history of Spanish motoring. On its streets, which have breathed competition for almost half a century, Álex Palou managed to proclaim himself IndyCar champion, starring in covers and headlines previously unimaginable in Spain and culminating in a dream 2021. After the first two races this season, It’s time to face the challenge of the Long Beach Grand Prix againnow on its usual dates after the cancellation of 2020 and the postponement of last year.
After seven metamorphoses in his first 25 years of life, Long Beach’s 10,000-foot layout has remained intact since 2000 despite the continuous real estate development of what began as a decadent industrial zone to end up becoming one of the great pearls of the Californian coast. On its long main “straight”, the curved and iconic Shoreline Drive, speeds of 290 kilometers per hour are reached with the stranded Queen Mary in the background, towards a twisty first sector, with the roundabout of the “Aquarius fountain” as the main visual element.
A succession of short straights and 90-degree turns brings drivers into the final section, winding through the Long Beach Arena car park towards its famous 180-degree hairpin that returns competitors to the main straight. All this in just over a minute, being the 1:06.225 of Hélio Castroneves in 2017 the track record. The prestige of the event and its large annual attendances make it the most important event in the IndyCar Series outside of the Indianapolis 500in object of desire of all the pilots, and in an important accolade facing the imminent month of May.
The race was created in the image and likeness of the historic Monaco Grand Prix in 1975, becoming the first major street circuit in the United States. After a successful first edition with the American Formula 5000, at that time the only American single-seaters racing on the circuit, Formula 1 hosted the event as the second American race on the calendar. For eight years, Long Beach hosted the United States Grand Prix of the Westhosting Mario Andretti’s victory in 1977, the accident that put Clay Regazzoni in a wheelchair in 1980 and John Watson’s incredible victory in 1983 from 22nd on the grid, the greatest triumphant comeback in Formula history 1.
Faced with increased economic pressure from FOM, Long Beach went on to host the “Indianapolis cars” from 1984retaining the atmosphere of a great event and its continued success thanks to the great national figures. Mario Andretti added another three victories to his record (1984-85, 1987), and his son Michael achieved his first and last victory as a driver at Long Beach 16 years apart (1986 and 2002), but nobody dominated this track like the ‘King of the Beach’, Al Unser Jr.which won the race up to six times, four of them consecutive (1988-91, 1994-95).
Paul Tracy completes the list of four winners (1993, 2000, 2003-04) at Long Beach, Sébastien Bourdais racked up three wins during his years of dominance (2005-07), and former competitors like Alex Zanardi or Mike Conway also know what it’s like to repeat victory. Even in CART/Champ Car’s worst years during the Split, Long Beach consistently maintained strong attendance figures, sustained by a not insignificant percentage of casual public who attends the event because it is a great social convention, in the style of the Indy 500.
Enrolled List
There will be 26 competitors this weekend, the same as in St. Petersburg, with the return of Tatiana Calderón to the third Foyt and that of Jack Harvey with the Rahal team after missing the appointment in Texas due to an accident in training. Seven applicants have tasted the honey of victory in Long Beach: the repeaters Will Power (2008 and 2012) and Alexander Rossi (2018 and 2019)in addition to Hélio Castroneves (2001), Takuma Sato (2013), Scott Dixon (2015), Simon Pagenaud (2016) and the most recent winner, Colton Hertha, who climbed from 14th place to the lead in less than half a race. In turn, after his victory in Texas, Josef Newgarden will look for his first victory in Long Beach after finishing second in the last two editions.
Palou arrives at this appointment in the third position of the general after being second at St. Petersburg and seventh at Texas. On the day of his coronation, this being his debut at Long Beach, he finished fourth after starting tenth, and will look for another great result to cut ground on a Scott McLaughlin in a state of grace after starting the year with the victory in St. Pete and a near win at oval. For this, it will be key take a step up in the rankingsalthough the Spaniard already showed last year that a “bad” Saturday does not always mean a bad Sunday.
How to watch and follow the Long Beach Grand Prix in Spain
One more season, the official rights of the IndyCar Series in Spain are owned by Movistar+, which broadcasts the 17 races of the season. In this way, the Long Beach Grand Prix can be seen live through Movistar Deportes (dial to be determined), with Raúl Benito and Roldán Rodríguez in the comments. From this year, the free practice sessions and qualifying can be followed for free in Spain through the StayLive platform, with comments in English. To register, it is only necessary to provide an email, without the need for verification. This alternative is not available for users from Latin America.
Sessions and schedules of the 47th LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX 2022
* (early morning from Friday 8 to Saturday 9 in Spain)
Photos: IndyCar Media