2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach
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.
Background
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.[1] 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.[1]
Entries
A total of 28 cars took part in the event, split across three classes. 8 are entered in GTP, 5 in GTD Pro, and 15 in GTD.[2] 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.[3] Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR added a partial sprint campaign in addition to committing to the Michelin Endurance Cup.[4]
Practice
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.[5]
| 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 |
| Source:[6] | ||||||
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.[7]
| 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 |
| Source:[8] | ||||||
Qualifying
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 with Riley | Jeroen Bleekemolen | 1:19.807 | +9.989 | 23 |
| 28 | GTD | 91 | Kelly-Moss with Riley | Alan Metni | 1:20.789 | +10.880 | 24 |
| Sources:[9][10] | |||||||
- 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
Class winners are denoted in bold and .
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Notes
- The #80 AO Racing Team entry did not make the start due to sustaining too much damage in an accident in qualifying.
- The #93 Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR entry did not make the start due to sustaining too much damage in an accident in qualifying.
References
- Dagys, John (April 3, 2023). "GTP Cars Given Weight Reductions for Long Beach". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- Dagys, John (April 5, 2023). "28 Entries for Long Beach". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- Dagys, John (April 3, 2023). "Wright Confirms Single-Car GTD Effort for Sprint Cup Races". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- Dagys, John (March 31, 2023). "Racers Edge Commits to Long Beach With Farnbacher, Harrison". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- James, Richard (April 14, 2023). "Ricky Taylor leads as Acuras pace first Long Beach IMSA practice". racer.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- "03_Results_Practice 201.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- James, Richard (April 14, 2023). "Blomqvist keeps Acura ahead in second Long Beach IMSA practice". racer.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- "03_Results_Practice 202.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- "01_Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- "03_Results_Race_Unofficial.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.