| Famous California Street Circuit Returns to Its Traditional April Date March 30, 2022 By Mark Robinson IMSA Wire Service  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is back where it belongs on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule, firmly entrenched again in its customary April date. Three classes will compete in the 100-minute sprint race – Daytona Prototype international (DPi), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD). The race airs live on USA Network beginning at 5 p.m. ET Saturday, April 9. Here’s what else you need to know about this fabled event: Fast Facts Long Beach Street Course – Long Beach, California April 9, 2022 Race Day/Time: Saturday, April 9 – 5:05 p.m. ET USA Network/Peacock Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 5 p.m. IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, April 8 – 8:10 p.m. ET IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Saturday, April 9 at 5 p.m. (XM 207, Internet/App 992) Circuit Type: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course Race Length: 100 minutes Track Social Media: Twitter: Twitter.com/GPLongBeach Instagram: Instagram.com/GPLongBeach Facebook: Facebook.com/GrandPrixLB Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #AGPLB Entry List (Click Here) WeatherTech Championship Track Records Qualifying:DPi: Helio Castroneves, Acura DPi, 1:11.332 / 99.321 mph, April 2019 GTD PRO: new class in 2022 GTD: Laurens Vanthoor, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 1:18.957 / 89.729 mph, September 2021 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Winners: DPi: Felipe Nasr/Pipo Derani, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R GTD PRO: new class in 2022 GTD: Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Storylines Spring at the Beach: After last year’s race was rescheduled to September due to the global pandemic, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach returns to its traditional April date in 2022. IMSA has competed on the iconic street circuit every year since 2006, with the exception of 2020 when the event was canceled. Acura Seeking Home Cookin’: Cadillac has claimed the overall win in the last four Long Beach races. A pair of Acura DPi teams – the No. 10 Konica Minolta from Wayne Taylor Racing and the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian – will seek to bring the manufacturer the spoils of victory in its namesake event. Enter the Sprint Cup: After two historic endurance races to kick off the schedule – the 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona and 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts – the WeatherTech Championship shifts gears into a series of sprint races starting with the 100-minute dash at Long Beach. For the GTD class, it also serves as the first of eight non-endurance races that award points toward the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship. GTD points earned at Long Beach, in fact, will only count in the Sprint Cup standings and not toward the overall season championship. Who’s Hot? No. 5 JDC-Miller Cadillac: Though the car has yet to win in 2022, the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R from JDC-Miller MotorSports leads the DPi standings by virtue of podium finishes in each of the first two races this season. A third-place result at Daytona was followed by a second-place showing at Sebring. Could drivers Tristan Vautier and Richard Westbrook take the next progression up to the top step at Long Beach? No. 32 Team Korthoff Mercedes: Like the No. 5 in DPi, the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 has grabbed the lead in the GTD season standings without benefit of a win. And like the No. 5, the No. 32 has done it with a third place at Daytona followed by a second place at Sebring. And like the No. 5 drivers, No. 32 co-pilots Mike Skeen and Stevan McAleer would love nothing more than to take their Mercedes to the top step of the podium at Long Beach. Who’s Good Here? Cadillac and Action Express: The manufacturer and team have won the last three Long Beach races (2018, ’19 and ’21), with Cadillac also taking home the top prize in 2017 when Wayne Taylor Racing was part of the program. Taylor Brothers: Jordan and Ricky Taylor teamed to win three consecutive Long Beach races from 2015-17 in the Prototype class when they drove for their father’s team. Ricky Taylor also earned the pole position in two of those years. Jordan Taylor captured the pole last year in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, but the No. 3 Corvette C8.R he shared with Antonio Garcia finished second in the race to Corvette Racing’s No. 4 entry. Previous Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Winners in 2022 Field (10) Jordan Taylor (3): P – 2015, 2016, 2017 Ricky Taylor (3): P – 2015, 2016, 2017 Filipe Albuquerque (2): P – 2018; DPi – 2019 Bill Auberlen (2): GT – 2013; GTLM – 2015 Earl Bamber (1): GTLM – 2019 Pipo Derani (1): DPi – 2021 Antonio Garcia (1): GTLM – 2014 Cooper MacNeil (1): GTD – 2017 Bryan Sellers (1): GTD — 2021 Madison Snow (1): GTD — 2021 Previous Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Pole Winners in 2022 Field (5) Bill Auberlen (2): GTLM – 2015, 2016 Ricky Taylor (2): P – 2015, 2017 Bryan Sellers (1): GTD – 2017 Madison Snow (1): GTD – 2021 Jordan Taylor (1): GTLM – 2021 Previous Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Winning Teams in 2022 Field (7) Corvette Racing (7): GT1 – 2007, 2008, 2009; GT – 2012; GTLM – 2014, 2017, 2018 Action Express Racing (3): P – 2018; DPi – 2019, 2021 BMW Team RLL (3): GT – 2011, 2013; GTLM – 2015 Wayne Taylor Racing (3): P – 2015, 2016, 2017 Chip Ganassi Racing (2): DP – 2006; P – 2014 JDC-Miller MotorSports (1): PC – 2016 Paul Miller Racing (1): GTD – 2021 Previous Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Winning Manufacturers in 2022 Field (9) Chevrolet – 9 Porsche – 9 Cadillac – 4 Acura – 3 BMW – 3 Aston Martin – 1 Lamborghini – 1 Lexus – 1 Mercedes-AMG – 1 |
