Benefit Grand Prix Gearing Up in Cypress

It won’t be the Indy 500 or the Monaco Grand Prix. But Cypress is preparing for a smaller version of a classic speed-car race. The racing vehicles will be 3 1/2-horsepower go-carts, sponsored by various businesses and corporations.

The event, called the Mini Grand Prix, is being sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation of Orange County and will be held April 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The “race track” will be streets around a business center near Valley View Street and Katella Avenue.

There is no admission charge, and the public is invited to watch the colorful activities, said Suzanne Hoehl, executive director of the Orange County-Long Beach branch of the Arthritis Foundation.

“We expect 4,000 to 5,000 persons to attend, and we’re getting wonderful cooperation from the people and city government of Cypress,” Hoehl said. She noted that the City Council has waived permit fees for the event.

“We’ll have about 20 go-carts in this inaugural race,” Hoehl said. The racing vehicles, driven by adult employees of the sponsoring businesses, will compete in 5-mile heats. The final, trophy race will be over a circular course 7 1/2 miles long.

Money for the charitable events comes both from the corporations that sponsor race entries and from advertisers. The Arthritis Foundation is selling advertising banners that will line the race routes. A pancake breakfast staffed by the Kiwanis Club also will help with fund raising, Hoehl said.

While this will be the first such Mini Grand Prix for the Long Beach-Orange County area, it will join the ranks of “many we’ve been sponsoring in many other parts of the country,” Hoehl said.

The go-carts used in the race are professionally manufactured for the sponsors by a company in the Midwest, Hoehl said. She said the painting and decoration of the carts, however, is left to the sponsors.

Information: (714) 668-1623.