Speed and noise give this event its street cred
Riverside, Ontario and Ascot Park are all race tracks in Southern California that have gone the way of the dodo bird. Barring the earthquake that drops Long Beach into the ocean, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach would seem safe from such extinction.
The city’s skyline is galvanized firmly into the unified open-wheel horizon. When the Indy Racing League tried to purchase the assets of the former Champ Car World Series, the bid included only one race: Long Beach. For those fans who know the difference between the rival series, the Grand Prix can only get better.
“Instead of splitting and dividing fans,” said Sue Raley of Menifee, “they’ll have double the fans and make it more exciting for everybody.”
An estimated 105,000 people attended the first two days at the Convention Center for the 34th annual event. For most, it might not matter who’s center stage, the turbo- powered Champ Cars or the normally aspirated IndyCars.
The main thing seems to be that they go fast. Really fast.
“To see these cars doing 180 in a 45-mph zone, it’s amazing to see,” said Chris Padilla of Anaheim, a college student who admitted he is attending his fifth straight race for the Pennywise concert that was held Saturday.
Oriol Servia, who finished second in last year’s race and will start 12th today, called Long Beach “the perfect combination” of racing and entertainment. “It’s an event.”
The man in charge is Grand Prix Assn. President Jim Michaelian, who says past surveys indicated that “the vast majority” of fans do not make racing the emphasis of the weekend but are there for the variety of events such as the concerts, lifestyle expo or interactive areas in the convention center.
But Michaelian could be selling his fans short. Among the 22 adults, and a handful of minors, interviewed over the weekend, most said the cars were king.
First-time race attendee Jose Polanco of Houston, a pilot escort for oversized-load trucks, had a layover before heading to Wisconsin. “The minute I stepped out there and saw one of those cars go by -- Zoom! -- my heart was pounding,” he said. “Today, I became a convert.”
Eric Hamilton of Pasadena was also a first-timer. “I appreciate vehicles and the finer things in life,” he said. “I’m an engineer, so I can appreciate the technology.”
Edmund Barr of Eagle Rock said he came this weekend to make sure he saw “the DP01 one last time,” referring to the Panoz chassis by its technical name. “I’m not impressed with the IRL cars,” he said. “They don’t have the grace and efficiency, but next year will be great to see all the names you want to see.”
Those names will include “Dancing with the Stars” and two-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves, third-generation driver Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick.
“I love the noise,” said James Bass of Long Beach. “I laugh at people with earplugs. If you’re going to do that, you can watch it at home. I stood next to Paul Newman today for 20, 30 minutes. You can’t do that at home.”
--
--
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Race facts
WHAT: The 34th Toyota Grand Prix
of Long Beach.
WHEN: Today, race start 1 p.m.
WHERE: Downtown Long Beach streets. The start and finish are on Shoreline Drive.
COURSE: Lap length is 1.968 miles with 11 turns.
WHO: An international field of world-class drivers will compete, including four-time Long Beach winner Paul Tracy of Canada, American Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson, Will Power and Mario Dominguez.
TV: ESPN2 beginning at 2:30 p.m. (tape delay).
--
Race lineup
*--* Pos. Driver Car No. Time (min.) MPH 1 Justin Wilson 2 1:06.902 105.898 2 Alex Tagliani 15 1:07.084 105.611 3 Franck Perera 34 1:07.180 105.460 4 Will Power 8 1:07.205 105.421 5 Paul Tracy 3 1:07.352 105.191 6 Franck Montagny 7 1:07.360 105.178 7 Nelson Philippe 4 1:07.415 105.092 8 Enrique Bernoldi 36 1:07.682 104.678 9 Graham Rahal 6 1:07.703 104.645 10 Mario Dominguez 96 1:07.745 104.580 *--*
*--* Pos. Driver Car No. Time (min.) MPH 11 Bruno Junqueira 18 1:07.786 104.517 12 Oriol Servia 6 1:07.858 104.406 13 Jimmy Vasser 12 1:07.859 104.405 14 E.J. Viso 33 1:07.927 104.300 15 Antonio Pizzonia 9 1:08.463 103.484 16 Alex Figge 29 1:08.489 103.444 17 Roberto Moreno 14 1:08.549 103.354 18 David Martinez 37 1:08.645 103.209 19 Mario Moraes 19 1:09.279 102.265 20 Juho Annala 10 1:09.555 101.859 *--*