The third race on the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule is set for a 1-hour and 40-minute sprint race, the shortest duration possible on the calendar.
With a grid of 27 entries – 10 GTPs and 17 GTDs – it will be a contrast to the gruelling endurance that was the 12 Hours of Sebring last month with more cars and all four categories.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach takes place around an iconic street circuit which demands drivers to optimise their lap times, run consistent race pace, and keep their car out of the walls.
One key characteristic about Long Beach is that the circuit is narrow, though respectable enough to host two classes, with only a selected number of run-off areas; this leaves little room for error even without the GTD Pro class.
Last year’s first corner marked drama when Nick Yeloly’s #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 tagged into Tom Blomqvist’s #60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06, also involving Chip Ganassi’s Sebastien Bourdais.
Needless to say, a Turn-1-tangle could easily occur again because of the limited room and so the main objective for drivers and teams will be to emerge unscathed and without any pace-impacting damage.
Traffic management will be key, especially when the GTPs catch the GTDs as they could either be held back or benefitted; patience will be crucial.
Penalties could be another deciding factor so that teams’ winning pursuits could be easily put to a stop with – for instance – a drive-through for an avoidable pit lane speeding offence.
There will be little time to catch up the field and make up ground, which was something that could be said for the preceding Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours races which are the longest two races on the calendar.
Tyre management and fuel saving are still applicable for this race but are not prominent in deciding race winners.
Despite the fact IMSA is only into its third round, the championship title narrative makes this race not only an exciting event to watch but also crucial for the championship protagonists thus far.
The top of the GTP standings showcase a tie between the #7 Porsche Penske and the #40 WTRAndretti teams on 706 points.
Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr are the full-season drivers in the #7 and were propelled to the top after they won Daytona and finished third at Sebring.
Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz in the #40 are a strong duo given Taylor’s experience and Deletraz’s qualifying form, and more notably his fulfilling efforts to win Sebring.
Cadillac looked strong at Sebring until Pipo Derani’s dramatic crash and Sebastien Bourdais was unable to keep Deletraz behind at the end who was on fresh tyres compared to his worn set.
Long Beach is a contrast to the wide, high speed bumps of Sebring and so Acura may demonstrate good pace over the Cadillacs.
BMW secured their maiden podium last year through opportunistic circumstances after Ricky Taylor outbraked himself in a gripping fight with Porsche Penske’s Mathieu Jaminet.
Their M Hybrid V8 package could fight for the podium again although they will need to spare no effort during this sprint race.
Meanwhile in GTD, the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 is on 725 points after they secured two consecutive race wins.
This certainly does not negate the fact Long Beach will provoke some close racing in the GTD class, with seven more cars than GTP.
GTD has such a competitive atmosphere that it is often difficult to predict who will emerge victorious.
There are four Bronze-graded drivers on the entry list, and Inception Racing’s Brendon Iribe impressed massively last year.
Furthermore, he was denied a fighting chance when Turner Motorsport’s Chandler Hull spun his #70 McLaren 720S around at the final hairpin.
His game will need to be upfront in a field of Gold and Silver drivers.
However, Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth demonstrated even better form in last year’s event in the GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Lexus. They find themselves with different teammates for this race only.
With two cars, Vasser Sullivan have solid driver lineups who are familiar with the close racing which GTD can throw.
With just one scheduled pitstop, the pressure will be on all teams’ strategy and pit crews to conduct it flawlessly.
