That year, the race was the final one under Champ Car regulations, as preseason the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series had announced their merger, which produced what is now known today as the NTT IndyCar Series. Since each of the original series had their obligations to fulfill that year, IRL raced at Motegi in Japan that weekend, while Champ Car raced at Long Beach, utilizing the Panoz DP01-Cosworths for the final time.
Last weekend’s latest edition was the 39th time the race had run with Indy car as the main event. The inaugural event in 1975 had Formula 5000 as its main feature while from 1976 to 1983, Formula 1 was the headliner.
The event ran uninterrupted from 1984 until 2019. In 2020 the race was canceled due to state-wide COVID-19 regulations, while even the following year the pandemic forced the GPLB to be pushed back to September and serve as the IndyCar Series finale.
Last year, as this year, the race was back in its traditional April slot. Last weekend featured not only IndyCar but also the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Porsche Carrera Cup, HMSA Historic Formula 1, Stadium SuperTrucks and the Super Drift Challenge.
According to Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President & CEO Jim Michaelian, the race hosted more than 192,000 attendees, a record for the modern era, with all grandstand reserved seating having sold out. The press release also noted that “preliminary concession and merchandise sales numbers reflect a substantial increase in sales as well.”
Said Michaelian: “The 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was a resounding success! We were blessed with three days of perfect weather, great racing and a wide variety of activities for our fans.
“There was a sense of real enjoyment from the diverse crowd that gathered to enjoy all that the Grand Prix – and the City of Long Beach – had to offer.”
Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Autosport-Honda won the Grand Prix, his first win in the series, while the Porsche Penske Motorsport team won the IMSA race thanks to Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet.
The IndyCar race featured 253 on-track passes, a record for the track since the series started monitoring such stats in 2009.
Next year’s Grand Prix of Long Beach is set for April 19-21.
