There were a lot of winners on Day 2 of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. There was Acura, which won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the first time since it took over as the event’s title sponsor in 2019, and the first time locally since 2009. There were the GTP class drivers in that event, Nick Yelloly and Renger van der Zande in their No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06, as well as the drivers in the IMSA GTD class, the Porsche Carrera Cup, the SPEED Energy Super Trucks, the Historic Sports Car Challenge and Super Drift races.
And there were the other winners, the tens of thousands of fans who turned out on a super sunny Saturday and felt the event’s Long Beach Vibe.
Felix Rosenqvist felt that vibe, too, as he took the pole position for Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR race in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda. He was followed by Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou. Defending champion Kyle Kirkwood was fourth.
From the moment the green flag dropped on the day when the gates opened at a 7:30 a.m., to the concert presented by Acura by all-star rock band Kings of Chaos and the second of two Formula Drift challenges that went until 8:30 in the evening, it was a roar by the shore. Roaming around the grounds of the promenade, the Marina Green flanked by grandstands on one side and the waterfront on the other, around the Pike Outlets, in the area around the arena, the heavy activity at grandstands 9, 10 and 11, in luxurious Pit Row hospitality suites and beyond, people soaked in all the Grand Prix’s atmosphere and activities.
There was music from DJs, sponsor activations with giveaways, concessions, souvenir stands, activities such as a bungee jump for kids in the Family Fun Zone and race cars everywhere, both sitting still in booths and paddock areas and moving fast on the track. Fans could also see a racing machine of a different kind inside the AAA Travel Lifestyle Expo. Fresh off the Winter Olympics in Milan, Acura had an actual Team USA bobsled people could get into it for photos and videos. Afterward, they had their headshot superimposed into a picture which showed them raising a hand at the finish line as if they had just won gold.
That, and the winning performance by Yelloly and van der Zande, made it a golden day in Long Beach for Acura.
“We had to work for it,” van der Zande said, surrounded by his family in victory lane. “Cadillac seemed very fast and I was barely holding on. The rear tires were completely gone. But we did it! I was in the zone and pulling away in traffic. Traffic for me in IMSA is where my experience counts. The Cadillac came so close. But man, that was great!”
Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen won the IMSA’s GTD class for Vasser Sullivan Racing, Tom Sargent won the first of the weekend's two Porsche Carrera Cup races, Chris Hines drove a 1990 Chevrolet to victory in a historic sports car and in a thrilling Super Trucks race Max Gordon out-dueled his dad Robby to win.
Sunday’s on-track action starts at 9:20 a.m. with the second Historic Sports Car Challenge and accelerates through the INDYCAR race from 2:45-5 p.m. The day also includes the second Porsche Carrera Cup race (11:20 a.m. - Noon), the Super Trucks (12:15 p.m.) and the exciting INDYCAR pre-race ceremonies featuring Olympic athletes, two car parades (the all-new Mornings CARnival and an Acura Parade Lap that celebrates the 40th anniversary of the brand), the Golden Knights parachute team and a tribute to long-time President and CEO Jim Michaelian, who passed away prior to this year’s event.
