Ride along on a lap of the Long Beach grand prix street course.
A lap on the streets of Long Beach doesn't take long, but a lot can happen on the nearly 2-mile, 11-turn blitz that ends with a high-speed blast down Shoreline Drive.
The challenging street course lined with walls and tire barriers is only 1.968 miles with a long front straight where IndyCar drivers reach around 185 mph.
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The fastest section is along Shoreline Drive and the start-finish line, where fans in the grandstands can watch cars roar past and see what happens when pit lane gets busy.
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SIGN UP From there, drivers brake hard into Turn 1, an overtaking opportunity where a race can be won and lost. Cars bunch up in the corner at the starts of the race and after yellow flags.
Next comes the scenic and relatively slow dolphin fountain section and turns 2 and 3. After navigating turns 4 and 5, the track parallels a portion of Shoreline Drive -- an exciting viewing area on the dive down into the braking zone for Turn 6.
Engine notes blast off buildings lining the short straight past The Pike dining and retail complex as drivers set up for a sharp right turn and the run down Seaside Way. The back straight passes under a pedestrian bridge connected to the Long Beach Convention Center and ends in Turn 9.
Drivers enter another technical section of track that includes a sweeping left in full view of spectator grandstands into the hairpin Turn 11. This last section of the track is another great place to watch as drivers set up for another launch past pit entrance and down Shoreline Drive.
Last year, a late-race traffic jam in the tight Turn 11 dramatically altered the IMSA race.
Marcus Ericsson set fast lap in the 2024 IndyCar race with a time of 67.7690 seconds. In the 2024 IMSA race, Sebastien Bourdais clocked a 1:12.626 in the top-tier GTP class to claim fast lap.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach is Friday through Sunday, featuring six different types of motorsports events, including the IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach IndyCar race.
