Preview
Atlanta. The Porsche Penske Motorsport team switches to sprint mode for round three of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. After the 24-hour race in Daytona and the 12-hour race in Sebring, Long Beach will host a short 100-minute sprint race. Last year the IMSA team showed its full potential here. Nick Tandy (United Kingdom) and Mathieu Jaminet from France clinched the first race global victory for the Porsche 963 thanks to a brilliant strategy call by the team. The outfit now aims to repeat this success on April 20.
“The race in Long Beach was a major milestone for us last year. The first victory with our new car, both vehicles on the podium – simply fantastic,” recalls Thomas Laudenbach. The Vice President of Porsche Motorsport added: “Our goal is to repeat such a success and defend our championship lead. After two real long-distance races, we’re now facing a short sprint on a spectacular street circuit. The conditions are completely different than at Daytona and Sebring, but we are perfectly prepared.”
“The streets of Long Beach are a special place for the Porsche Penske Motorsport team. It’s here that we took the first-ever win for the Porsche 963,” explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. “This is the first of the shorter format races and it will take perfect execution by the team and the drivers to repeat last year’s triumph. Our global team has been performing at a very high level in 2024, and we look forward to the next challenge.”
The race
The Grand Prix of Long Beach circuit hosts round three of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 1.968-mile (3.167-kilometer) street circuit features 11 turns and is regarded as the American equivalent of the Monaco Grand Prix. The street course runs in a clockwise direction around the Long Beach Convention Center. Its special features include the sweeping start-finish straight along the coast of the Pacific Ocean and the sharp right-hander hairpin at the end of the lap.
Along with the Detroit Grand Prix in June, the sprint over 100 minutes is the shortest race of the year. The temporary circuit has served as a racetrack since 1975 and hosted Formula 1 eight times between 1976 and 1983. On the third weekend in April, the popular American IndyCar series will also be contested at Long Beach, in which Penske Motorsport is represented with three cars.
Unlike the first two rounds of the year, the popular GTD Pro class will not take part in the Long Beach weekend. IMSA’s feature race will be for the GTP and GTD classes only.
Viewers in the United States can watch the Grand Prix of Long Beach live on the USA Network or the Peacock streaming app beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET, April 20. IMSA Radio will host all sessions live at IMSA.com or RadioLeMans.com. SiriusXM will air the broadcast live on Sirius channel 211 or XM channel 205.
Drivers’ comments ahead of the race
Mathieu Jaminet, Driver, No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.
“Since the end of last year, we’ve struck bad luck with our number 6 car. On the way to possible success, we were hampered by one thing or another at the 2023 season finale and in the first two races of this year. Let’s hope that changes. Twelve months ago, we won in Long Beach thanks to first-class tactics. At that time, we were down to the last tread on our tires. This season we are competing with a new product from Michelin. Let’s see how the modified tire will hold up in Long Beach. I’m really looking forward to the race and I’m determined to go home with as big a trophy as possible at the end.”
Dane Cameron, Driver, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.
“After the two longest races of the year, now comes the shortest of the entire season. That’s always a bit of a shock on the IMSA calendar. I really like the special challenges that the Long Beach street circuit throws at us. In 2023, I was racing in the FIA WEC and so I missed this sprint – such a shame. The narrow circuit takes no prisoners when you make a mistake. If we get over the distance cleanly, we’ll hopefully have a chance of scoring our second win of the season.”
Gianmaria Bruni, Driver, No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963.
“The last time I was in Long Beach was in 2010. Back then the racing series was still called the American Le Mans Series – that was a long time ago! At last, I get the chance to push the Porsche 963 to the limit on a street circuit. The track is steeped in tradition and simply wonderful. Driving a Le Mans prototype there will be truly spectacular. I need to prepare for the twisty course in the race simulator over the coming days. I’m very excited to see what we’ll achieve there.”
Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963.
“Long Beach is something completely different than the venues of the first two races of the season. But there are parallels when it comes to the setup. The track is about as bumpy as Sebring but a street circuit doesn’t have many direction changes. The race only lasts 100 minutes so it’s not a classic endurance event. Our GTP cars can drive around 55 minutes per stint, so I expect it’ll be a classic one-stop race for everyone – it’s a shame really because this leaves little room for different strategies. Tire durability is the focus. In Long Beach, I hope we can maintain the same good pace as in Sebring.”
An overview of the drivers and teams
GTP class (Porsche 963)
Proton Competition, No. 5: Gianmaria Bruni (Italy) / Mike Rockenfeller (Germany)
Porsche Penske Motorsport, No. 6: Mathieu Jaminet (France) / Nick Tandy (United Kingdom)
Porsche Penske Motorsport, No 7: Dane Cameron (Huntersville, North Carolina) / Felipe Nasr (Brazil)
JDC-Miller MotorSports, No. 85: Tijmen van der Helm (Netherlands) / Richard Westbrook (United Kingdom)
GTD class (Porsche 911 GT3 R)
Andretti Motorsports, No. 43: Jarett Andretti (Indianapolis, Indiana) / Gabby Chaves (Columbia)
MDK Motorsports, No. 86: Anders Fjordbach (Denmark) / Kerong Li (China)
Wright Motorsports, No. 120: Adam Adelson (Los Angeles, California) / Elliott Skeer (San Diego, California)
The schedule (local time)
Friday, April 19
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.: Free practice 1
12:50 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.: Free practice 2
5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.: Qualifying GTD class
5:25 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.: Qualifying GTP class
Saturday, April 20
1:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.: Race
