Tag: Long Beach Grand Prix

Inaugural Formula DRIFT Super Drift Challenge to Run at 2013 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

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Inaugural Formula DRIFT Super Drift Challenge to Run at 2013 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach;
Invitation-Only Formula DRIFT Event to Become Grand Prix’s First Night Race

Long Beach, Calif. – December 5, 2012 – LONG BEACH, Calif. (Dec. 4, 2012) – For the first time in its 39 years, the world-famous Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 19-21, 2013, will offer night racing with the inaugural Formula DRIFT Super Drift Challenge on Friday and Saturday nights during race weekend.

The Formula DRIFT Super Drift Challenge, which will take place at 7 p.m. on the eastern end of the race circuit – turns nine, 10 and 11 – is expected to feature 16 of the sport’s top cars and drivers including 2012 Formula DRIFT champion Daigo Saito, 2011 champ Daijiro Yoshihara, plus Frederic Aasbo, Aurimas Bakchis, Michael Essa, Conrad Grunewald, Ken Gushi, Tyler McQuarrie, Robbie Nishida, Justin Pawlak, Matt Powers and others to be announced. Friday’s action will include practice and qualifying runs, while Saturday will see the teams compete for a $25,000 prize. On Sunday, the Super Drift Challenge cars will drift the entire race circuit after the featured IZOD IndyCar Series race.

Grand Prix fans that purchase any admission ticket for Friday or Saturday racing activities will be able to see that day’s Super Drift Challenge.

Seating for the Super Drift Challenge will be in Grandstands 16, 18, 24, 25 and 26 on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 6:30 p.m.

“We are excited to change up the drifting action during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend from an exhibition show to a competition. By doing this we will be able to showcase the true form of competition drifting to the Grand Prix fans,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The icing on the cake comes in the form of night time drifting on the streets. We are truly honored to be the first Series to be competing on the streets of Long Beach at night!”

“The Grand Prix has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with Formula DRIFT and this newly designed event takes it to a new level,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “And all this added excitement will be presented at no additional cost to our race attendees. Plus, because of its unique location, there will be no impact in any way on the businesses around the rest of the track.”

Ticket prices for the three-day event range from $28 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $130 for a three-day ticket that includes Sat./Sun. reserved seating in grandstand upper levels. Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, IndyCar Paddock passes, Super Photo tickets and a wide variety of Hospitality Club packages. Fans can select and pay for their 2013 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach seats, parking and paddock passes online at the new gplb.com. Ticket orders can also be placed by calling the toll-free ticket hotline, (888) 82-SPEED.

Replay XD Formula DRIFT Team DRIFT Long Beach GP

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFspxKgWJVA[/youtube]

Newbury Park, Calif. – May 8, 2012 – Formula DRIFT Uses Replay XD To Capture Its Team Competition in Long Beach.

The 2012 Long Beach Grand Prix marked the first opportunity for Formula DRIFT to capture its entire Team Competition with new partner Replay XD. Each of the 14 cars in the field was equipped with multiple Replay XD1080’s as they competed head to head in front of the Long Beach Grand Prix race fans.

“Wow, what a weekend! We’ve never quite taken on a project of this size in this time frame, but the guys at Replay XD killed it and we are stoked to now show the product of a weekend of drifting in at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach,” says Ryan Sage, VP of Formula DRIFT.

“Bringing the POV experience to any event is always a blast for us, said Replay XD President John Spar. The drivers put on a fantastic show and giving drift fans the opportunity to see what it feels like to be door to door with some of the best drivers in the world on the streets of Long Beach is a pleasure for us.”

 

Streets of Long Beach Construction Begins

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LONG BEACH, Calif. (Feb. 15, 2011) — The 37th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, set to take place April 15-17, took its first step toward the green flag when construction began this morning on Shoreline Drive, the famed racing circuit’s front straightaway.

The construction got underway with an assist from Formula Drift driver Joon Maeng who appeared at the track for a kickoff photo shoot with his Team Bergenholtz Full Tilt Poker Mazda RX-8. Maeng is preparing to contest the upcoming Formula Drift season which gets underway the weekend before the Grand Prix on Turns 9, 10 and 11 of the 1.97-mile circuit in downtown Long Beach.

The setting of the first of more than 14 million pounds of concrete blocks that line the track marks the beginning of two months of work preparing for the 175,000 fans expected during race weekend.

Grand Prix Association of Long Beach Director of Operations Dwight Tanaka and his staff will put in more than 30,000 working hours installing concrete blocks, three miles of fencing and 16,000 bolted-together tires, along with 16 huge spectator grandstands, seven pedestrian bridges and giant-vision boards for full-circuit TV coverage.

“We also install porta-johns, hospitality suites, tents, trash containers, electrical equipment, phones and a hundred other little things up until race weekend,” said Tanaka. “Then Sunday night, when the last race car has left the track, we start taking everything down, inspecting it and getting it ready for 2012.”

“We want to keep the circuit exciting for our fans and, of course, competitive and safe for the drivers,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “While Dwight and his staff do a terrific job, we couldn’t do it without the help of many Long Beach city departments and a host of private entities.

“That phenomenal support is what helps us make the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach America’s number one street race.”

All businesses along the race circuit, which includes Shoreline Drive, Aquarium Way and Pine Ave., will remain open during construction of the racetrack.

Tickets for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, featuring six racing events including the IZOD IndyCar Series, can be purchased from the Grand Prix ticket office by calling toll-free at (888) 82-SPEED, or you can select your seat online by visiting gplb.com. A handy ticket brochure – which includes circuit map, grandstand and parking locations, ticket prices and order form – can be obtained online or by calling the ticket hotline.

Ticket prices range from $26 for Friday general admission up to $130 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday reserved seats in upper levels of the grandstands. Pre-paid parking packages are also available when ordering through the Grand Prix Ticket Office. Handicapped seating, IZOD IndyCar Paddock access, super photo tickets and a variety of hospitality club packages are also available.