Round 3: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 15th-17th April.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 3: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 15th-17th April.

This year's race will be the 42nd running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. It is the oldest running street race in North America and was founded by local travel agent Chris Pook in 1975. The first race was a round of the SCCA Formula 5000 series and was won by British driver Brian Redman in a Lola T332-Chevrolet V8. Following the success of the F5000 event and only 6 months later Pook convinced FISA to run the F1 United States Grand Prix West, which was was won by Swiss F1 veteran Clay Regazzoni, driving a Ferrari-312T. The United States Grand Prix West remained on the F1 calendar until 1983. Interestingly, it wasn't until 1980, that Toyota became the race sponsor.

After the 1983 Grand Prix, with increasing F1 costs, sanctions and shipping charges, it was felt F1 was too expensive to run and having been approached by CART to host a race, Long Beach became a CART/Champ Car perenial event from 1984 to 2008. The final Champ Car race was held on April 20, 2008 as part of the 2008 IndyCar Series split weekend.

Although series reunification took place in late February 2008, it emerged during talks, that there was a calendar clash between Long Beach and the IndyCar Series round at Motegi in Japan. With both races so early on in the year and more or less finalised, neither track could change their date; particularly Long Beach, due to the preparations required for a street course. It was decided both races would go ahead, with points from Long Beach counting towards the the IndyCar Series championship. It was won by Will Power driving for KV Racing, in a Panoz DP01-Cosworth. The race became part of the IndyCar Series calendar the following year.

Recently, there were rumours as to the future of the race. However, the Grand Prix Association, which owns and promotes the race and the City of Long Beach, signed a new three-year agreement after the 2015 race, with an additional two-year option.

Some trivia:
The driver with the most wins: 6, Al Unser Jr., 1988 - 1991, 1994, 1995
The team with the most wins: 6, Newman/Haas Racing. 1984, 1985, 1987, 2005, 2006, 2007. & Chip Ganassi Racing. 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2015.

Track layout:
The track is a temporary road course and since the 1975 F5000 race, the layout has changed considerably from the original. Rather than fill the intro with all the various track changes, below are the original and current layouts and this link will take you to, http://www.racingcircuits.info/north...l#.Vw6LfjFI6Fk, where all the variations over the years can be seen.

Original 1975-1981 layout:
Length: 2.02 miles (3.251 km)


Current layout:
Length: 1.968 Miles (3.167 Km)[B]


Lap record: Hélio Castroneves, April 19, 2015. 1:06.6294, 106.331 Mph (171.12 Km/h). Team Penske, Dallara DW12-Chevrolet, Verizon IndyCar Series.

Last year's winner:
Scott Dixon,
Chip Ganassi Racing,
Dallara DW12-Chevrolet

Laps: 80
Distance: 157.44 Miles (253.375 Km)
Race Time: 1:37:35
Average Speed: 96.8 Mph (155.78 Km/h)

Race Broadcast:
NBCSN. April 17. 4:00pm EST.

[canamman]

Thanks for the informative intro Smith! America's favorite
street course. With the tight corners, look for more
flying bits and pieces of aero. Would like to see the Andretti
team come forward this weekend.

[Purist]

Montoya led FP1. Any time now, FP2 should get going.

The main place I'd worry about flying bits is the hairpin. Most everywhere else, the compression is mild enough that the drivers can usually sort it out without issue.

[fieldodreams79]

Excellent Post #1 BJS.

This is one of my favorite events on the calendar every year. Throwing in the IMSA undercard, I need to get to it one day. Been to LB but never to this event. Bucket list for sure.

[D.R.T.]

Power to the top
Friday combined results
http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/documents/2016-04-15/indycar-results-pcomb.pdf

[bjohnsonsmith]

Qualifying is underway, with live feed.

http://racecontrol.indycar.com/

[bjohnsonsmith]

Qualifying result:

1 Helio Castroneves, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.1246s -
2 Scott Dixon Chip, Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.4455s 0.3209s
3 Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.7410s 0.6164s
4 Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.7951s 0.6705s
5 Juan Pablo Montoya, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.9054s 0.7808s
6 Will Power, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet -
7 James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda 1m07.1415s
8 Takuma Sato, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.2299s -
9 Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.2548s -
10 Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.2663s -
11 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.3171s -
12 Luca Filippi, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.9660s -
13 Conor Daly, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.7520s -
14 Sebastien Bourdais, KVSH Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.6432s -
15 Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.8065s -
16 Alexander Rossi, Andretti Herta. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.6872s -
17 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.8841s -
18 Mikhail Aleshin, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.8513s
19 Max Chilton, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m08.3843s -
20 Jack Hawksworth, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.9929s -
21 Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m08.2045s -

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Qualifying result:

1 Helio Castroneves, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.1246s -
2 Scott Dixon Chip, Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.4455s 0.3209s
3 Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.7410s 0.6164s
4 Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.7951s 0.6705s
5 Juan Pablo Montoya, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.9054s 0.7808s
6 Will Power, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet -
7 James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda 1m07.1415s
8 Takuma Sato, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.2299s -
9 Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.2548s -
10 Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.2663s -
11 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.3171s -
12 Luca Filippi, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.9660s -
13 Conor Daly, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.7520s -
14 Sebastien Bourdais, KVSH Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.6432s -
15 Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m07.8065s -
16 Alexander Rossi, Andretti Herta. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.6872s -
17 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.8841s -
18 Mikhail Aleshin, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.8513s
19 Max Chilton, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1m08.3843s -
20 Jack Hawksworth, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 1m07.9929s -
21 Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m08.2045s -

Anything happen to Marco? He and Rahal surprising low

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Anything happen to Marco? He and Rahal surprising low

The Firestone Fast Six, was interrupted by a red flag when Power went off at Turn 9. By rule, Power's best two laps of the session were forfeited for causing the stoppage and he was not allowed to continue. The Fast Six restarted with less than a minute remaining on the 10-minute clock, with INDYCAR permitting each of the five remaining cars to run one timed lap. That might explain it.

There was also a fault with the timing system, which left a handful of drivers wondering if they would be in the final session.

Castroneves initially appeared to have missed out on the Fast Six, but in fact was confirmed to have made it after the times were re-evaluated. James Hinchcliffe was told he had set a time for fourth but actually posted only the seventh fastest time and Josef Newgarden and Ryan Hunter-Reay also looked to have made it to the Fast Six, according to the frozen time sheets. However, when the full data was downloaded, it revealed Kanaan and Castroneves had progressed instead.

All in all, it sounds like a bit of a mess.

[Nikki Katz]

I watched a few minutes of it, it was a bit of a farce really. I mean power's spin, that sort of thing happens and he's paying for it, but the timing issues were just embarrassing. Was it three different versions of the second round that they announced?

[bjohnsonsmith]

It looks like a very sunny and well attended Long Beach.

[bjohnsonsmith]

That was a good clean start.

[Salamus]

How does Indycar not have a corner cutting rule/penalty?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Salamus

How does Indycar not have a corner cutting rule/penalty?

Maybe because about a third of the races are on ovals and street courses and the tracks have a wall and very little run off?

[Salamus]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Maybe because about a third of the races are on ovals and street courses and the tracks have a wall and very little run off?

They have had this issue in the past. I'm just surprised they have never implemented a clear cut rule.

Anyway, looks like Pagenaud should get a penalty.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Why have the commercial break now?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Pagenaud gets a warning.

[Salamus]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Pagenaud gets a warning.

Welcome to Indycar, where "Race Control" has absolutely no control over the race.

[bjohnsonsmith]

''Congrats'' to Pagenaud but it was very dubious win. I don't like too see penalties dictate the outcome of a race, however I think in Pagenaud's case a penalty was warranted.

Otherwise it was a rather a dull affair and as race it never really got going.

Amazingly, not one FCY.

[Salamus]

They concentrated too much on the top 2. There was a lot going on behind them but no coverage.

I said after Phoenix that consistency wasn't enough to win the championship, you need some wins too. Pagenaud got his first and extends his lead. Fantastic start to the season for him.

[Paradise City]

Good job with Pagenaud and Dixon. But it was a long race that didn't really gel until right before the death.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Interesting comments there from Will Power on the downforce generated by the aero-kits and the subsequent turbulence and how he thought the original DW12 was better as a racer than the current DW12. Ryan Hunter-Rey as said similar.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Result:

1 Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 1h33m54.4835s
2 Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 0.3032s
3 Helio Castroneves, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 10.8376s
4 Juan Pablo Montoya, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 12.2162s
5 Takuma Sato, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 12.2918s
6 Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 17.6267s
7 Will Power, Team Penske. Dallara/Chevrolet. 18.7449s
8 James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 19.0362s
9 Sebastien Bourdais, KVSH Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 22.9147s
10 Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 23.6654s
11 Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 24.2179s
12 Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 40.1250s
13 Conor Daly, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 47.1809s
14 Max Chilton, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara/Chevrolet. 53.9106s
15 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Dallara/Honda. 56.9082s
16 Mikhail Aleshin, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Dallara/Honda. 1m01.2966s
17 Luca Filippi, Dale Coyne Racing. Dallara/Honda. 1m08.0543s
18 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1m30.3302s
19 Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport. Dallara/Honda. 1 Lap
20 Alexander Rossi, Andretti Herta. Dallara/Honda. 1 Lap
21 Jack Hawksworth, AJ Foyt Enterprises. Dallara/Honda. 3 Laps

That's about the most disappointing weekend for Andretti Autosport.

[bjohnsonsmith]

IndyCar have released a statement on their Facebook page, regarding Pagenaud's penalty.

https://www.facebook.com/indycar/?fref=nf

INDYCAR Statement on Pagenaud Penalty:
Simon Pagenaud’s actions during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach were deemed an infraction per Rule 7.10.1.1. “Lane Usage” of the INDYCAR Penalty Guidelines: Failing to follow designated procedures entering or exiting the pit area, including the proper use of the acceleration and deceleration lanes. The penalty for this infraction ranges from a warning (minimum), putting the driver to the back of the field (mid) and drive-through or stop and go/hold (maximum). INDYCAR race stewards determined his actions were not deemed severe enough to warrant a harsher penalty than the warning that was issued.

[fieldodreams79]

Track limits? It's the concrete walls, per Townsend and yes, PT has never read a rulebook in his life. Simon's warning seemed absurd initially as the rule was broken and the punishment had absolutely no effect. However, I struggle to quantify the amount of track position he picked up but would think that if he had two wheels outside the line per the rules, he'd still have enough to hold the inside line to the fountain. In the end, I think a lot was made about less than a foot of track through the last part of the race and through the closing interviews. It just sends an awkward message to the drivers/teams. I have no problem with the results.

Great event, as always. Through split series and scheduling changes, Indianapolis and Long Beach are the only two races that have been on the schedule for the last 30 plus years. That says something.

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Interesting comments there from Will Power on the downforce generated by the aero-kits and the subsequent turbulence and how he thought the original DW12 was better as a racer than the current DW12. Ryan Hunter-Rey as said similar.

The cars are the worst part of this series. We've all forgot or don't discuss how horrid their appearance is and how they suck in many ways. Regardless, they still produce close racing, especially on a street circuit. No cautions and the top two were less than 2 secs apart? Good stuff.