The 2024 Grand Prix of Long Beach (formally known as the 2024 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a sports car race held at Long Beach street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 20, 2024. It was the third round of the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule of the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2023. [1] It will be the tenth year the event will be held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fifteenth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2006 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively. The 2024 Grand Prix of Long Beach will be the third of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2024 by IMSA. [1] The race will be held at the 1.968 mi (3.167 km) Long Beach street circuit on April 20, 2024. [1]
On April 8, 2024, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the GTP and GTD classes. In GTP, Acura will receive a 5-kilogram (kg) weight increase and a power increase of 3 kilowatts (kW). Cadillac keeps their 520 kW of power, but receives a 2 kg weight break compared to Sebring. BMW will also receive a 3 kW boost whilst keeping the same weight. Finally, Porsche receives a 3 kg weight increase, and 5 kW of additional power. [2] There are no changes in BoP for the GTD class. [2]
Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, and Felipe Nasr were leading the GTP Drivers' Championship with 706 points, with Louis Delétraz, Colton Herta, and Jordan Taylor level on points. [3] In GTD, Indy Dontje, Philip Ellis, and Russell Ward led the championship with 725 points, 136 points ahead of Antonio Fuoco, Roberto Lacorte, and Giorgio Sernagiotto. [3] Cadillac, Porsche, and Acura were all level on 710 points in the GTP Manufacturers' Championship, whilst Mercedes-AMG lead from Porsche and Lamborghini in GTD. [3] Porsche Penske Motorsport and Winward Racing each led their respective Teams' Championships. [3]
Friday's afternoon qualifying session was broken into two sessions, with one session for the GTP and GTD classes, which lasted 15 minutes each. [7] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put GTPs ahead of the GTD cars. [8]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and with ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Entry | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTP | 31 |  Whelen Cadillac Racing |  Pipo Derani | 1:11.388 | — | 1‡ |
| 2 | GTP | 25 | BMW M Team RLL |  Nick Yelloly | 1:11.397 | +0.009 | 2 |
| 3 | GTP | 01 | Cadillac Racing |  Sébastien Bourdais | 1:11.411 | +0.023 | 3 |
| 4 | GTP | 6 |  Porsche Penske Motorsport | Nick Tandy | 1:11.629 | +0.241 | 4 |
| 5 | GTP | 7 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Dane Cameron | 1:11.741 | +0.353 | 5 |
| 6 | GTP | 40 | Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti | Jordan Taylor | 1:11.745 | +0.357 | 6 |
| 7 | GTP | 85 | JDC–Miller MotorSports |  Tijmen van der Helm | 1:11.930 | +0.542 | 7 |
| 8 | GTP | 10 | Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti |  Filipe Albuquerque | 1:11.940 | +0.552 | 8 |
| 9 | GTP | 24 | BMW M Team RLL |  Philipp Eng | 1:11.999 | +0.611 | 9 |
| 10 | GTP | 5 | Proton Competition Mustang Sampling | Mike Rockenfeller | 1:13.143 | +1.755 | 10 |
| 11 | GTD | 89 | Vasser Sullivan |  Parker Thompson | 1:17.357 | +5.969 | 11‡ |
| 12 | GTD | 12 | Vasser Sullivan | Frankie Montecalvo | 1:17.619 | +6.231 | 12 |
| 13 | GTD | 34 | Conquest Racing |  Albert Costa | 1:17.679 | +6.291 | 13 |
| 14 | GTD | 27 | Heart of Racing Team | Roman De Angelis | 1:17.725 | +6.337 | 14 |
| 15 | GTD | 45 | Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti |  Danny Formal | 1:17.814 | +6.426 | 15 |
| 16 | GTD | 32 | Korthoff/Preston Motorsports | Mikaël Grenier | 1:17.827 | +6.439 | 16 |
| 17 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Patrick Gallagher | 1:18.011 | +6.623 | 17 |
| 18 | GTD | 55 | Proton Competition |  Giammarco Levorato | 1:18.177 | +6.789 | 18 |
| 19 | GTD | 57 | Winward Racing | Russell Ward | 1:18.300 | +6.912 | 19 |
| 20 | GTD | 70 | Inception Racing | Brendan Iribe | 1:18.448 | +7.060 | 20 |
| 21 | GTD | 120 | Wright Motorsports | Adam Adelson | 1:18.457 | +7.069 | 21 |
| 22 | GTD | 78 | Forte Racing | Misha Goikhberg | 1:18.655 | +7.267 | 22 |
| 23 | GTD | 43 | Andretti Motorsports | Jarett Andretti | 1:19.335 | +7.947 | 23 |
| 24 | GTD | 86 | MDK Motorsports |  Kerong Li | 1:19.901 | +8.513 | 24 |
| 25 | GTD | 13 | AWA | Orey Fidani | 1:20.072 | +8.684 | 25 |
| 26 | GTD | 28 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | Elias Sabo | 1:20.397 | +9.009 | 26 |
| 27 | GTD | 66 | Gradient Racing | No Time Established | 27 | ||
| Source: [9] [10] | |||||||
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
The final results kept Cameron and Nasr atop the GTP Drivers' Championship with 1032 points, 58 ahead of race winners Bourdais and van der Zande. [11] The final results of GTD kept Ellis and Ward atop the Drivers' Championship with 987 points. Foley and Gallagher jumped from tenth to second with 802 points, 10 ahead of Thompson. [11] Cadillac and Mercedes-AMG continued to top their respective Manufactures' Championships while Porsche Penske Motorsport and Winward Racing kept their respective advantages in their of Teams' Championships with eight rounds remaining. [11]
Class winners are denoted in bold and with ‡.
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