The three-day 51st Long Beach Grand Prix begins Friday with qualifying or practice sessions for all races, the start of the drifting competition and a concert by Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco.
A practice session for Sunday’s featured IndyCar race will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on the 1.97-mile, 11-turn street circuit surrounding the Long Beach Convention Center. IndyCar drivers will participate in an autograph session from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in the Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom that is free to all spectators.
Gates will open at 7:30 a.m. Friday’s action will begin at 7:45 a.m. with a 30-minue practice session for Saturday and Sunday’s Porsche Carrera Cup races where identical road car-based Porsche 911 Cup cars race.
Another practice session for the Porsche Carrera Cup cars will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Qualifying will be held from 4:40 to 5:10 p.m.
The practices for the Historic Sports Car Challenge of American muscle cars that raced from the 1970s through 1991 will be held from 8:25 to 8:45 a.m. and 12:30 to 12:50 p.m. Qualifying will also be held Friday.
Practices for the IMSA sports car races will be from 9 to 10 a.m. and 1:10 to 2:40 p.m., with qualifying set for 5:25 to 6 p.m.
A practice session for Saturday and Sunday’s Stadium Super Trucks races will be from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.
The series for 600-horsepower V-8 engine trucks was founded in 2013 by former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, who also drives on the series as does his 17-year-old son Max. Max Gordon won the first of the two races in Long Beach last year, his third victory in four years in Long Beach. Myles Cheek won last year’s second race.
The initial part of the drifting competition will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
In drifting, drivers intentionally maneuver their cars into controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course, with a judging panel determining the winner based on execution and style.
The final portion will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the Terrace Plaza outside the Long Beach Convention Center and is free to Friday race ticket holders.
Saturday’s schedule features qualifying for the IndyCar race and a concert by the international hard rock supergroup Kings of Chaos, including Aloe Blacc.