A huge crowd of racing fans is expected to fill the streets of downtown Long Beach Sunday for the 45th Annual Long Beach Grand Prix, the city’s biggest yearly event and one of the most prestigious races on the IndyCar circuit.
This is the first year that Acura is the race’s title sponsor. Toyota bowed out last year after sponsoring the event for its first 44 years.
Sunday’s main race — the fourth in IndyCar’s season — is scheduled to start at 1:42 p.m., and caps three days of racing that also includes IMSA GTO, Pirelli GT4, Bubba Burger Sports Cars, Drifting and Stadium Super Trucks circuits. The weekend event also features a lifestyle expo, a Family Fun Zone, and Saturday night’s “Rock-N-Roar” concert with Moontower opening for Cold War Kids.
The winner of last year’s Long Beach Grand Prix, Alexander Rossi, captured the pole position for this year’s race in Saturday’s qualifying runs.
On Sunday, access to Shoreline Village and the Shoreline Marina from Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue will close, and southbound Pine Avenue will close to all traffic. Access to the south side of the track will be available at the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Alamitos Avenue.
At 7 p.m., traffic on Pine Avenue will open back up for access to the Hyatt, Shoreline Village and the Shoreline Marina. All traffic flows will go back to normal by 6 a.m. Monday.
For ticket information, call (888) 827-7333, or visit gplb.com/ticket-prices.