Click to enlarge.
The Long Beach street course will showcase Acura versus Aston-Martin versus Cadillac versus Corvette for the 100-minute race that is considered Honda Racing’s home event in the U.S. It’s exciting racing on the 1.968-mile Long Beach street circuit. That’s because teams and drivers start “cold” and have to work through significant track condition changes over three sessions Friday while four other classes add rubber to the surface. The field of 28 cars is split between the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes.
Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid said the team’s Long Beach approach is, well, flexible. “At Daytona and Sebring[ much longer endurance races – AutoCrat] we said, ‘I don’t care if you’re last place after the first corner, we don’t really want you to be aggressive on the start,” Diuguid said. “It’s probably the opposite (at Long Beach). I think in ’24, Nick (Tandy) went from eighth to second on the start. Those are the kind of aggressive moves you’re gonna see in the first couple laps. I think you’re going to see the drivers be a lot more aggressive in traffic, and that’s definitely a clear mentality change. “Really, it’s just, it’s aggressiveness from the drop of the green flag until the checkered flag, which is probably slightly different from the approach that’s been taken in Sebring and Daytona.”
Click for more.
Among the 10 other GTP cars the No. 7 Porsche is trying to beat is a driver who raced the first two events of 2026 in the No. 7 Porsche. That’d be Laurin Heinrich, added to JDC-Miller MotorSports’ No. 5 Porsche 963 for most remaining 2026 rounds.
The Long Beach Street Course runs clockwise around the Convention Center and includes several unique features: a curved start/finish straight along the Pacific shoreline, a tight right-hand hairpin at the end of the lap, and the “Queen Mary” ocean liner as scenery. The 100-minute sprint race, together with the Detroit Grand Prix in May, are the shortest rounds of the season.
Honda at Home
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is the home race for both American Honda Motor Co.—based in Torrance—as well as Honda’s performance arm, Honda Racing Corporation USA—based in Santa Clarita. All of the Honda-powered IndyCar drivers will visit Honda’s Torrance headquarters for a special event in the lead up to the race weekend. American Honda Motor Co. is celebrating 40 years of Acura this weekend as well.
Porsche race cars at the Long Beach Grand Prix
GTP class (Porsche 963):
- #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Kévin Estre (FRA), Laurens Vanthoor (BEL)
- #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Julien Andlauer (FRA), Felipe Nasr (BRA)
- #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports: Laurin Heinrich (DEU), Tijmen van der Helm (NLD)
GTD class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
- #120 Wright Motorsports: Adam Adelson (USA), Callum Ilott (GBR)
- #177 AO Racing: Harry King (GBR), Mikkel Pedersen (DNK)
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
- GTP: Filipe Albuquerque, Acura ARX-06, 1:09.909 / 101.343 mph, April 2023
- GTD: Parker Thompson, Lexus RC F GT3, 1:17.357 / 91.585 mph, April 2024
2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Winners
- GTP: Felipe Nasr/Nick Tandy, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
- GTD: Laurens Vanthoor/Jonny Edgar, No. 177 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Motul Pole Award Winners:
- GTP: Dries Vanthoor, No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8
- GTD: Parker Thompson, No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3
Where to Watch Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Click to enlarge.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach Street Course – Long Beach, California
April 17-18, 2026
Race Day/Time: Saturday, April 18 – 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT and local time)
NBC Sports Coverage: NBC and Peacock from 4-6 p.m. (IMSA Official YouTube channel outside the U.S.)
Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, April 17 – 8:20 p.m. ET (Peacock in U.S.; IMSA Official YouTube channel and IMSA.TV globally)
IMSA Radio Coverage: XM 206, Web/App 996
Circuit Type: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course
Race Length: 100 minutes
Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
IMSA Street Fight – 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Click to enlarge.
The Long Beach street course will showcase Acura versus Aston-Martin versus Cadillac versus Corvette for the 100-minute race that is considered Honda Racing’s home event in the U.S. It’s exciting racing on the 1.968-mile Long Beach street circuit. That’s because teams and drivers start “cold” and have to work through significant track condition changes over three sessions Friday while four other classes add rubber to the surface. The field of 28 cars is split between the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes.
Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid said the team’s Long Beach approach is, well, flexible. “At Daytona and Sebring[ much longer endurance races – AutoCrat] we said, ‘I don’t care if you’re last place after the first corner, we don’t really want you to be aggressive on the start,” Diuguid said. “It’s probably the opposite (at Long Beach). I think in ’24, Nick (Tandy) went from eighth to second on the start. Those are the kind of aggressive moves you’re gonna see in the first couple laps. I think you’re going to see the drivers be a lot more aggressive in traffic, and that’s definitely a clear mentality change. “Really, it’s just, it’s aggressiveness from the drop of the green flag until the checkered flag, which is probably slightly different from the approach that’s been taken in Sebring and Daytona.”
Click for more.
Among the 10 other GTP cars the No. 7 Porsche is trying to beat is a driver who raced the first two events of 2026 in the No. 7 Porsche. That’d be Laurin Heinrich, added to JDC-Miller MotorSports’ No. 5 Porsche 963 for most remaining 2026 rounds.
The Long Beach Street Course runs clockwise around the Convention Center and includes several unique features: a curved start/finish straight along the Pacific shoreline, a tight right-hand hairpin at the end of the lap, and the “Queen Mary” ocean liner as scenery. The 100-minute sprint race, together with the Detroit Grand Prix in May, are the shortest rounds of the season.
Honda at Home
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is the home race for both American Honda Motor Co.—based in Torrance—as well as Honda’s performance arm, Honda Racing Corporation USA—based in Santa Clarita. All of the Honda-powered IndyCar drivers will visit Honda’s Torrance headquarters for a special event in the lead up to the race weekend. American Honda Motor Co. is celebrating 40 years of Acura this weekend as well.
Porsche race cars at the Long Beach Grand Prix
GTP class (Porsche 963):
GTD class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Winners
2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Motul Pole Award Winners:
Where to Watch Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Click to enlarge.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach Street Course – Long Beach, California
April 17-18, 2026
Race Day/Time: Saturday, April 18 – 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT and local time)
NBC Sports Coverage: NBC and Peacock from 4-6 p.m. (IMSA Official YouTube channel outside the U.S.)
Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, April 17 – 8:20 p.m. ET (Peacock in U.S.; IMSA Official YouTube channel and IMSA.TV globally)
IMSA Radio Coverage: XM 206, Web/App 996
Circuit Type: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course
Race Length: 100 minutes
Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.