Historic IMSA GTO Challenge to Race at Grand Prix of Long Beach

Steve Millen driving the #75 Nissan 300ZX, on his way to winning the IMSA GTO division race at the 1991 Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Tim Mathiesen/Grand Prix Association of Long Beach

Next April 12-13, the Grand Prix of Long Beach will celebrate the 50th anniversary of IMSA sports car racing with an extraordinary field of classic racecars in the Historic IMSA GTO Challenge.

The 20-minute race will run Saturday, April 13, with practice and qualifying on Friday.

The IMSA GTO cars ran at Long Beach during the 1990 and 1991 events, with Dorsey Schroeder (’90) and Steve Millen (’91) taking the checkers. Both Schroeder’s winning #6 Mercury Cougar and Millen’s winning #75 Nissan 300ZX are expected to be among this year’s field.

“It is going to be exciting to see and hear these historic IMSA GTO cars back on the Long Beach circuit again," said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “And it is especially appropriate to have them here again in conjunction with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of IMSA in 2019."

The historic event at Long Beach will be sanctioned by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA).

“This is going to be a sensational event with beautifully prepared cars from the 1980s and 90s," said Cris Vandagriff, president of the HMSA. “It is exciting to showcase these cars at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, as many of them ran there in IMSA GTO and a few even in the Trans Am series."

Featuring a wide variety of on- and off-track activities for the entire family, the Grand Prix will be headlined by the 2019 IndyCar Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, along with the Historic IMSA GTO, Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge on Friday and Saturday nights, SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks and the Pirelli GT4 America (formerly World Challenge).

Prices for the three-day event, which are unchanged from 2018, range from $33 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $147 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday reserved seating in grandstand upper levels. Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, IndyCar Series Paddock access passes, Super Photo tickets and an array of VIP Club packages.

For more information, visit gplb.com.

Fans can also follow the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook at GrandPrixLB, Twitter @GPLongBeach and Instagram at GPLongBeach.