Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Track Construction Begins

Grand Prix Association President & CEO Jim Michaelian (left) and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia (right) with a Scion FR-S Pro/Celebrity Race car in what will be Turn 10

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach season has officially begun! Set to take place April 17-19, the 41st edition of the iconic street race took its first step toward the green flag when the first full day of construction began this morning on Shoreline Drive, the racing circuit’s world-famous front straightaway.

The construction got underway with assists from recently elected Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who appeared at the track for a kickoff photo shoot with Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Michaelian. The photo also included a Lexus GS-F pace car that will pace the 2015 race, along with a Scion FR-S that will be used in the fan-favorite Pro/Celebrity Race.

“We look forward to the Grand Prix every year," said Garcia. “It’s a huge event for us that showcases the city on an international scale. It brings international visitors to Long Beach, and people around the world get to watch and see how great Long Beach looks on television."

The setting of the first of more than 14 million pounds of concrete blocks that line the track, as well as several grandstands on the eastern part of the course, marks the beginning of two months of work preparing for the more than 175,000 fans expected during race weekend.
Grand Prix Association of Long Beach Director of Operations Dwight Tanaka and his staff will put in more than 30,000 working hours installing the concrete blocks, four miles of fencing and 16,000 bolted-together tires, along with 16 huge spectator grandstands, seven pedestrian bridges and seven giant vision boards for full-circuit TV coverage.

Tanaka’s staff will also install hospitality suites, tents, electrical equipment, phones, porta-johns, trash containers and a myriad of other items up until race weekend.

Portions of the racetrack will also be used for the inaugural Long Beach ePrix on April 4, featuring the all-electric racecars of the FIA Formula E Series, as well as for the traditional first race of the 2015 season for Formula Drift on April 10-11.

All businesses along the race circuit, which includes Shoreline Drive, Aquarium Way and Pine Ave., will remain open during construction of the racetrack.

The 41st Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will feature the Verizon IndyCar Series, Tequila Patr¢n Sports Car Showcase with the cars of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Pro/Celebrity Race, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pirelli World Challenge, SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road trucks and KMC Wheels Super Drift Challenge.

“We have included all of the events that made our 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach such a huge success last year," said Michaelian, “plus we have a number of additional activities which will add to the excitement on the weekend."

Fans can select and pay for their 2015 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach seats, parking and paddock passes online at gplb.com. Ticket orders can also be placed by calling the toll-free ticket hotline, (888) 827-7333. Also featured on gplb.com is the latest Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach news, downloadable ticket brochure and racetrack information, photos and ongoing announcements of special race week activities.
Ticket prices range from $30 for a Friday General Admission ticket to $135 for a three-day ticket that includes Sat./Sun. reserved seating in grandstand upper levels. Pre-paid parking packages are also available, along with handicapped seating, Verizon IndyCar Paddock passes, Super Photo tickets and a wide variety of Hospitality Club packages.

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