LB Press Telegram: F1 should stay out of Long Beach

Does anyone get as teary-eyed as we do over the glorious Formula One days in Long Beach? We covered the race regularly back when it was an international affair. As much as possible, we covered it from the exclusive Moet Club in the Convention Center, smoking cigars with then-supermodel Christie Brinkley, kicking it with our best friend Paul Newman, wading through drifts of spilled cocaine in the bathroom and watching the race on the big screen while the Ferraris and Alfa Romeos roared around outside. While it was cool having track-side passes, they didn’t have anyone out there pouring us flutes of Moet champagne or offering us platters of artichoke hearts and pâté.

Our life as race-reporter Internationale came to a jarring end in 1984 when the boorish CART cars replaced the cars from Europe, South America, Australia and elsewhere. From that point, we traded in our magnum of Moet for a can of Bud and our fancy imported cheese for a giant turkey leg. We tossed our beret for a Marlboro gimme cap, our ascot for a Rat Fink tank top.

Before, the Grand Prix was full of drivers named Gilles, Carlos, Jacques and Rene. After, it was won by guys like Danny, Bobby and Little Al.

So, are we a cheerleader for the pie-in-the-sky proposal to bring the F1 cars back to Long Beach with all their glamour, prestige and celebrity?

We are not. The IndyCar/CART open-wheeler race has made its home in Long Beach. It’s paid its dues for three decades. We don’t have a trace of our French accent left. We’ve learned to dance with, in the argot of the IndyCar fan, them what brung us.

Plus, high-falutin’ comes at a great cost to the city, not only financially, but can we say spiritually as well? This part of the country, Long Beach in particular, has grown to love the Grand Prix in its incarnation of the past 30 years.

Formula One is an international affair on wobbly legs. We throw out IndyCar racing in favor of F1 and we’re trading fun for the whole family for fun for the elite (and the odd credentialed columnist). We’re trading a sure bet for a dicey deal. New Jersey has been trying to get an F1 street race for three years and, with the costs of throwing an F1 race hovering around $100 million, the backers of the Jersey race estimate a price of $435 for a three-day pass to its race — for all ages. A three-day pass to the Long Beach race is $75, and free to kids under 12.

Here’s what the Long Beach race has brought to its host city: It’s the No. 1 street race in America; it brings 175,000 fans to Long Beach during the weekend. We get publicity via 600 credentialed media at the race, and 10 hours of national and international TV time. Its economic impact is reckoned at about $35 million a year for the city.

And, perhaps most importantly, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, headed by Jim Michaelian, is virtually drama free, which is far from what you can say about Formula One.

“We have a very positive relationship with fans, sponsors, suppliers and the city," maintains Michaelian. “We do everything we say we’re going to do every year. We pay back every dime in expenses to the city. We don’t ask for anything from the city other than to keep doing what we’re doing."

So, Formula One, thanks for the memories, but it turns out your good looks and money are a bit out of our league. Try Jersey or Texas; they’re more your type, anyway. Long Beach Press Telegram