Toyota of Long Beach
Grand Prix Celebrity Race
on the streets of Long Beach, CA.
(562) 436-9953 or (888) 82-SPEED



(photos of Gene Hackman racing) *Click image for full size view


Want to see movie and TV stars risk death right in front of your eyes? Then
come to Long Beach on an early Saturday in April.
Since it began in 1974, the annual Long Beach Grand Prix road race has
become this beachside city's biggest event, a three-day festival attracting
world-class Indy 500 drivers from around the world, and featuring Indy cars
roaring through the streets of downtown Long Beach at 200 miles per hour.
The race is even covered live by ABC's "Wide World of Sports."
Sunday's big professional race is preceded by a week of festivities. On day
before Sunday's main race, visitors can watch qualifying races, time trials,
and visit the Indy Car garage. But the most popular Saturday event involves
watching Hollywood celebrities compete against each other (and famous
sports figures) in the 10-lap Pro/Celebrity race, which attracts stars from the
movies, TV and the sports world.
Past winners of the celebrity race include actors Gene Hackman ("Enemy
of the State"), Stephen Baldwin ("The Usual Suspects"), Lorenzo Lamas,
singer Donny Osmond, Olympic champion Bruce Jenner, and TV's Rick
Schroder ("NYPD Blue"), Jason Bateman ("Family Ties"), rocker Ted Nugent,
actor James Brolin ("Hotel") and Alfonso Ribeiro (who played Carlton on
"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air").

Each participant competes in an identically prepared Toyota Celica GT Liftback.
The celebrity race takes ten laps (and about 14 minutes) to cover the 15.9-mile
race. So, while the stars' race cars can reach 130 mph, most of the time the actual
speed of the race is more like 66 mph.
Still, celebrity racing can be dangerous. In both 1994 and 1995, for instance, TV
star Mark-Paul Gosselaar was taken out of the race early when his race car was
hit by cars driven by world champion jet-skier Cristy Carlson and "ER "'s Anthony
Edwards. And in 1995, Matt LeBlanc of "Friends" hit a wall. In 1997, defending
champ Grant Show was taken out of the race when he was hit by a car driven by
Jason Bateman. (And in 2002 Jason Priestly was racing in Kentucky when he hit a
wall head-on at 180 mph, breaking his back and receiving head injuries - fortunately,
his prospects for recovery looked good.)

The sport of auto racing has attracted a number of big Hollywood names over the
years, including Jay Leno, David Letterman, Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Tom
Cruise and Marsha Mason, all of whom are hooked on the checkered flag.
In Sunday's main (pro) Grand Prix race, such world-famous racing names as Michael
Andretti, Mauricio Gugelmin, Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti, Alex Zanardi & Kenny Brack
compete head to head for $1.2 million in prize money as their cars roar up Shoreline
Drive and down Seaside Way at breathtaking speed, slowing only for the hairpin turns.
Massive bleachers and scaffolding go up along the race route weeks in advance. The
winding race route covers 81laps of a 1.97-mile course on the streets circling the Long
Beach Convention Center complex, for a race time of just under two hours. The route
offers the Queen Mary and the blue Pacific as a colorful background.
While the methanol-burning, open-cockpit Indy cars can go from 0 to 100 in 4.5 seconds,
and can reach speeds in excess of 230 mph in the straight-aways, the many turns on
the route slows the average speed down to just under 100 mph. (The record for one
full lap is 109 mph).
The big race creates a festival atmosphere downtown, drawing over 200,000 visitors
each year to Long Beach, with the all of the accompanying traffic and parking problems
you might expect. Many people who don't really care about Indy cars come just to be part
of the international party scene. The event attracts celebrity spectators as well. In 1994,
the Long Beach crowd included former-Beatle George Harrison and rocker Tom Petty,
who were watching the race together from the grandstands. In 1996, Olivia Newton-John
was spotted eating lunch at the race, while Paul Newman was seen motoring around on
a red moped. Paul was also expected at the 1999 race, as were David Letterman, Tim
Allen, LeAnn Rimes and baseball great Robin Yount. Rock guitarist Jeff Beck played the
National Anthem to start the race. A surprise at the 1999 race was Nicolas Cage, who was
photographed signing a t-shirt for a fan.
Be warned: this isn't an inexpensive way to spend a weekend: three-day passes with
reserved seats will cost you $82 to $120 (depending on your seat), not to mention parking
or Indy garage passes. But if you have the cash, you'll be in for a major treat. And it is
possible to get Saturday general admission alone for $40 (for the celeb race) or Sunday-
only general admission for $50 (for the main race).

Tickets are available online at http://www.longbeachgp.com/html/tickets.html. Or just
phone (888) 82-SPEED.
Parking: Official "Circuit Parking" is $15 for Sunday Only, and $40 / $50 for three day
parking. Parking spots can be reserved in advance when you buy tickets.
Parking elsewhere can be a pain as well as an added expense. There are over a dozen
paid parking lots in the area. Phone for a list of this year's available parking areas. You
might also consider taking the Metro Blue Line, or one of the RTD buses which leave
rom nearby sites, such as Los Altos Shopping Center, Marina Pacifica mall, and Cal-
State Long Beach. The fare is low, and the bus drops you off at the transit station on
1st street, near Long Beach Boulevard.

Admission Price:
General Admission only:
All three days: $65
Sunday only:   $50
Admission plus a reserved seat:
All three days: $120 & $82
Sunday only:   $75 &  $65

Hours: The Grand Prix is held on a weekend in April (Friday, Saturday & Sunday).
In 2007, it will be April 13, 14 & 15.
The Celebrity race takes place on Saturday starting around noon. The celebs also
have qualifying races the day before, Friday, usually before noon.
Practice and qualifying for the main Grand Prix race is on Friday & Saturday, until
about 4 PM. The pro Grand Prix finals are on Sunday, beginning around noon. Days
and hours may change. Phone for details of this year's race & festival.
Getting there: The Grand Prix cars race through the streets of downtown Long Beach,
just south of Ocean Boulevard and northeast of Shoreline Village; a route which includes
Shoreline Drive and Seaside Way. / From Hollywood, take the Hollywood (101) Freeway
south (about seven miles) to the Santa Monica Freeway, and take the Santa Monica (5)
Freeway east (about five miles) to the Long Beach Freeway. Then take the Long Beach
(710) Freeway south (about 18 more miles) to the downtown Broadway exit. Go east om
Broadway to Long Beach Boulevard, then turn right (south) to Ocean Boulevard and the
Grand Prix race route. (Beware of road closures on race day. Phone ahead to find out
which streets will be blocked off.)

http://www.seeing-stars.com/Play/GrandPrix.shtml



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