2021 Grand Prix of Long Beach

The 2021 Grand Prix of Long Beach (formally known as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).

The race marked IMSA's return to Long Beach after the previous year's edition was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally scheduled to be run on April 17, 2021, the race was to kick off the two "West Coast Swing" rounds also consisting of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, however, the event postponed to September 25, 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic in California.

[2] The race marked the first time since the 2021 Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio where spectators and fans were mandated to wear masks.

On September 17, 2021, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event.

[5] With 2242 points, the GTD Drivers' Championship was led by Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley, ahead of Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor.

[6][7] In GTLM, Cooper MacNeil would be joined by Mathieu Jaminet in the #79 WeatherTech Racing entry.

GMG Racing would be competing in the series for the first time since 2014 featuring drivers Kyle Washington and James Sofronas.

[10] The first practice session took place at 9:00 AM PT on Friday and ended with Felipe Nasr topping the charts for Whelen Engineering Racing, with a lap time of 1:13.498, ahead of Renger van der Zande in the No.

55 Mazda of Oliver Jarvis stopped at turn ten due to a mechanical problem in the opening minutes of the session.

[13] Alex Riberas spun at turn 9 resulting in the second red flag of the session.

[11][12] The second and final practice session took place at 12:45 PM PT on Friday and ended with Felipe Nasr topping the charts for Whelen Engineering Racing, with a lap time of 1:11.983.

1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo of Bryan Sellers.

[23] Laurens Vanthoor set the fastest time in the GTD points paying session driving the No.

27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin, spun at turn eight and attempted to rejoin the track.

[30] The result kept Antonio García and Jordan Taylor atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship.

[30] As a result of winning the race, Sellers and Snow advanced from fourth to second in the GTD Drivers' Championship.

Pfaff Motorsports took the lead of the GTD Teams' Championship with two rounds remaining in the season.