2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach
10 Acura driven by Filipe Albuquerque won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying and held the lead until a slow pit stop.
Ricky Taylor attempted a pass at turn one, but crashed into the tire barrier and handed Jaminet the victory.
The Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class was won by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow after they took the lead during the pit stop cycle to secure their second victory of the season, and was followed by the No.
27 Heart of Racing Team car of Roman De Angelis and Marco Sørensen.
Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr moved from sixth to fifth while Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims dropped from first to second.
Cadillac remained in the lead of the Manufcatures' Championship, but their advantage was reduced to 41 points as BMW and Porsche jumped one position each.
[1] It was the ninth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fifteenth annual running of the race, counting the period between 2006 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively.
The 2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2023 by IMSA, the shortest of the season in terms of distance, and it was the first round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 1.968 mi (3.167 km) Long Beach street circuit on April 15, 2023.
[6] Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR added a partial sprint campaign in addition to committing to the Michelin Endurance Cup.
[10] The GTD Pro class was topped by the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Alex Riberas with a time of 1:19.303, 0.071 seconds faster than Jack Hawksworth's No.
[9] The second and final practice session took place at 12:45 PM PT on Friday and ended with Tom Blomqvist topping the charts for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, with a lap time of 1:10.391.
[14] The GTD Pro class was topped by the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth with a time of 1:17.876.
Regulations stipulated teams to nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each classes starting order.
27 car for Heart of Racing Team, 0.006 seconds faster than GTD Pro pole winner Hawksworth.
The Racers Edge Motorsports Acura caught fire and Harrison walked away from the accident.
Due to the extensive damage on their cars, Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR and AO Racing Team withdrew from the event.
[27] Albuquerque maintained his pole position advantage while Tom Blomqvist blocked Sébastien Bourdais.
Blomqvist lost a lap and continued while Bourdais's Cadillac retired due to heavy nose damage.
31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Alexander Sims pitted at the end of lap 7.
[32] Majority of the field made their first scheduled pit stops for fuel, tires, and driver changes.
Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell, Pipo Derani, and Connor De Phillippi jumped Taylor in the pit cycle.
[31] Jordan Taylor passed Klaus Bachler for second in GTD Pro at the same corner 8 minutes later.
[36][31] De Phillippi attempted to pass Campbell at turn six on lap 59, but missed his braking point and went into the runoff area.
14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus of Barnicoat and Hawksworth secured victory in GTD Pro, ahead of the No.
3 Corvette of Antonio García and Jordan Taylor, and third-position finishers Klaus Bachler and Patrick Pilet of Pfaff Motorsports.
27 Heart of Racing Team entry of Roman De Angelis and Marco Sørensen finished second, and Frankie Montecalvo and Aaron Telitz in the No.
[42] Ricky Taylor expressed his disappointment after crashing out on the penultimate lap: "I’m very sorry for Acura, HPD and the WTRAndretti team.
14 Lexus victory in GTD Pro as a "perfect weekend": "One of the best-executed races we’ve been a part of.
[45] In the GTD Drivers' Championship, De Angelis and Sørensen advanced from fifth to second while Iribe and Millroy dropped from first to fourth.
