The 2022 Grand Prix of Long Beach (formally known as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a sports car race held at Long Beach Street Circuit in Long Beach, California on April 9, 2022. It was the third round of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the first round of the 2022 WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
Background
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021. It was the eighth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the fourteenth 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 2022 Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 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. The race was held at the eleven-turn Long Beach Street Circuit in Long Beach, California on April 9, 2022.
On March 31, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the DPi, GTD Pro, and GTD classes. In DPi, the Acura ARX-05 received a 10 kilogram weight break. In GTD Pro and GTD, the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD received a 10 kilogram weight increase, a 0.4mm smaller air restrictor, and a fuel capacity reduction of 4 liters. The BMW M4 GT3 lost 17 horsepower as well a 20 kilogram weight break and a fuel capacity reduction of 8 liters. The Porsche 911 GT3 R was given a 2mm larger air restrictor while the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 received an increase in turbo boost pressure. The McLaren 720S GT3 was given a 15 kilogram weight break.
Before the race, Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, and Loïc Duval led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 676 points, 11 points ahead of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, and Will Stevens in second followed by Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis in third with 663 points. With 668 points, the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship was led by Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Felipe Nasr with a thirteen-point advantage over Antonio García, Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg. With 672 points, Stevan McAleer and Mike Skeen led the GTD Drivers' Championship, 53 points ahead of Luís Pérez Companc, Simon Mann, and Toni Vilander in second followed by Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, and Zacharie Robichon in third with 615 points. Cadillac, Porsche, and Ferrari were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while JDC-Miller MotorSports, Pfaff Motorsports, and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships.
Entries
A total of 26 cars took part in the event, split across three classes. 6 were entered in DPi, 6 in GTD Pro, and 15 in GTD. The only change from the previous round in DPi was the absence of Ally Cadillac Racing. In GTD Pro, Risi Competizione, TR3 Racing, and Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR were absent. BMW M Team RLL scaled down to 1 car in order to focus on development for LMDh in 2023. WeatherTech Racing also scaled down to 1 car and changed its full season entry from using the Porsche 911 GT3 R to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. In GTD, NTE Sport skipped after its transporter suffered a tire blowout en route to the event. GMG Racing made its first appearance since the 2021 Long Beach round while Crucial Motorsports made its sprint debut at this event. Rick Ware Racing made its season debut with drivers Ryan Eversley and Aidan Read.
Practice There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, one on Friday morning and one on Friday afternoon. The first session lasted 90 minutes on Friday morning while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted 105 minutes.
Qualifying Friday's afternoon qualifying was broken into two sessions, with one session for the DPi, GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions. The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (GTD) classes requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the GTD Pro and GTD cars.
Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1 DPi 01 Cadillac Racing Sébastien Bourdais 1:09.472 - 1 2 DPi 02 Cadillac Racing Alex Lynn 1:09.833 +0.361 23 DPi 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Tom Blomqvist 1:09.939 +0.467 34 DPi 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Pipo Derani 1:10.001 +0.529 45 DPi 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Tristan Vautier 1:10.376 +0.904 56 DPi 10 WTR - Konica Minolta Acura Filipe Albuquerque 1:10.576 +1.104 67 GTD Pro 3 Corvette Racing Jordan Taylor 1:18.048 +8.576 78 GTD Pro 25 BMW M Team RLL Connor De Phillippi 1:18.115 +8.643 259 GTD Pro 9 Pfaff Motorsports Mathieu Jaminet 1:18.173 +8.701 810 GTD Pro 23 Heart of Racing Team Ross Gunn 1:18.437 +8.965 911 GTD 1 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow 1:18.487 +9.015 1012 GTD 96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley 1:18.599 +9.127 1813 GTD Pro 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Jack Hawksworth 1:18.627 +9.155 1114 GTD 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mike Skeen 1:18.918 +9.446 1215 GTD 59 Crucial Motorsports Jon Miller 1:18.932 +9.460 1316 GTD 57 Winward Racing Russell Ward 1:18.973 +9.501 1417 GTD 66 Gradient Racing Marc Miller 1:19.146 +9.674 1518 GTD 27 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis 1:19.181 +9.709 1619 GTD 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Frankie Montecalvo 1:19.181 +9.709 1720 GTD 51 RWR Eurasia Motorsport Aidan Read 1:19.366 +9.894 1921 GTD 70 Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport Brendan Iribe 1:19.385 +9.913 2022 GTD 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Robert Megennis 1:19.742 +10.270 2123 GTD Pro 79 WeatherTech Racing Cooper MacNeil 1:19.743 +10.271 2224 GTD 16 Wright Motorsports Ryan Hardwick 1:20.072 +10.600 2325 GTD 99 Team Hardpoint Rob Ferriol 1:21.079 +11.607 2426 GTD 34 GMG Racing Kyle Washington 1:23.938 +14.466 26 QUALIFYING RESULTS STARTING GRID
Race
Post-race As a result of finishing second place, Bamber and Lynn took the lead of the DPi Drivers' Championship with 1005 points. Bourdais and van der Zande advanced from seventh to fifth while Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor dropped from second to fourth. As a result of winning the race, Gunn and Riberas advanced from tenth to fifth in the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship. Jordan Taylor and Antonio García jumped from second to first while MacNeil advanced from ninth to fourth. GTD drivers, teams, and manufactures did not score full season points due to the event only counting towards the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Cadillac continued to top the DPi Manufactures' Championship while Chevrolet took the lead of the GTD Pro Manufactures' Championship. Cadillac Racing and Corvette Racing leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with ten rounds remaining.
Race results
Class winners are denoted in bold and .
Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Laps Time/Retired Engine 1 DPi 01 Cadillac Racing Sébastien Bourdais Renger van der Zande Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 1:40:48.134 Cadillac 5.5 L V8 2 DPi 02 Cadillac Racing Alex Lynn Earl Bamber Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +3.761 Cadillac 5.5 L V8 3 DPi 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Tristan Vautier Richard Westbrook Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +9.048 Cadillac 5.5 L V8 4 DPi 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Tom Blomqvist Oliver Jarvis Acura ARX-05 73 +10.014 Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 5 DPi 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Pipo Derani Tristan Nunez Cadillac DPi-V.R 73 +10.535 Cadillac 5.5 L V8 6 DPi 10 WTR - Konica Minolta Acura Filipe Albuquerque Ricky Taylor Acura ARX-05 73 +11.979 Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 7 GTD Pro 23 Heart of Racing Team Ross Gunn Alex Riberas Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 69 +4 Laps Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 8 GTD Pro 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Jack Hawksworth Ben Barnicoat Lexus RC F GT3 69 +4 Laps Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8 9 GTD 1 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow Bryan Sellers BMW M4 GT3 69 +4 Laps BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6 10 GTD Pro 3 Corvette Racing Jordan Taylor Antonio García Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD 69 +4 Laps Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 11 GTD 66 Gradient Racing Marc Miller Mario Farnbacher Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 69 +4 Laps Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 12 GTD 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Frankie Montecalvo Aaron Telitz Lexus RC F GT3 69 +4 Laps Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8 13 GTD 96 Turner Motorsport Robby Foley Bill Auberlen BMW M4 GT3 69 +4 Laps BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6 14 GTD 16 Wright Motorsports Ryan Hardwick Jan Heylen Porsche 911 GT3 R 69 +4 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 15 GTD 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mike Skeen Stevan McAleer Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 69 +4 Laps Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 16 GTD 99 Team Hardpoint Rob Ferriol Katherine Legge Porsche 911 GT3 R 69 +4 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 17 GTD 51 RWR Eurasia Motorsport Aidan Read Ryan Eversley Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 69 +4 Laps Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 18 GTD 70 Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport Brendan Iribe Frederik Schandorff McLaren 720S GT3 69 +4 Laps McLaren M840T 4.0L Turbo V8 19 GTD Pro 79 WeatherTech Racing Cooper MacNeil Raffaele Marciello Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 69 +4 Laps Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 20 GTD 34 GMG Racing Kyle Washington James Sofronas Porsche 911 GT3 R 67 +6 Laps Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 21DNF GTD 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Robert Megennis Jeff Westphal Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 57 Accident Damage Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 22DNF GTD 27 Heart of Racing Team Roman De Angelis Maxime Martin Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 48 Accident Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 23DNF GTD 59 Crucial Motorsports Jon Miller Paul Holton McLaren 720S GT3 47 Alternator Belt McLaren M840T 4.0L Turbo V8 24DNF GTD 57 Winward Racing Russell Ward Philip Ellis Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 33 Accident Damage Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 25DNF GTD Pro 9 Pfaff Motorsports Mathieu Jaminet Matt Campbell Porsche 911 GT3 R 29 Radiator Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 26 GTD Pro 25 BMW M Team RLL Connor De Phillippi John Edwards BMW M4 GT3 69 +4 Laps BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin Turbo I6 Sources:
The #25 BMW M Team RLL entry was demoted to last in the GTD Pro class as Connor De Phillippi exceeded maximum drive time for the race.SP 22-20
Standings after the race
+DPi Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 3 Alex Lynn Earl Bamber 1005 2 1 Tristan Vautier Richard Westbrook 1002 3 Tom Blomqvist Oliver Jarvis 973 4 2 Filipe Albuquerque Ricky Taylor 940 5 2 Sébastien Bourdais Renger van der Zande 926Source:
+LMP2 Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Ben Keating Scott Huffaker Mikkel Jensen 385 2 Frits van Eerd Giedo van der Garde 348 3 Ryan Dalziel Dwight Merriman Kyle Tilley 330 4 Steven Thomas Josh Pierson Jonathan Bomarito 303 5 James McGuire Guy Smith Duncan Tappy 284Source:
+LMP3 Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 João Barbosa Lance Willsey Malthe Jakobsen 374 2 Ari Balogh Dakota Dickerson Garett Grist 343 3 Daniel Goldburg Rasmus Lindh Cameron Shields 326 4 Lars Kern Kuno Wittmer Orey Fidani 302 5 Jon Bennett Colin Braun George Kurtz 285Source:
+GTD Pro Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 1 Antonio García Jordan Taylor 990 2 1 Matt Campbell Mathieu Jaminet 960 3 2 Ben Barnicoat Jack Hawksworth 919 4 4 Cooper MacNeil 830 5 5 Ross Gunn Alex Riberas 816Source:
+GTD Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Stevan McAleer Mike Skeen 672‡ 2 Luís Pérez Companc Simon Mann Toni Vilander 619‡ 3 Ryan Hardwick Jan Heylen Zacharie Robichon 615‡ 4 Andy Lally John Potter Spencer Pumpelly 609‡ 5 Scott Andrews 587‡Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings. ‡: Points count towards WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship only.