IMSA announces 27 entries for the 50th edition of the Long Beach Grand Prix

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as part of its program. On the weekend of April 11-12, 27 cars divided into two categories will compete for 100 minutes on the streets of the California city.

The contrast with Florida races

After the endurance tests in Florida (24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring), the IMSA championship completely changes its format when it arrives on the West Coast with one of the shortest races on its calendar.

This change involves moving from permanent circuits to an urban track, as well as reducing the usual four categories to just two: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD).

The competition will take place on a 1.968-mile (3.168 km) circuit with 11 turns, featuring 11 GTP prototypes and 16 GTD cars representing 11 different manufacturers. The 14 regular GTD entries are expanded with additional entries from Vasser Sullivan Racing and AO Racing.

The strategic factor in 100 minutes

The brevity of the Long Beach race makes pit stop strategy a decisive element. The winners of the last two editions in GTP chose not to change tires during their single scheduled pit stop.

Both Porsche Penske Motorsports in 2023 and Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing in 2024 used this tactic, keeping the same set of Michelin tires until the end. For 2025, Michelin has once again prepared soft compounds for the GTP teams, presenting the same dilemma to the strategists.

Robert Wickens returns to Long Beach

The entry that attracts the most attention is that of Robert Wickens, who will make his GTD debut with the #36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R from DXDT Racing. The Canadian driver, who was partially paralyzed after an IndyCar accident in 2018, will compete thanks to an electronic manual braking system developed by Bosch.

This race marks his return to the WeatherTech Championship since his participation in Daytona 2017. Wickens, TCR champion in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2023, will share the car with Tommy Milner, a four-time winner at Long Beach who is available as the GTD PRO category is not being contested.

For Wickens, Long Beach is a familiar circuit: he raced there in Formula Atlantic (2007), IndyCar (2018), and has returned as an instructor for IndyCar drivers in recent years.

The 50-year history at Long Beach

What began as an experimental test has become a cornerstone of North American motorsport. Chris Pook organized the first race in 1975 to demonstrate the feasibility of a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The plan worked, and the United States Grand Prix West was held between 1976 and 1983. When F1 became too costly, Indy-style single-seaters took over as the main attraction.

Sports cars have been present at Long Beach since 1990, when the GTO and GTU categories offered an intense 60-minute battle. Dorsey Schroeder won that inaugural race despite losing the hood and front fenders of his Mercury Cougar.

After a 15-year hiatus, sports cars returned in 2006 with GRAND-AM, continued with the American Le Mans Series (2007-2013), and with IMSA since 2014, except in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Porsche remains undefeated in GTP

Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr have started the season with two consecutive victories in Florida driving the #7 Porsche 963. The German manufacturer will attempt to repeat its 2023 success, when the Porsche 963 achieved its first global victory at Long Beach with Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet.

Cadillac has won six of the last seven prototype races since 2017, losing only in 2023. Sébastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, winners in 2022 and 2024, will seek their third Long Beach victory.

In GTD, Lexus and Vasser Sullivan Racing aim for their third consecutive win after successes in GTD PRO (2023) and GTD (2024).

Four teams have shown consistency in the first two GTD races: Mercedes-AMG GT3 #57 (Winward Racing), Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo #27 (Heart of Racing Team), BMW M4 GT3 EVO #96 (Turner Motorsport), and Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) #120 (Wright Motorsports).

Complete Guide to Watching the 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Dates and Times

• Main Race: Saturday, April 12, 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT
• Qualifying: Friday, April 11, 8:05 p.m. ET / 5:05 p.m. PT
• Duration: 100 minutes
• Location: Long Beach Street Circuit, California (1.968 miles, 11 turns)

Broadcast Options in the United States

• Television: USA Network (full live coverage)
• Streaming: Peacock (uninterrupted race and qualifying)
• Radio: XM Channel 206, Web/App 996
• Second Screen: Live timing and data on IMSA.com

International Broadcast

• YouTube: Official channel @IMSAOfficial
• Web: IMSA.com/TVLive (free streaming)
• App: IMSA TV (iOS/Android)

Entry List: 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach