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WeatherTech Championship

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Long Beach

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach…

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Following the two longest races of the year, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship hits the streets of Long Beach for its shortest of the season.

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: 

Race: Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach

Track: Streets of Long Beach; 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary road course

Length: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Entries: 22 cars spread across two classes: 14 cars (P), 8 cars (GTLM)

Schedule:

Friday, April 13 (all times PT)
Practice 1 – 7:40 – 9:40 a.m.
Practice 2 – 4:45-5:30 p.m.
Qualifying –  5:40 – 6:15 p.m.

Saturday, April 14
Race –  1:05 – 2:45 p.m. (1 hour, 40 minutes)

Previous Winners: Wayne Taylor Racing (P), Corvette Racing (GTLM)

Previous Polesitters: Ricky Taylor (P), Jan Magnussen (GTLM)

Driver Insight: “Long Beach is a really short race but it’s very demanding on the tires because not a lot of cars run there. So it is a very clean race track and it takes a lot from the tires before it rubbers up. It’s a big challenge for the team to keep up with the tires because the wear of the tires is not the same from the first session to the race day (once many cars have driven on track). On race day, the tires can last a lot longer and pit stops are a lot shorter so you have to stretch your tires a lot longer so you don’t lose as much time on pit lane. It’s a big challenge for the drivers not to overuse the tires and for the team to choose the right strategy and still be quick at the end of the race.” – Joao Barbosa, No. 5 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R.

Drive Times: Base Drive-Time: 5 minutes (P/GTLM), Trueman Drive-Time: 30 minutes 

Tires: Continental “Black” for P; multiple tire brands allowed in GTLM.

Pit Stops: 40-45 minute stint length for P; 55-60 minutes for GTLM

Weather: Mostly Sunny, High: 80 F; 0 percent chance of rain

TV: Saturday April 14, 4 p.m. ET (Live, FOX)

Radio: Complete session-by-session coverage on IMSA Radio

Spotter’s Guide: Click Here

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