By snoadmin
LONG BEACH – It was one of those beautiful and legendary Southern California days, where the sponsored Tecate flowed from the taps and cool ocean breezes meandered over the tops of the grandstands. Press photographers’ cameras snapped as various cars whizzed by at nearly 100 mph. Children plugged their ears upon hearing the rowdy engines screaming onward. Bar tabs went sky-high and Shoreline Village waiters and waitresses were kept busy.
The 33rd annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was on.
Friday’s Grand Prix kicked off the three-day yearly downtown Long Beach event of racing, dining out and entertainment. Friday’s events served as a preamble for the days to come, with most of the races being either practice races or qualifiers.
The competing cars were prepped up and dialed in for the upcoming competition. Because of the ideal conditions – not too hot or not too cold – the cars could set up for maximum performance.
Within the checklist for preparation were tires being of the right compound for best traction, depending on the conditions, and drivers looking for the fastest way around the track so that they could qualify quickly and have a best possible space in the starting lineup.
At the qualifying race for the Pro/Celebrity race, professional BMX rider Dave Mirra posted the fastest qualifying time among the celebrity drivers (1:45.904) and will start in the inside track position tomorrow. Because of Mirra’s win, PEOPLE Magazine will donate $15,000 to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Mirra’s charity of choice.
Professional skateboarder and winner of the 2006 Pro/Celebrity race Buckey Lasek achieved the fastest time in the professional category, posting a 1:45.927 time.
Playboy model (and Hugh Hefner live-in girlfriend) Kendra Wilkinson and “Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas had the 12th and 13th best times for all drivers of the Pro/Celebrity race, respectively.
In the Champ Car Atlantic first qualifying session, 25-year-old Brazilian Raphael Matos achieved the provisional pole for Sunday’s race after clocking 92.292 mph.
After the Friday qualifier, Australian Will Power took the provisional pole for Sunday’s Champ Car World Series race, also helping Team Australia get two of the top three slots for Saturday’s second Champ Car World Series qualifier.
In the American Le Mans series first qualifying session, Dario Franchitti took the pole position for tomorrow’s Le Mans Series debut in Long Beach, clocking 1:11.838. He teams with Bryan Herta tomorrow for the 100-minute race that begins at 4 p.m.
For more results on today’s Long Beach Grand Prix, visit www.longbeachgp.com.
Jason Swieso contributed to this report.
