Long Beach Grand Prix Pushed Back To September

LONG BEACH, CA — Citing the uncertainty due to the pandemic, organizers of the 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach pushed the event back to Sept. 24-26, it was announced Thursday.

The event was originally scheduled for April, but experts don't know if the coronavirus vaccine will be widely available by then. Federal officials identified late spring to early summer as realistic timelines for widespread distribution of the COVID-19 and a return to some semblance of normal.

In making the move the move to September, GPALB President and CEO Jim Michaelian acknowledged the pandemic. Michaelian made the decision to move the date in coordination with all the GPALB's racing series partners and Long Beach officials in anticipation that the event will be able to run in September with full fan participation, he said.

"We are very grateful to all of our fans, sponsors and exhibitors for their extraordinary loyalty and support over the past year," Michaelian said. "We want all of our attendees to fully experience all of the joy and excitement of the event in a safe and welcoming environment and we believe that this move to a fall date will afford us that opportunity. We want to thank all those who were of assistance in facilitating this rescheduling and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to the streets of Long Beach in September."

It will be the first time the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach has been held in September since the event's inaugural Formula 5000 race, which took place on Sept. 28, 1975.

In addition to the season finale of the 2021 NTT IndyCar open-wheel racing series, the Acura Grand Prix will feature on-track action from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Formula Drift, Robby Gordon's Stadium Super Trucks and the Historic Formula Atlantic Challenge.

Additional on-track activities, as well as off-track attractions, will be announced in the coming months, along with a more detailed event schedule.

Tickets for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach are expected to go on sale in mid-2021, with prices and options to be announced. Fans that chose to credit their 2020 Grand Prix tickets to 2021 will get priority placement in their seating before 2021 tickets go on sale to the general public.

For the latest news and information on the Acura Grand Prix, visit gplb.com or check Facebook at GrandPrixLB, Twitter @GPLongBeach, and Instagram at GPLongBeach.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.