Long Beach Thursday Notebook

Key Points:

• The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach marks the 20th anniversary of Grand-Am/IMSA's debut at the event, with IMSA's top sports car series participating annually since 2007, except for the canceled 2020 race due to COVID-19.
• Several teams, including Penske Porsche, Action Express Racing, Wayne Taylor Racing, and Meyer Shank Racing, are running updated liveries this weekend, with notable partnerships such as Action Express Racing supporting the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
• A significant number of drivers are making their Long Beach debuts, particularly in the GTD class where nearly one-third of drivers are rookies, including Julien Andlauer, Laurin Heinrich, and Frederik Vesti in the GTP category.
• IMSA and Michelin have increased the tire allocation from four to five sets for the GTP and GTD classes at Long Beach and Detroit, while prohibiting the use of wet tires during dry practice to maintain proper tire usage.
• Strategy considerations include potential tire wear due to added car weight and the impact of a new short yellow procedure rule, with teams like Porsche Penske monitoring these factors closely following recent testing and regulatory updates.