About the 34th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race circuit has changed considerably since Brian Redman took the race's first checkered flag in 1975 directly across from a seedy collection of X-rated theaters and abandoned buildings!

Today, the 1.97-mile, 11-turn circuit winds its way around and under gleaming hotels, a famed Convention and Entertainment Center, a popular Aquarium and the sparkling new Pike at Rainbow Harbor complex.

That first race circuit measured 2.02 miles in length and featured the famous "Linden Leap," when cars would barrel down Ocean Blvd., then turn hard right onto Linden - occasionally becoming airborne in the process! The circuit stayed at 2.02 miles until 1982, when the Queen's Hairpin gave way to a series of new turns to accommodate construction of the Hyatt Hotel, upping the circuit length to 2.129 miles. Construction altered it again in 1983, to 2.035 miles, taking the cars off Ocean Blvd. for the first time.

When Champ Cars arrived at Long Beach in 1984, the circuit was shortened to 1.67 miles in length, then was shortened again to 1.586 miles until 1999.

That year, the 25th Anniversary of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach saw a revamped, 1.85-mile circuit, with a longer front stretch on Shoreline Drive and new Turn 1, winding past the new Aquarium of the Pacific.

The 2000 race saw the circuit reconfigured to its present format.

Since its inception in 1991, the Grand Prix Foundation has contributed more than $2 million to a wide cross-section of charitable organizations throughout the greater Long Beach area.

The Foundation will build on the excitement of the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend with a variety of events, including the Grand Prix Foundation Charity Golf Tournament on Monday, April 14 and the Black Tie Charity Ball at the Westin Hotel on Saturday, May 10, which also benefits the Long Beach Boys and Girls Clubs.

In 2007 alone, the Foundation presented 20 local charities - including Long Beach Memorial Miller Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County - with $164,000 in donations.

Other organizations that benefited from the Grand Prix Foundation in 2007 included Arts & Services for the Disabled, Food Finders, Greater Long Beach Area Girl Scout Council, Long Beach Area Special Olympics, Long Beach Search & Rescue and the St. Mary Medial Center’s Hospice Program.

Thanks to low administrative costs, 90 cents of each dollar go directly to the organizations selected by the Foundation’s 11-member Board of Directors.

Race Grand Marshall
Meet the Grand Marshall of the 33rd Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

2008 Toyota Grand Prix Fact Sheet
Get the facts on the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix.

Highlights of the Toyota Grand Prix
See highlights from the race dating back to 1975.

Circuit Map
Don't get lost at the race, print out a circuit map!


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