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LONG BEACH, Calif. (CNS) — Qualifying for the Long Beach Grand Prix’s IndyCar race will be held Saturday after Australian Will Power turned in the fastest practice time.
Power had the top time of 1 minute, 7.3227 seconds on his final lap Friday in the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit surrounding the Long Beach Convention Center.
“It was pretty good,” Power said. “Definitely determined to get qualifying right. Haven’t for the last couple races. Got to work on that. It’s going to be really tight.”
The two-time series champion and two-time Long Beach champion qualified 13th in the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 1 and 21st in The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix March 22.
Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, had the second-fastest practice time, 1:07.3503, and his Andretti Global teammate and 2023 Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood the third fastest at 1:07.3523.
A qualifying set will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
There will be four races run Saturday.
A Historic Formula Exhibition race will be run from 10:45 a.m. to 11:05 a.m. with cars representing all three eras of the Grand Prix — Formula 5000, Formula One and IndyCar.
The cars include the Formula 5000 All-American Racers Gurney Eagle, the event’s first pole winner; the John Player Lotus 77 driven to victory by Mario Andretti in the 1977 Formula One race; and the Ford Lola driven by Sebastien Bourdais when he won the 2005 IndyCar race.
An IMSA sports car race will run from 2 to 4 p.m., preceded by a ceremony honoring first responders from January’s wildfires, with helicopters from Los Angeles County and Los Angeles fire departments, Cal Fire, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles and Long Beach police departments.
The grand marshal will be Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Malcolm Dicks, who risked his own well being to rescue a stranded woman in a burning car in Malibu, Patty Phillips, who will join Dicks.
A Stadium Super Trucks race will be held from 4:30 to 5 p.m. Matt Brabham will start from the pole, series founder Robby Gordon second and his 16-year-old son Max third.
A GT America sprint sports car race will be held from 5:20 to 6 p.m.
The second and final part of the drifting competition will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
In drifting, drivers intentionally maneuver their cars into controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course, with a judging panel determining the winner based on execution and style.
Gates will open at 7:30 a.m. The day’s action will begin at 7:45 with a 20-minute practice session for the Historic Formula Exhibition race drivers.
Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr., Paul Tracy and Brian Redman are set to participate in an autograph session from 1 to 1:45 p.m. near the Historic Formula Paddock.
GT America sprint sports car drivers will sign autographs from 2 to 2:30 p.m. in the GT America Paddock.
A planned 90-minute concert by the British-American Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Foreigner will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the Terrace Plaza outside the Long Beach Convention Center. It is free to Saturday race ticket holders.
Ten members of the Jordan High School choir will perform “I Want To Know What Love Is” with Foreigner. The band frequently asks community and school choirs to perform with it during concerts.
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