The Grand Prix of Long Beach takes place on a street circuit by the coast of the city of the same name. The event is host to several competitions during the weekend, the main one being the IndyCar series GP. Some people have called this the “american’s Monaco”, and although it’s a pretty location, I wouldn’t go as far.

I visited the expo area and spectated the American Le Mans Series race on saturday. One of the things that make the Le Mans Series unique and fun to watch is having five different car classes racing on the same track at once:

P1

: Purpose-built prototype cars that produce up to 575 horsepower.

GT: Production-based modified cars such as the BMW M3, Corvette C6.R, or Ferrari F458 Italia.

P2: Smaller and less powerful prototype cars than their P1 counterparts.

Prototype Challenge: all drivers race the the ORECA FLM09 prototype car.

GT Challenge: this class features three specifications of Porsche’s 911 GT3 Cup car.

Pictures from the circuit and the ALMS race, taken with the Nikon D7000 + 35mm + 85mm and the Fuji X100 (that’s my full kit at the moment).