Long Beach

The Long Beach Street Circuit is a temporary street course in Long Beach, California, about 40 kilometres south of downtown Los Angeles. It runs along the waterfront near the port, on the streets around the Long Beach Convention Center. The Grand Prix was the idea of promoter Chris Pook, who took inspiration from the Monaco Grand Prix. The first race was held in September 1975 as part of the Formula 5000 series.

In 1976 Long Beach joined the Formula One World Championship as the United States Grand Prix West, and the date moved to March or April. For a time this meant two championship rounds a year in the USA, as the United States Grand Prix East was held at Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen left the calendar after 1980, while Long Beach stayed. Eight races were run from 1976 to 1983. Ferrari won in 1976, 1978 and 1979, and McLaren in 1982 and 1983.

The first layout measured 3.251 km and had two hairpins, one at each end of the Shoreline Drive straight. In the early years the start and finish lines sat on different sides of the track. During the Formula One era the Convention Center served as the paddock. In 1982 the hairpin at the end of the main straight was replaced by a pair of 90-degree turns, right then left. The lap length was 3.428 km that year and 3.275 km in 1983. The circuit had a reputation for being demanding and hard on machinery.

The 1983 race was the last Formula One event at Long Beach. From 1984 the Grand Prix was run for the CART series, and since 2009 it has been part of the IndyCar Series.