No. 1 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron HPD ARX-03b
TUSC Long Beach AKA Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase At Long Beach
Wow, that’s a mouthful! TUSC Long Beach was very different from any of the recent versions of ALMS races at Long Beach. First of all, thanks to the inclusion of only two of the four TUSC classes, the field was much smaller than any race in recent memory. In fact, it was the smallest sportscar field at Long Beach since 2009, the worst year there for ALMS thanks to the world financial crisis. However, this year it was intentionally smaller – there is simply not enough paddock and pit space at Long Beach for the entire TUSC field. On the positive side, the small field consisted of two classes rather than four, which should have meant for heightened competition…
… In The Race
So the other way this race was so different was the fact that it was run caution free. That’s right, no Full Course Yellow! At TUSC Long Beach! Interestingly, at the green flag, Memo Rojas in the Ganassi No. 01 Telcel Ford EcoBoost/Riley and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R – the respective class pole sitters – got off to an immediate lead and never looked back as the field gradually spread out.
No. 01 Telcel/Ford EcoBoost
Garcia just ran away with the race, and without a caution or trouble, there was nothing to close up the field. Joao Barbosa in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP beat Scott Pruett out of the pits when the two cars pitted on the same lap. But Pruett had the No. 01 car back out in front within a couple of laps, and that’s where he finished. Further back in the field there were some interesting battles, especially for the Prototype podium spots, but since there not as many cars on the track and there was a smaller speed differential, there was simply less traffic to manage and fewer opportunities to pass. Although this is a timed race anyway, having it run without caution made it seem fast.
No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
TUSC Long Beach Results
Prototype
- Pruett/Rojas (01), Ford EcoBoost/Riley
- Taylor/Taylor (10), Corvette DP
- Barbosa/Fittipaldi (5), Corvette DP
GT Le Mans
- Magnussen/Garcia (3), Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
- Muller/Edwards (56), BMW Z4 GTE
- Gavin/Milner (4), Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
Impressions
Even though there was only one pass on track for the lead in either class, the TUSC Long Beach edition was exciting, fun to watch, and seemed to be well attended. The TUSC Paddock was open, friendly, and the drivers seemed to be more accessible and engaging, which the fans clearly loved. I’d call this one a success.
Many more pics of TUSC Long Beach 2014