GP of Long Beach introduces Historic Formula Exhibition for 2025

With the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach set to celebrate its fifty-year anniversary in 2025, the Grand Prix Association has partnered with the Historic Motor Sports Association to create the Historic Formula Exhibition. It will consist of a twenty-minute race each on Saturday and Sunday, 12/13 April, for single-seater open-wheel cars.

“The fiftieth anniversary of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is a historic milestone for our event, and we’re thrilled to offer fans a trip through the annals of our racing history with the Historic Formula Exhibition,” commented Grand Prix Association head Jim Michaelian. “The sights—and equally important, the sounds—of these cars, will create an unforgettable experience for all our fans, young and old.”

The Exhibition is an expansion of HMSA’s already existing relationship with the Grand Prix, having supported the NTT IndyCar Series weekend since 2021. The partnership initially began with two races for historic Formula Atlantic cars, then was dropped in 2022 before returning to the slate in 2023 with vintage Formula One vehicles and IndyCars. HMSA is headquartered in Montrose, less than forty miles from Long Beach.

Tim DeSilva swept the 2024 race weekend in a Lola T95/00, which was used during the 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series season; Scott Pruett finished runner-up in that year’s Long Beach GP in a T95/00 fielded by Patrick Racing. Cars in the field ranged from as new as the 2005 Lola B05/00 that was used in Champ Car to as early as 1966 when F1 and IndyCar alumnus Stefan Johansson drove an All American Racers Eagle to a fourth and third.

The aforementioned B05/00, which is currently owned by Jordan Roddy, will be among the cars expected to enter the Historic Formula Exhibition. It was previously used by Sébastien Bourdais, who won the 2005 Grand Prix of Long Beach for Newman/Haas Racing during his second of four consecutive Champ Car titles. Other cars scheduled to take part include the AAR Eagle, owned by Tom Malloy, that won the 1975 Formula 5000 pole during the inaugural year as well as the Lotus 77 driven by Mario Andretti to the 1977 United States Grand Prix West win.

The AGPLB weekend has hosted various vintage races over the years for both single-seaters and closed-wheel vehicles. The latter most recently included the Historic Trans Am Challenge and Historic IMSA GTO Challenge, the latter reserved for period-correct sports cars between 1980 and 1991.

“It will be great showcasing the cars that have made motorsports an event to celebrate in Long Beach,” said HMSA president Cris Vandagriff. “We will have a great field representing cars that have been a big part of the Grand Prix’s history.”

The Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend is scheduled for 11–13 April as the third round of the 2025 IndyCar season. Other series slated to be on the card include the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge America, and Stadium Super Trucks.