ROAR of the TITANS

By Jake Grubb

Celebrating the illustrious 50^th anniversary of the now-legendary Long Beach Grand Prix, the likes of modern Indy Cars from teams that include Penske, Gnassi, Arrow McLaren and other luminaries — with their cars piloted by Jedi such as Dixon, Power, Palou, McLaughlin and a matchless talent cavalcade blazing the streets of Long Beach on April 9-11 2025 promises the addition of a supremely special companion event that may never come again.

Although not its official title, we call it Roar of the Titans. This one-of-a-kind competition pits the three types of cars that filled LBGP grids from the 1970s through the ‘80s against each other, all at once. Summoning age-old visages of The Race of Two Worlds, where Indy Cars and Formula 1 cars competed head-to-head at Monza in 1958 – or the Questor Grand Prix of 1973, where Indy Cars and Formula 1 cars competed wheel-to-wheel at Ontario Motor Speedway – Roar of the Titans at the 2025 Long Beach Grand Prix goes one giant step further – featuring a unified field of Formula 5000 cars, Formula 1 cars and Indy Cars racing against each other from green flag to checkered flag!

A projected starting grid of 25+ F5000, F1 and Indy Cars that competed in Long Beach Grand Prix events over a 20-year span will include such legends as the 1975 AAR Gurney-Eagle Formula 5000 (the original racecar that christened the LBGP track and placed 2^nd in the Inaugural), an F5000 Lola T332 (sibling of the car that won the first LBGP event), a Chevron B24 F5000, a 1976 March F1 veteran, a 1984 Tyrell F1, an extremely rare ’75 Vels Parnelli VPJ Andretti F1 car, an incredible ’76 Shadow F1 car, an ’81 Eagle Indy Car and 20+ other racecars of extraordinary legacy, driven by seasoned drivers who compete in these cars actively today. A racing time capsule, opened with the release of powerful once-in-a-lifetime motorsports legacy!

On a mid-winter day in 1975, a light blue AAR Jorgensen Gurney Eagle Formula 5000 car was quietly push-rolled to the pre-grid-to-be for the first-ever Long Beach Grand Prix. Walking beside the car were two men, both well-established legends of motor sport, who were about to have what for them would be a little fun, but what for ordinary mortals would cause acute nerve implosion.

Under the official imperative to conduct noise level tests of a high-powered race engine on the Long Beach racetrack at speed, the two sound testers would suit-up and each take turns driving the Gurney F5000 car nearly as fast as it would go on Long Beach’s Shoreline Drive curved straightaway. The two drivers: Bobby Unser and Dan Gurney himself. Needless to say, the two extended the length of the noise level test session as long as it could possibly be justified, to the delight of a select few onlookers who thrilled to the rapturous sound of a real live world class Formula 5000 racecar ground-pounding their town’s roadway, while each were rubbing their dancing eyes to confirm the reality of what they were truly witnessing. Both Gurney and Unser reached speeds of over 150 mph! More than a perfunctory noise test, this was an unofficial holy christening of the Long Beach Grand Prix racetrack, before its unveiling to the world at large.

Originating from a bold idea of one Chris Pook, a British-come-Long Beach California travel agency owner and aircraft broker, his 1974 notion of staging a Grand Prix car race event on the streets of Long Beach found legs through a fluke. Pook’s idea was spurred when he learned that city leaders had committed to a billion-dollar Long Beach redevelopment program that was intended to revitalize the city with new building structures, powerhouse commerce and expansion tourism. As a Long Beach businessman, Chris Pook presented the idea of a Grand Prix event to the city council members with a simple pitch: “what better way to get international recognition than with a World Championship car race?”

The ensuing months brought forth an abundance of support from the motor sports world, including an agreement with FIA Formula 1 organizers that a USA west coast Formula 1 Grand Prix would be staged on the city of Long Beach race course in the spring of 1976. Incredibly, less than a year from the inception of their Grand Prix Racing Association, Chris Pook, Dan Gurney and Les Richter had secured two major races for Long Beach: an initial Formula 5000 Grand Prix for the fall of 1975, and an International Formula 1 Grand Prix for the spring of 1976! But before an international Formula 1 agreement could be formally and finally consummated, a compelling American racing series, Formula 5000, quickly stepped-up to the plate. This compelling racing series, North America’s answer to world-renowned Formula 1, consisted of state-of-the art high-powered open-wheel racecars that paralleled Grand Prix cars in design and performance, but featured American power: 302 cubic-inch ultra-high performance V8 engines.

Incredibly, less than a year from the inception of their Grand Prix Racing Association, Chris Pook, Dan Gurney and Les Richter had secured two major races for Long Beach: an initial Formula 5000 Grand Prix for the fall of 1975, and an International Formula 1 Grand Prix for the spring of 1976!

The inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix of September 1975 attracted a resounding national and international representation of the top drivers and racing teams then in existence, with up-and-coming driving stars such as Vern Schuppan, Tony Brise, Tom Pryce, Graham McCrae and David Hobbs (all international drivers) challenging already-established stars such as Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Brian Redman, Chris Amon, Gordon Johncock, Jackie Oliver and many others. Drawing over 65,000 spectators, this outstanding motorsports extravaganza was a standout competition on the track and a world-winner in the media. A meteor of speed, colorfulness and dynamic energy.

After a spectacular and highly successful fall ’75 Formula 5000 race, consisting of top drivers from North American and Europe, Chris Pook, Dan Gurney, Les Richter and team knew for certain that they had hatched an authentic world class racing venue.

As the inaugural Formula 1 Long Beach Grand Prix race week neared, spectator pre-order ticket counts rose exponentially, until by Saturday’s qualifying heats the crowds approached estimates that were expected for actual race day levels. And they multiplied to exceed maximum seating capacities for race day. There were many surprises during the exciting qualifying laps that suggested hotly contested duels and dices to come with the wave of Sunday’s green flag.

On race day, after pre-race festivities and a half-day build-up of raw anticipation for racers, teams and spectators alike, the green flag waved to the cacophonous thunder of over twenty 700-horsepower multi-cylinder engines blasting off of the grid toward Turn 1 of the first-ever Long Beach Formula 1 Grand Prix!

Pole-sitter Clay Regazzoni rocketed to the lead in his Ferrari 312T over his team mate and then-championship points leader, Austrian driver Niki Lauda. Although Lauda and British driver James Hunt were locked in what would become an historic battle for the 1976 Formula 1 world championship, Regazzoni’s mastery of the bumpy and challenging Long Beach track was prodigious, spiriting him to an impressive lead. In a blistering race of over 80 laps on the 2.02 mile street circuit for a total race distance of 161.60 miles, Regazzoni dominated a tough 1- hour and 53 minutes charge to the checkered flag. Then-reigning F1 World Champion Niki Lauda successfully brought his ailing car home in 2nd place, with Patrick Depailler in hisTyrrell 007 completing a fine recovery from a shunt and a later spin by taking 3rd place. Jacques Laffite emerged from the scramble further back to finish 4th ahead of Jochen Mass in 5th. Former two-time World Champ Emerson Fittipaldi finished 6th to score his first Formula 1 point in a new Fittipaldi chassis. Championship contender (and ultimate 1976 Champion) James Hunt was knocked out of the race in a 3rd lap shunt with Depailler.

The first USGP West was a meteoric success. Indeed, former F1 team owner Rob Walker said, “I think the creation of the Long Beach GP was the greatest achievement in motor racing this decade (1970s).” One year later Mario Andretti’s spectacular 1977 win the solidified the popularity of what would soon be called, “The Roar At The Shore,” a name renowned throughout world motorsport to this day.

After eight spectacularly successful years as the west coast USA venue for international Formula 1 racing, 1983 saw the conversion of the Long Beach Grand Prix to become the feature west coast racing event for Indy Cars, under the sanction of CART, [Championship Auto Racing Teams]. What at first seemed a radical and curious change proved to be yet another stratospheric success for the LBGP, offering a stage for America’s finest professional race drivers as well as top drivers from countries around the world. A new era was to carry forward and further build the legacy of the Long Beach Grand Prix as a road race of champions for motorsports as we know it and all the world to see.

Capping its 50^th year with a reverent wave from its legacy gladiators on wheels of inspiration — historic Formula 5000, classic Formula 1 and mid-generation Indy Cars — the Long Beach Grand Prix marches forth under the banner of its new owner, Penske Entertainment, into a new era with excited anticipation.