2024 Long Beach Grand Prix: A Tough Weekend for Mercedes-AMG

The Mercedes-AMG team still holds the points lead in the GTD class despite a disappointing finish at the 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix.

The 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix was held April 19 – 21. And once again MBWorld was there to take in the action. The event offered fans a ton of racing excitement, just like it does every year. Scott Dixon won the IndyCar race by .9798 of a second. It was his first victory of the season and 57th win of his career. But there was plenty of other racing to keep fans entertained over the weekend. There was Stadium Super Truck, GT America, and Super Drift action on the track. Of course, there was also plenty of IMSA racing with the third round of the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship also taking place.

The Mercedes-AMG team had been enjoying a strong start to the 2024 IMSA season. The team took first place at both the 24 Hours at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. However, the 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix is much shorter than either of those events as it runs for only 100 minutes. And the GT Daytona Mercedes-AMG GT3 could do no better than third in class.

2024 Long Beach Grand Prix

Mikael Grenier and Mike Skeen drove the number 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Korthoff/Preston Motorsports to a third-place finish in the GTD class. Philip Ellis and Russell Ward ended up seventh in class driving the number 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Despite the disappointing showing they retain the team, driver and manufacturer leads in GTD points. Parker Thompson and Ben Barnicoat won the GTD class behind the wheel of the number 89 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3. They drove a dominating race, leading for 63 of the 65 total laps.

Looking Ahead

The Mercedes-AMG team will be back in action soon as the next WeatherTech Championship event is the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca from May 10 – 12. That race will be just round four of the eleven round season. So, there are plenty of opportunities for Mercedes-AMG to extend their lead. Or for the other teams to catch up, so Mercedes-AMG needs to quickly put this weekend behind them and focus on the future. Two of those remaining races are 6 hours long and the final race is the Motul Petit Le Mans which is 10 hours long. That bodes well for a team that early in the season seems to perform better in the longer events.

Images: Derin Richardson

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Joe Kucinski

Joe has been obsessed with cars since he got his very first Matchbox toy in the ‘70s. In 2003, he found a new obsession in track days that led to obtaining his SCCA competition license in 2015. In 2019, he became a certified driving instructor for the National Auto Sport Association. His love for all things four wheels has never wavered, whether it’s driving some of the best cars in the world on the racetrack, tackling 2,000-mile road trips in 2-seat sports cars or being winched off the side of a mountaintop in a Jeep. Writing for the suite of Internet Brands Auto Communities sites, including Rennlist.com, Ford Truck Enthusiasts, 6 Speed and more allows him to share that knowledge and passion with others.