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Grand Prix of Long Beach: Two-time winner Rossi offers insight into keys to victory

April 14, 2023

LONG BEACH — Alexander Rossi won the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2018 and 2019, becoming the first driver to repeat since Sebastien Bourdais won three in a row from 2005-07.

Rossi this week held court on what the keys are to winning on the street course during a well-attended Zoom session.

IndyCar practice begins Friday, qualifying is Saturday with the main event is Sunday.

Rossi was asked about his secret to success on the famed street course. Initially, he said he wasn’t sure.

“I don’t have an answer for you,” said Rossi, 31, of Nevada City, Calif. “For me, it’s always an exciting event there, and Laguna (Seca). You know, it’s a home race in the sense that I’m from California. I always have a lot of friends and family turn out.

“I think … it kind of gives it a little bit of a subconscious boost and a little bit of extra motivation. We hear Josef (Newgarden) talk all the time about how much he would like to win Nashville, his home race. I think that sort of kind of exists.”

He offered some other insight.

“Beyond that, I’ve been fortunate to have good cars there and, yeah, I think it certainly is a track that suits my driving style,” Rossi said.

Rossi said it’s a little bit of everything. But he was cagey.

“If I had an answer for you, then I’d probably win every race,” he said. “But it’s not just one thing, it’s a combination of things working out to be in your favor.”

Where a driver qualifies for a race is a key ingredient to success. Perhaps more so in Long Beach, Rossi said.

“Qualifying’s very critical, but especially at Long Beach because the way it works out, it’s a two-stop race; it’s a pretty straight-forward two-stop race,” he said. “There’s not many yellows. It’s a pretty clean race, historically speaking, so the leader doesn’t really get hung out by a closed-pit situation type of thing.

“So, yeah, it’s very important to start at the top two or three, I think, if you’re going to want to try and win that race.”

LEGGE RECALLS WIN

Katherine Legge of England will drive Saturday with partner Sheena Monk for Team Gradient in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car race. It was 18 years ago, in 2005, that Legge came to town and won the Champ Car Atlantic race, the main support series for Champ Car before Champ Car merged with IndyCar for the 2008 season.

She vividly recalls the moment.

“I was 24,” said Legge, now 42. “I mean, it meant everything. … It was an incredibly special weekend because I crashed in qualifying and so I started from the back and I made my way through the field.”

Legge won three series races that year, finishing third in points.

“It really was a springboard for my entire career,” she said. “That’s what put me on the map.”

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Orange County Register

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Grand Prix of Long Beach: Two-time winner Rossi offers insight into keys to victory

LEGGE RECALLS WIN

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