Field Trip: Long Beach Grand Prix
I'm still coming off the high I got from having an incredible weekend at Long Beach Grand Prix. Thanks to a friend of the Sesh, Chris Buccola, Kimi and I were given IMSA credentials for the weekend. Even better, we were given a guide in the form of racecar driver and coach, Morgan Burkhard (@morgan.burkhard).
Thanks to these incredible folks, Kimi and I got to tour the pit lanes, the IMSA paddock and get up close and personal with CSM’s Porsche.
I had never been to LBGP before. The last racing event I attended was the NASCAR Clash at the USC Coliseum. Ironically enough, also with Kimi before he had activated my karting addiction.
The major thoughts I had while observing were as follows:
Oh shit, the Indy cars are the quietest things here.
Holy shit those Prosches are loud.
This is way, way more fun to watch than F1 right now.
The big star of the show for me was the Aston Martin Valkyrie, all 12 cylinders of her.
Nobody needs this, the damn thing didn't even come close to first. It came in 10th. However, when it hit the straight, it was over, I had melted into Aston fangirl goo, never to reassemble. Does it help that she was the only non-hybrid in that race? Probably.
Morgan was on staff with CSM (@csm_motorsport). They are a lovable operation with a family dynamic. We had the pleasure of talking to the C from CSM, Co-Owner Matthias Czabok. He has been in racing a long time. “I do not have children, I have drivers.” He also confessed that his day to day vehicle is a pickup truck these days. Pretty hard not to love. Best of luck to everyone at CSM this year, I look forward to watching.
Finally, to Chris, you're an angel and so I will disclose that he is currently fundraising for his racing adventures so if you want to support I recommend following him on Instagram @chris_buccola.
The LBGP was very motivational. Kimi and I are considering building a kart. We are also determined to get back to K1 Circuit. I'm very curious to see if my time with the SIM will have any effect.