Long Beach getting some work done

[rustyfan]

Now this sounds promising:

Beginning in the middle of next week, Turn One will be widened by twelve feet, resulting in an approximately 50-foot-wide track extending for 250 feet toward Turn 2. This will now afford drivers more passing options as they gear down from the 3,600-foot-long Shoreline Drive straight and set up to wind around the western end of the 1.97-mile circuit.

(Source: motorsport.com)

I don't expect it to be as good as the old classic turn 1, but surely it will be a step in the right direction. Should be interesting to see how it works out.

[blueflagger]

Are they taking away the flowerbed? Cars in the flowerbed are part of the entertainment! But it should me much safer.

[cartpix]

The flowerbed is WAY past turn 1. Not sure how they'll widen it. I think it went pretty much from curb to curb. It was narrow because they go through at an angle. I could be wrong. I have been in the past.

Jeff

[racerkeke]

I think they may push the curbing back driver's right and left, between one and lead two. Lead two is very narrow, or it appears that way because of the line from one. The street curbing had spraypainted markings on it in that section of street when I was there in January. (Sidenote: It's very very weird to drive counter-race but with traffic on Shoreline, against everything I've ever been taught to do.)

BTW, this may in fact increase the number of agricultural excursions at two proper, because they will carry more speed into the entry. Another reason I'm glad I worked T1 last year and not this year!

keke

[Purist]

KK in the piece on the series' official website indicated that CART could/would do standing starts in the future.