Long Beach Rewind: Reflections on Another Podium for Gradient Racing
It is only 1.97 miles long but the concrete walled, eleven turn ribbon of asphalt that runs through the streets of downtown Long Beach has historically been a test of speed and precision. The 2022 Acura Grand prix of Long Beach was no different which is why Gradient Racing’s second place finish there was so satisfying.
Marc Miller (left) and Mario Farnbacher celebrate on the podium at Long Beach.
With Gradient Racing focusing on the endurance races for 2022, the race on the streets of Southern California was a late addition to the schedule, thanks to a partnership with Acura and its national “Chiaki’s Journey” campaign promoting the the Type S brand.
Long time Gradient Racing driver, Marc Miller was paired with Acura and HPD Pro, Mario Farnbacher for the 100 minute race. This would be the first time the drivers had raced together in a sprint event. Practice was positive and free from drama and both drivers were able to get significant time in the car. The opening session was a portent for things to come as Marc Miller was second fastest in the GTD Class. P7 in the second session on old Michelin tires also gave the crew reasons to be confident going into qualifying.
The fifteen minute qualifying session allowed little room for error and with Marc Miller being held up by traffic on his fastest lap, the #66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 would start from the outside of the third row in P6. Having lost two spots in the frantic opening laps, Miller was able to settle down and methodically work his way back up the GTD field. Just as the pit stop cycle began, we had our first full course caution of the day. The driver from Michigan was able to pit under yellow from fourth place. He handed the car over to Mario Farnbacher, who would restart in fourth spot.
“I handed over to Mario with maybe one or two scratches on each mirror but other than that, you know it was clean car. We knew that the car was going to be good as the fuel burned off.”
Displaying a considerable degree of late race speed and a lot of discipline, Farnbacher was able to race towards the front of the GTD field. As the Chequered Flag neared, it became obvious that the Acura was not a match for the Paul Miller Racing BMW which was class above the GTD field. When the White Flag flew to signal the final lap the gap to first was less than two seconds but the team would ultimately have to settle for second place.
“It felt great to show up and be able to run on an even footing with the guys that that are the perennial front runners in this class, as well as in GTD Pro.
And yeah, it felt like we were where we belonged.”
Second place saw Gradient Racing return to the podium for the first time since the Detroit Grand Prix last season. It was also a huge validation of the faith Acura boss, Jon Ikeda, had placed in the team as he had provided the support to allow us to add this massive event to our schedule.
Jon Ikeda (center) celebrates post race with Marc Miller and Mario Farnbacher.
“I would like to thank everyone at Gradient Racing for a stellar result at the AGPLB! Having “Chiaki’s Journey” as Acura’s main theme for marketing at the race, and having the Gradient Team come through with a podium finish with the Chiaki sponsored NSX GTD race car was just amazing! We made a lot of fans over the weekend, and we can’t thank the team enough!”