HMSA: Long Beach GP adds Historic Can-Am

Next April, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach fans will get a taste of the 1000+ horsepower engines that dominated the golden age of Can-Am racing, when the historic machines race for the first time on the seaside street circuit.

The historic event at Long Beach will feature cars from the 1966-'74 era of Can-Am racing, and be sanctioned by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA).

"HMSA is thrilled to be part of the Grand Prix Long Beach, a truly iconic event with a rich motorsports history and a jewel of Southern California," said the group's president, Cris Vandagriff. "We are proud to bring the cars from what has been called the greatest series ever created, the original Can-Am. These cars were the fastest racing cars of their day and still make the earth move when they take to the track."

"This will be the very first time that these exotic racing machines have competed on any street circuit," said Jim Michaelian, president & CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. "The sounds of these high-powered engines racing down Shoreline Drive will be exhilarating."

Can-Am, shorthand for the Canadian-American Challenge Cup, was a racing series that ran at tracks in Canada and the U.S. from 1966 to '74 and again from 1977-'87. The initial era of Can-Am featured sleek, high-horsepower cars from McLaren, Porsche, Lola, Shadow and more with a list of well-known drivers that included Jim Hall, Mark Donohue, Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones, George Follmer, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Bruce McLaren and John Surtees, among others.