Long Beach Grand Prix 2011 Party Guide Miss Grand Prix Pageant Girls Photos

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Long Beach Grand Prix 2011 Party Guide Miss Grand Prix Pageant Girls Photos

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Pictures with a party fan's guide to the best places in and around the track, Miss Grand Prix photos and more.

TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH
Party Guide

Having fun at the Hooters tent, all part of the Long Beach GP!
Photo: Jack Fleming

It's the World's Fastest Beach Party, a three-day event of fast cars, hot girls and hip guys.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is a Southern California happening, a sun-splashed must-attend event for those into speed, sound and, of course, suds. There are race cars, race girls and race guys, free concerts – this year's Saturday band was Steppenwolf– and three days of great fun. The 2011 event was April 15-17 and drew in huge crowds all three days.

The Miss Grand Prix Girls

Miss Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is Anastassia Vassilevska, a Russianbeauty who now resides in Palos Verdes, CA. Sarah Lopez is first runner-up. Photos Jack Flemming

The on-track action involves sports cars ith the American Le Mans Series, development open-wheel cars with the Indy Lights, the super-entertaining World Challenge featuring Mustangs and Corvettes, and the always-entertaining Toyota Pro/Celebrity race (Satuday, 11:40 a.m.). The featured Indy Cars includes Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves and winner Dario Franchitti.

For many, the Grand Prix is one of the big party weekends of the year.

This year’s celebrity bang-up features Megyn Price from the CBS comedy Rules of Engagement), his Rules of Engagement "AJ Buckley of CSI: NY, Brian Austin Green, two-time Academy Award nominated actor Djimon Hounsou, legendary Ultimate Fighter Tito Ortiz,

The event also contains an exhibition of Drifting, a judged competition which is best described as ice skating on pavement. Cars run from 8 in the morning until 5 in the evening.

The start-finish line is along Shoreline Drive, the long, curved main straightaway.

This is a true California outdoor social event. In fact, several thousand people never see a wheel turn. They simply go straight for the bars or grab a cold one and walk through the many merchandise areas, through paddock and pits (special passes required) the Expo inside the Sports Arena (the building with the whale paintings), along the convention center and all over the track itself.

– The Party Bus –

The PubClub Party Bus in action.. Film by Pacific Coast Studio. Long Beach.

– Where to Party: The Track and The Bars –

The main entry point is at the large fountain at the Performing Arts Center at the intersection of Ocean and Long Beach Blvd. This is the dropoff point for the PubClub Party Bus and is where the Fiesta Friday and the Saturday concert (6:30 p.m.) take place.

From there, going to the left but keeping the the Arena on the right, it's into the facility itself. There's a buzz about the place, and that's before anyone reaches the margarita stand located at the entrance to the Indy Car paddock. (This along with the adjacent taco stand, is the unofficial main gathering spot at the Grand Prix.)

In the past, the place to be has always been the Yardhouse, which has a big outdoor deck overlooking the water (but not the track). However, the the Pike at Rainbow Harbor area has added new bars and restaurant leaving the Yardhouse in P3at best, to use racing terminology.

Leading the pack these days is is the Mai Tai Bar, located right above a fountain where the race cars scream by throughout the day. The Mai Tai bar has a friendly staff, mai tais (of course) and a small patio. It's above Bubba Gump, an open-air shrimp house that has an inside bar and plus a patio next to the track. It's at Turns 2 & 3 at the fountain by the Aquarium of the Pacific. The closest grandstands are 36 and 40, with 5, 6 and 7 just over the rollercoaster bridge, which itself provides an excellent viewing point for even those with GA tickets ($35).

P2 (second place) is the Auld Dubliner Irish bar on Pine Ave., where the small patio provides excellent exposure to the racing elements.

One place for a "sit down and take a break" beer is Gladstone's at the Pike Pier. The cars are right beside Gladstone's, roaring down Shoreline Drive at their peak power before hitting Turn 1 and driving around the Mai Tai bar. Access is via the promonade bridge and "the birdcage" spiral staircase. The closest grandstands are 29, 30 and 31.

There are thousands of people walking around – mostly in shorts and other sun-friendly attire – walking up to the radio booths seeking freebies, attempting to peek into the Pro/Celebrity compound (though it's as highly guarded as military instillation), checking out the merchandise trailers and roaming in and out of the Expo in the Long Beach Arena, which this year features BMX biking and other extreme sports (cocktails available inside). The merchandise booths line a walkway and eventually ends across the Bridgestone bridge at Grandstands 19 and 21. Click Here for a map of the circuit.

Some, it seems, have more fun thatn others at the Grand Prix.

Past the Toyota Bridge, which pretty much everyone crosses a few times during the day (or days), is Shoreline Village. With boats and yachts tied up in the harbor, this is a Monte Carlo-type of environment. Restaurants hug the water like a driver holding his line in a tight turn. The pole sitter is The Yard House with its large patio. Hour-long waits are common. Shoreline Village is behind grandstands 27 and 28.

Across the Toyota bridge is the Hyatt. The rooftop will be filled with private parties – it's up to one's imagination what goes on behind the mirrored walls of the hotel's rooms – and inside lobby bar is a stopover resting spot.

Finding fun at the Grand Prix is as easy as walking the track.

The back side of the Convention Center along Pine Ave., features more merchandise areas and access to the other new spots of the Pike via the Tecate bridge. All tickets offer in-out privileges; just be sure and get a hand stamp.

The Grand Prix is as much about socializing as sports. Much of the joy of the Grand Prix comes in walking through the grounds, seeing the scenery, working on the suntan and mingling with others.

PubClub.com contributes to this revelry with our party bus of revelers, who really rev up to the scene. Witness this list of lost items from one year's journey:
• 3 Umbrellas
• 1 Snakeskin jacket
• 1 Blue backpack
• 1 Camera
• 2 Beers
• 1 Set of makeup
• 1 Pair of sunglasses

• The Miss Grand Prix Pageant

The lovely Venus Ramos competes in her swimwear..

Just a few years ago, in 2004, Grand Prix officials reached over the border to bring their race fans a taste of excitement that has been so popular at venues in Australia and Canada. Click HERE for photos of the Toronto and Vancouver Indy events! They brought in the "Bert Parks of Australia," Rosko Dickinson, to put together a pageant featuring 20 beautiful local girls to compete for the title of Miss Long Beach Grand Prix.

The Miss Grand Prix finalist line up during the final competition.

This year, however, Dickenson and his Procon Leisure company are back in Australia, and the pageant will be held Thursday night That means the 2010 Queen and her Court will be walking around the Grand Prix grounds all weekend, along with 2000 winner Anastassia Vassilevska.The 2010 finals will be held Thursday, April 15, on Pine Ave., 9 p.m.

When the contest was held on Saturday after the concert, it was a sight to be seen, as these pictures surely support..