FIA World Touring Car Championship Sonoma 2013

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Images© by David Grube: Contact Photographer For Information on Photos of this Event

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FIA World Touring Car Championship
2013 is the second year for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in the US. Sonoma Race way was the opening race in 2012. They are BACK and better than ever.

International stars like Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Montero and Yvan Muller will be slamming these full-bodied touring cars around the tough Sonoma circuit. On the track are entries from Ford, Honda, BMW and SEAT.

FIA World Touring Car Championship cars are running in their tenth season. 2013 began with the Race of Italy on 23 March and will end with the Race of Macau in support of the Macau Grand Prix at the Guia Circuit on 17 November, after twenty-four races total.

Saturday was FIA WTCC qualifying.Sunday will have two 13-lap sprint races.

U.S. Touring Car Championship
Also on the track are the U.S. Touring Car Championship running late model sport compacts in the pro road racing series. Tten different car makes will fight it our on track like: Honda Civic, Acura Integra, BMW 3-series, Audi A4, Subaru Impreza WRX, Hyundai Genesis, Mazda 626, Dodge Neon and Volkswagen Jetta. They look like street cars but are really heavily-modified for maximum performance; that is full-on-Hot Rods.

Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy Series
You can not keep Porsches off the race track. If there is tarmac and checkered flags. There are Porches.

Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy Series is running the Pirelli Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy USA West Series, featuring Porsche 996 and 997 GT3 Cup Cars in its seventh racing season.

Yokohama Formula Drift Demo
OK this is not really racing but hot laps and spinning, smoking tires are great fun to watch.

The Yokohama Formula Drift Demo will drop three of the hottest drivers in the Formula D series onto the track for high-speed, tie-smoking demo runs.

It may not be racing, but its "HOT"

The morning sun lights the preparations for practices sessions

Not F1 standards but serious prep non the less

Setting up before entering the track.

A SEAT from Spain making a run

The huge wing on the Porsche 997 may not create all the down force needed for the driver to keep on line through turn 9

James Thompson From York, England takes Turn 9 on 3 wheels

René Münnich shows his SEAT can left the wheel even higher.

Monteiro runs his Honda into the dirt.

This is the way the Racing Cars do Turn 9 & 9A

This is the way the Drift Cars do it!

This is the way some Porsche Cup drivers do it.

.... and...

...and... now he's almost pointing the right way

Porsche! One of the most completive car manufactures in the world.

One could think that the Hondas need more work on keeping that right rear wheel in better contact with the tarmac

4-door cars once were for running the family around town. But BMW now shows they are for "RacN"

Looking down on 'Looking-Good"

This is how the the Porsches enter Turn 2

But some guys just think 'adding smoke' makes it better.

Maybe even more smoke!

Racing through Turn 1

Move'n-over

Andrie Hartanto in his Honda S2000 shows he is faster than Yepez's BMW through Turn 9A

Yea that's a shove!

Still work to be done. "Maybe if I turn this it'll go faster!"

Porsches at Turn 1

And Turn 9A

That's the end of that 'heat'

It's great to be over it

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