SONOMA, CALIF.—Secrets, like promises, are hard to keep, especially when everyone in the racing communities of Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Turkey, Morocco, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, Belgium, Macau and Hungary have known about something and swore to keep it their secret for nearly twenty five years. As a result, the FIA WTCC almost seemed destined to remain in the clutches of other continents on the periphery of North America. After all, who in this country, the land of large cars and loud mega displacement motors would be interested in another racing series consisting of four-door, 1.6 liter four cylinder econoboxes that appear to be more adept at grocery-getting than true balls-to-the-wall road racing for a mere 15 laps? Sure, there were a few “Ultimate Driving Machines” in the bunch but Chevy Cruzes, Ford Focuses and Spanish bred SEAT Leons? You’ve got to be kidding.

Yeah…I’ve heard unsubstantiated stories whispered about the popularity of this brand of racing in those countries mentioned above. Maybe it’s a NASCAR “Junior” kind of thing and they’re merely substituting mini-cars for real cars because they don’t have the real deal like we do. It’s said that 40 million, that’s 40 MILLION fans are glued to their sets on nearly 80 channels worldwide each and every time these cars roll out on to the track. They say you can’t argue with success. It’s hard to believe but maybe there is something to all of this.

I still wasn’t convinced when I arrived early Friday morning on the paddock. The cars looked as good as any four-door could look with the colorful body wraps shouting out the names of their sponsors. The “Sea/Land” shipping containers the cars and parts came in were neatly lined up and the teams were busily readying their cars for practice and qualifying. I was standing in front of one of the SEAT Leons when I heard the greeting; “Buongiorno…California is beautiful”. I looked up and it was Gabriele Tarquini the driver of the #3 SEAT entry. Lattes, cappuccinos and espressos for everyone!!! Did someone just teleport me to Italy? It was almost like being seated at a coffee bar next to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. At this point I realized something was different. It wasn’t NASCAR because the accents and speech inflections were different. It wasn’t INDYCAR because the drivers were sociable and accommodating. It sure wasn’t NHRA because the motors were barely discernible when they were idling almost up to the point where they met their redline.

All of this came into focus when Federation Internationale de l’Automobile representative and WTCC spokesperson, Fabio Ravaioli, explained in detail how the weekend was to unfold later that same morning. Within a very short period of time, it became abundantly clear that this FIA sanctioned event, yes the same FIA that sanctions F1, was going to be run with the precision of a Heuer stopwatch. Nothing loosey-goosey allowed here. They came a long way not just to play but to play hard.

As the cars set foot upon Sonoma’s twisty road course, one had to be immediately impressed with the tenacity and the controlled abandon these drivers exhibited as they entered and exited every turn. They weren’t afraid to mix things up. Practice and qualifying is one thing but once the races began, I was sure it was going to be carnage and mayhem. Sort of like a cross between drifting, bumper cars and a county fair demolition derby. Now this whole thing is really beginning to make some sense.

It made sense to others too, judging by the number of fans entering the front gate. These numbers steadily increased as the weekend wore on with nearly 15,000 in attendance on Sunday. Not a bad turnout for a brand of racing that has never taken place in the U.S. before. By the end of the second race, people were clamoring for more. The mix of WTCC cars, Auto-GP and Maserati GT entries provided an enjoyable weekend with enough variety and diversity to satisfy even the highest ranks of racing aficionados. It was an international affair with just enough Chevrolet and apple pie to make things meaningful and interesting to Americans weaned on largess, noise, cappuccinos and speed.

RACE RESULTS
2012 FIA-World Touring Car Championship
Race 1 — Provisional Classification (9-22-12)
POS	DRIVER/TEAM	NAT	CAR	LAPS	TIME	KPH
1	Yvan Muller	FRA	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	13	23:34.369	133.41
2	Robert Huff	GBR	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	13	23:34.933	133.36
3	Norbert Michelisz	HUN	BMW 320 TC	13	23:39.813	132.90
4	Gabriele Tarquini	ITA	SEAT Leon WTCC	13	23:43.216	132.58
5	Alex MacDowall	GBR	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	13	23:46.172	132.31
6	Tiago Monteiro	PRT	SR Leon 1.6T	13	23:46.791	132.25
7	Franz Engstler	DEU	BMW 320 TC	13	23:50.076	131.94
8	Tom Coronel	NLD	BMW 320 TC	13	23:50.710	131.89
9	Stefano D’Aste	ITA	BMW 320 TC	13	23:51.673	131.80
10	Tom Boardman	GBR	SEAT Leon WTCC	13	24:00.192	131.02
11	Mohdi Bennani	MAR	BMW 320 TC	13	24:04.683	130.61
12	Tom Chilton	GBR	FORD Focus S2000 TC	13	24:08.757	130.24
13	Robb Holland	USA	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	13	24:14.461	129.73
14	Darryl O’Young	HKG	SEAT Leon WTCC	13	24:20.553	129.19
15	Charlos Ng	HKG	BMW 320 TC	13	24:22.233	129.04
16	Popo Oriola	ESP	SEAT Leon WTCC	10	18.26.132	131.22
17	James Nash	GBR	FORD Focus S2000 TC	9	16:44.674	130.02
18	Alain Menu	CHE	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	9	24:24.878	89.17
Fastest Laps—Yvan Muller, 83.44 mph (134.29 kph)/Norbert Michelisz, 83.26mph (133.99kph)
2012 FIA-World Touring Car Championship
Race 2 — Provisional Classification (9-23-12)
POS	DRIVER/TEAM	NAT	CAR	LAPS	TIME	KPH
1	Robert Huff	GBR	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	15	29:19.176	123.76
2	Norbert Michelisz	HUN	BMW 320 TC	15	29:19.496	123.74
3	Gabriele Tarquini	ITA	SEAT Leon WTCC	15	29:20.375	123.68
4	Alain Menu	CHE	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	15	29:22.894	123.50
5	Tom Coronel	NLD	BMW 320 TC	15	29:26.747	123.23
6	Tiago Monteiro	PRT	SR Leon 1.6T	15	29:27.383	123.19
7	Alex MacDowall	GBR	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	15	29:31.858	122.88
8	Tom Boardman	GBR	SEAT Leon WTCC	15	29:33.023	122.80
9	Stefano D’Aste	ITA	BMW 320 TC	15	29:33.396	122.77
10	Franz Engstler	DEU	BMW 320 TC	15	29:34.819	122.67
11	Popo Oriola	ESP	SEAT Leon WTCC	15	29:37.987	122.45
12	Darryl O’Young	HKG	SEAT Leon WTCC	15	29:40.832	122.28
13	Alberto Cerqui	ITA	BMW 320 TC	15	29:41.173	122.23
14	Yvan Muller	FRA	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	15	29:42.643	122.13
15	Tom Chilton	GBR	FORD Focus S2000 TC	15	29:43.495	122.07
16	Robb Holland	USA	Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T	15	29:44.360	122.02
17	Jamos Nash	GBR	FORD Focus S2000 TC	15	29:49.806	121.64
18	Aleksei Dudukalo	RUS	SEAT Leon WTCC	15	30:00.733	120.91
Fastest Laps—Yvan Muller, 83.72mph (134.73kph)/Norbert Michelisz, 83.56mph (134.47kph)
AUTO-GP World Series Results
Race 1 — Classification (9-22-12)
POS	DRIVER/TEAM	NAT	CAR	TIME	LAPS	KPH
1	Pal Varhaug	NOR	Virtuosi UK	35:20.704	21	143.73
2	Daniel DeJong	NLD	Manor MP Motorsport	35:22.185	21	143.63
3	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Euronova Racing	35:23.766	21	143.52
4	Sergio Campana	ITA	Zele Racing	35:24.894	21	143.45
5	Giacomo Ricci	ITA	MLR 71	35:33.579	21	142.86
6	Giancarto Serenelli	VEN	Ombra Racing	35:44.828	21	142.11
7	Kotaro Sakarai	JPN	Euronova Racing	35:52.146	21	141.63
8	Antonio Spavone	ITA	Ombra Racing	36:09.399	21	140.50
9	Pippa Mann	GBR	Campos Racing	36:21.409	21	139.73
10	Michele La Rosa	ITA	MLR 71	36:23.683	21	139.58
Fastest Lap—Daniel DeJong, 101.60mph (163.83kph)
AUTO-GP World Series Results
Race 2 — Classification (9-23-12)
POS	DRIVER/TEAM	NAT	CAR	TIME	LAPS	KPH
1	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Euronova Racing	33:12.879	21	152.95
2	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	GBR	Supernova International	33:16.151	21	152.70
3	Sergio Campana	ITA	Zele Racing	33:31.494	21	151.53
4	Antonio Spavone	ITA	Ombra Racing	33:41.574	21	150.78
5	Pal Varhaug	NOR	Virtuosi UK	33:43.610	21	150.63
6	Daniel DeJong	NLD	Manor MP Motorsport	33:44.201	21	150.58
7	Max Snegirev	RUS	Campos Racing	33:50.924	21	150.08
8	Pippa Mann	GBR	Campos Racing	34:25.643	21	147.56
9	Francesco Dracone	ITA	Virtuosi UK	34:25.971	21	147.54
10	Michele La Rosa	ITA	MLR 71	34:35.984	21	146.83
11	Giacomo Ricci	ITA	MLR 71	23:22.787	14	144.86
12	Antonio Pizzonia	BRA	Zele Racing	18:53.632	11	140.84
Fastest Lap—Daniel DeJong, 102.85mph (165.52kph)
Maserati Gran Turisimo
Top Ten/Race 1 — Classification (9-22-12)
POS	DRIVER/TEAM	NAT	CAR	TIME	LAPS	KPH
1	Alex Popow	VEN	Maserati GT	31:16.469	16	123.76
2	Riccardo Ragazzi	ITA	Maserati GT	31:16.949	16	123.73
3	Andrea Dromedari	ITA	Maserati GT	31:17.582	16	123.69
4	Felipe Merjech	COL	Maserati GT	31:19.682	16	123.55
5	Mike Hedlund	USA	Maserati GT	31:20.358	16	123.51
6	Patrick Dempsey	USA	Maserati GT	31:21.094	16	123.46
7	Fabio Venier	CHE	Maserati GT	31:22.586	16	123.36
8	Justino Azcarate	VEN	Maserati GT	31:23.937	16	123.27
9	Giuseppe Fascicolo	ITA	Maserati GT	31:24.281	16	123.25
10	Per Nielsen	DNK	Maserati GT	32:53.040	16	117.70
Fastest Laps—Renaud Kuppens, 85.15mph (137.04kph)/Riccardo Ragazzi, 84.63mph (136.21kph)
Maserati Gran Turisimo
Top Ten/Race 2 — Classification (9-23-12)
POS	DRIVER/TEAM	NAT	CAR	TIME	LAPS	KPH
1	Renaud Kuppens	BEL	Maserati GT	30:05.561	17	136.66
2	Giorgio Sernagiotto	ITA	Maserati GT	30:06.226	17	136.61
3	Johannes Vanoverbeek	USA	Maserati GT	30:12.564	17	136.13
4	Alan Simoni	ITA	Maserati GT	30:14.623	17	135.98
5	Max Pigoli	CHE	Maserati GT	30:17.462	17	135.77
6	Alex Popow	VEN	Maserati GT	30:18.755	17	135.67
7	Richard Denny	AUS	Maserati GT	30:35.317	17	134.45
8	Felipe Merjech	COL	Maserati GT	30:35.737	17	134.41
9	Mathijs Bakker	NLD	Maserati GT	30:36.321	17	134.37
10	Greg Tracy	USA	Maserati GT	30:47.097	17	133.59
Fastest Laps—Renaud Kuppens, 85.80mph (138.08kph)/Giorgio Sernagiotto, 85.74mph (137.99kph)