The FIA World Touring Car Championship will resume next week after a two-month Summer break, when rounds 17 and 18 take place at Sonoma, California.
This will be the world championship’s first visit to the track located in the Sonoma Valley and to the United States.
WTCC competitors will race on Sonoma’s full road course that has been homologated by the FIA following an inspection carried out by Formula One race director Charlie Whiting.
The layout includes the Carousel chicane (turn 7a), the motorcycling chicane (turn 9a) and the final hairpin (turn 11), for a total lap distance of 4.025 metres. This will result in two races of 13 laps.
One of the circuit’s main features is the 50-metre elevation change between its highest point at Turn 3a (53 metres) and its lowest point at Turn 10 (4 metres).
The track – previously known as Sears Point Raceway and Infineon Raceway – has hosted a great deal of important international motor sports events since the late Sixties, including USA’s most popular series such as NASCAR, IndyCar and American SuperBike. However, this is the first time it receives an FIA World Championship.