The DTM is officially headed for the United States.

The 12-race US-based championship for the extreme DTM cars will begin in 2013 -- one year after GRAND-AM's flagship Daytona Prototype class undergoes a serious remodeling project -- that will serve as a sprint racing support show for GRAND-AM, NASCAR Sprint Cup and the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

“Only days after BMW officially announced its commitment to the DTM from 2012, this is more good news concerning the future of the DTMâ€, said Hans Werner Aufrecht, chairman of the ITR group that runs the DTM.

“Internationalisation has been our goal, in order to ensure that cars to DTM regulations can be used in more countries all over the world. We have had very constructive talks with the GRAND-AM organisation and we are very excited with this new partnership.â€

GRAND-AM president Tom Bledsoe says he expects the new venture with the DTM to serve as a major boost for his series.

“We are proud to forge these new relationships with the many manufacturers choosing to embrace the DTM vision, and we look forward to welcoming these exciting cars to the USA. With these announcements, we can begin planning with our media partners, race tracks and teams. The addition of a DTM-style sprint race will increase the attraction for our fans and help grow all GRAND-AM series.â€

Many questions (and doubts) have surfaced about the DTM+GRAND-AM+NASCAR partnership, with this author receiving a steady stream of correspondence on the topic. Most of those inquiries centered on the belief that this new partnership is the first step by NASCAR to launch a Sprint Cup series in Europe, but SPEED.com has learned that the initial contact between the parties came from the DTM reaching out to GRAND-AM, and not from NASCAR to the DTM.

 

World Touring Car Championship appears headed to U.S.

The World Touring Car Championship is on course to visit the United States in 2012.

WTCC boss Marcello Lotti revealed that he has penciled in a U.S. date as the series opener in March 2012. The event would form one half of a transatlantic double-header with the long-standing Brazilian fixture in Curitiba, which kicks off this year's series on March 20.

“There is some work to do,†said Lotti, “but I think we will be in the U.S. next year. It is what we want and what the manufacturers want."

Lotti admitted that there is no decision yet about whether to bring the WTCC field, which is largely made up of the South Korean-built Chevrolet Cruzes, BMW 320sis and Seat Leons, to the East or West Coast.

"The West Coast would be better in terms of reaching the public who buy our kind of cars," he said, "but the logistics on the East Coast would be easier."

Lotti said that he is working with the organizer of the Californian-based U.S. Touring Car Championship on a potential West Coast event.

"It is easier if you have a partner in a particular country," Lotti explained. "We are working with the Ali Arsham [who runs the USTCC], but also talking to other circuits and promoters."

New connections are being forged between the WTCC and the USTCC. WTCC-specification cars are allowed in the U.S. series, and the winner of this year's USTCC championship will receive a test in a BMW run by one of the WTCC's top privateer teams.

Lotti said the initiative "fits perfectly our plans of throwing a bridge between the world championship and national championships that share the same view of what touring-car racing is."

The USTCC, which is scheduled to take in seven dates at Sears Point, Thunderhill Raceway and Buttonwillow this year, is run for near-showroom specification sedans.

Source - Autoweek