The USTCC (United States Touring Car Championship) season opener took place on May 10-11, 2025 at Sonoma Raceway. This highly anticipated event marked the beginning of the racing season, drawing fans and competitors from across the country.

Enrique Ferreira (DOM) came from Florida and was one of the few rookies in the race. He managed to put the ARG Motorsports BMW 330i on pole position. He was leading the Touring Car class when on lap 3, his engine exploded causing him to spin. Fortunately, he was fine but his debut race was over. The leader for most of the race in TC was Reza Arsham (IRN), driving the GoGoGear.com/Konig Wheels Hyundai Genesis. He was followed by Ali Arsham in the other GoGoGear.com/Konig Wheels Hyundai Genesis who was about 30 seconds behind at the pit stop. Ali decided to take a gamble and took on less fuel which gave him a quicker pit stop. After the pit stops, he was 40 seconds ahead in first place. Reza had to push hard to try to catch up but the gap was too big and Ali took the win with Reza in second place. Seong Kim (KOR) finished in third place in the Flywheel Motortsports BMW M3.

In the Sportman class, Andy Chittum's Mad Man Motorsports Mazda MX5 dominated the class and took the win with a perfect pit stop. Tom Lepper's  GoGoGear.com/Konig Wheels Honda Civic finished second and Michael McColligan finished third in the Konig Wheels Honda Civic.

The GT class featured some quick cars and winning it was the ARG Motorsports BMW M3 of Doug Makishima and Daniel Rose. Finishing in second was the Chevrolet Corvette of Mike Donahoe and Sam Stowell.

Rob Harper took the win in the Super Touring class in the Forgeline / AP Racing BMW 335i.

As the USTCC season progresses, teams will need to adapt and refine their approaches. The next race is scheduled for only 2 weeks later where teams will aim to build on their performances from the opener.

The USTCC season opener set an exciting tone for the racing season ahead, with thrilling competition and unexpected twists. Fans are eagerly awaiting the next event to see how the championship unfolds.

@photography_by_gerry