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From YourSITE.com Events Coverage The Race of Champions (ROC) must certainly be one of the most interesting motorsport competitions of the year. The concept is simple: the best of the best motorsport drivers compete head-to-head on like tracks and in like vehicles requiring a range of racing talent. The idea is to grab the elite from the various top racing series and let them compete head-to-head.
Ekstrom returned for 2008 to vie for his unprecedented third straight win. Last year, the Swede edged out Ferrari F1 legend Michael Schumacher and this year the Mattias again participated with Kristensen in the ROC Nations Cup as Team Scandinavia. Competing on Team Ireland, 2007 Audi DTM teammate Adam Carroll was also amongst the field of competitors. Interest for those in-the-know about Audi doesn’t just end at the list of pilots. This year, the Audi 2.0T-powered KTM X-bow ultra-light track car was also added to the ROC roster as one of the vehicles to be featured in the competition. In ROC trim, the X-bow’s Audi 2.0T is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission and makes 240 bhp at 5500 rpm and 310 Nm from 2000 to 5500 rpm. More impressive, the car weighs in at a scant 790 kg.
Other cars used in the competition included the Ford Focus WRC 08, the Fiat Abarth 500 Assetto Corse, an ROC-specific car with a 170 hp 1,100cc 16-valve 4-cylinder and the RX150 with 150 hp 954cc engine. 2008 is the 21st running of the ROC and the event’s second time around at London’s Wembley Stadium. To meet the challenge, sixteen drivers from around the world stepped up to compete: Tom Kristensen and Mattias Ekstrom (Team Scandinavia), Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel (Team Germany), Jenson Button and Andy Priaulx (Team Autosport Great Britain), Yvan Muller and Sebastien Loeb (Team France), Carl Edwards and Tanner Foust (Team USA), David Coulthard and Jason Plato (Team F1 Racing Great Britain), Adam Carroll and Gareth MacHale (Team Ireland) and Jaime Alguersuari and Troy Bayliss (Team Allstar). For the Audi pair comprising Team Scandinavia, the cold, wet day started well, where Ekstrom and Kristensen worked their way to the finals of the Nations Cup. They advanced to a final against Schumacher and Vettel of Team Germany. Kristensen, unbeaten thus far, lost a face off with Schumacher while Ekstrom won his match against Vettel. Ekstrom and Schumacher faced off again as they did in 2007, though Schuey enjoyed the narrow victory this time around, making for a second place win for Team Scandinavia.
Next up was the main event, pitting driver versus driver in lone competition. Mattias first faced off with former Audi DTM teammate Adam Carroll and advanced. In the second round, the DTM ace faced off with three-time WTCC champion Andy Priaulx in the Ford WRC rally cars where the Frenchman narrowly beat the Swede. As for Kristensen, he’d again be edged out by Schumacher by only two tenths of a second. The History of the Race of Champions (ROC) The first edition of the Race of Champions, held in Paris in 1988, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the World Championship for Rally Drivers gathering all the official World Rally Champions in a competition on identical cars. The event was held in memory of the late Henri Toivonen, who died at the Corsica rally while leading the world championship in 1986. The Henri Toivonen Memorial trophy is still awarded to the winner of the individual Race of Champions. The Race of Champions was originally conceived as the ultimate shoot-out between the best international rally stars. But experts from other disciplines have given the rally boys more than just a run for their money over the years. They include MotoGP's Valentino Rossi, seven-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, four-time NASCAR Champ Jeff Gordon, seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, Renault F1’s Heikki Kovalainen and Audi’s Swedish DTM Champion Mattias Ekstrom.
Recent Form Now in its 21st year, the ROC boasts a list of past winners that reads like the “who’s who of racing”. DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom created a huge surprise when he beat homecrowd favourite Sébastien Loeb at Stade de France in 2006 and then again last year at Wembley when he defeated Michael Schumacher. Loeb, the 5-time World Rally Champion, had taken the title in 2005. The above join a distinguished group that includes world rally champions Juha Kankkunen, Stig Blomqvist, Didier Auriol, Tommi Mäkinen, Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae and Marcus Gronholm. In 2004 Heikki Kovalainen, the Nissan World Series Champion that year, surprised everybody by winning against all the established stars. After beating seven-times Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher, the young Finn celebrated by jumping up and down on the red Ferrari! He then went on to beat Sebastien Loeb in the ROC Super-Final to take the “Champion of Champions” title. In 2003, Sebastien Loeb ended his season on a high note by winning a re-match of the 2002 ROC final, beating Finland's two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm. Loeb defeated Gronholm two heats to nil, both victories achieved by little more than a car length.
About The ROC Nations Cup Since Its Creation In 1999, The Roc Nations Cup Has Been Considered The World Cup Of Motorsport - Wheel To Wheel Action For National Pride. Nine Motorsport-Mad Countries Temporarily Throw Away Entente Cordiale For The Desire To Win. Eight Nations represented by two drivers compete for the title of “The Fastest Nation of the World”. Germany, Finland, France, Spain and the USA have already taken the trophy in the past. This innovative competition keeps spectators on their toes from start to finish. History The concept of using identical cars and parallel track has proven to be not only exciting and decisive means of determining an individual “Champion of Champions”, but is also the ideal format for a national team competition. In 1999, IMP expanded the event to include The ROC Nations Cup which added incredible depth to The Race of Champions and has become a focal point for drivers and fans alike. In what is effectively a World Cup of motorsport, The ROC Nations Cup is the only opportunity for racers from different countries and disciplines of motorsport to compete head-to-head in equal machinery and on an equal track. Disciplines represented include Formula 1, NASCAR, World Rally, Le Mans, X-Games, IRL, Champ Car, DTM, and European Touring Cars.
Recent Form This year, Michael Schumacher, 7-time F1 World Champion teamed up with and the youngest of all current Formula 1 drivers Sebastian Vettel to help Germany win it\'s first ROC Nations Cup title. Vettel surprisingly beat Gronholm in the Ford WRC and then Kovalainen in the ROC cars. In 2006, Finland with Heikki Kovalainen and Marcus Gronholm won Finland\'s second ROC Nations Cup title after Travis Pastrana heroically took USA to the final after both Nascar Champion Jimmie Johnson and Scott Speed injured themselves just before the event. In 2005, Team Scandinavia’s Tom Kristensen and Mattias Ekstrom fought and won a close battle with Team PlayStation France. In 2004, Sebastien Loeb and Jean Alesi won the Nations Cup in front of the enthusiastic homecrowd at Stade de France by beating Finland\'s Heikki Kovalainen and Marcus Gronholm 3- 2 in the Final. In 2003, in the Canary Islands, Brazilian F1 star Cristiano da Matta, Spanish bike star Fonzi Nieto and Mitsubishi\'s French WRC driver, Gilles Panizzi, scored the first ever victory for an international All Stars team, defeating Spain in the final, three heats to two. In 2002, the USA (represented by 4-time NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon, Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards and multiple NASCAR winner Jimmie Johnson), defeated Italy to take the title.
In 2001, Spain\'s Fernando Alonso, Jesus Puras and Ruben Xaus defeated the All Stars\' Harri Rovanpera, Troy Bayliss and Tom Kristensen, a particularly sweet victory for the 25 000 Spaniards gathered at the circuit in Gran Canaria. In 2000, it was France\'s turn as Regis Laconi, Yvan Muller and Gilles Panizzi defeated Italians Valentino Rossi, Emanuele Pirro and Miki Biasion in the final. The inaugural event in 1999 was won by the Finnish line-up of Tommi Makinen, JJ. Letho and Kari Tiainen. It was decided in a nail-biting final that saw the Nordic trio beat Spain\'s Carlos Sainz, Pere Riba and Marc Gene in the last decisive heat. The Track - Wembley Stadium, London, England. The celebrated stadium guarantees a spectacular, panoramic view of the entire track from all seats. Construction of the approximately 1 km long parallel track calls for approximately 1,800 tonnes of asphalt, 2,200 tonnes of underlay and the erection of a 100-tonne cross-over bridge. It takes a team of 50 people five days to build and three days to dismantle. The specially-designed track layout guarantees an impression of speed and power for drivers and spectators alike, plus plenty of side-by-side racing!
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