[954Stealth]

So let's hear some comments! who is looking forward to this? There is a vote link below. Let's get it to come to the USA this year. Good commentary here is welcome

The Race of Champions. The race where the creme de la creme of motorsports around the world gather to test their might.

In 2007 to 2012 Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel were victorious



Where else in the world can you see F1 champions plying their craft against drifers and freestyle motocross champions, against rallycross drivers and the might of the DTM field?


Schumacher, Jensen Button, David Coulthard, Jason Plato, Tanner Faust, Andy Priaulx, Mark Webber, Travis Pastrana, Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, Colin McRae, Mattias Ekstrom, Jean Alesi, Jeff Gordon, Felipe Massa, "TK" Tony Kanaan and The Stig have all participated.



Germany, France, Finland, USA, Spain, Scandanavia, England, China, Thailand have all gotten behind the wheel of the Scirocco R-Cups and Stock Cars and buggies and Gallardo Super Trofeos and KTM X-Bows and the 911 GT3s and
F-360s. They've raced Audi R8 LMSs and Ariel Atoms and Skodas and various prototypes.

BUT WHERE WILL THE 2014 WORLD EVENT BE HELD? CAST YOUR VOTE HERE: http://www.raceofchampions.com/voteforvenue/index.aspx
It might be:
Qatar, Barbados, Brazil, Sweden, German, England, France, AUSTIN Texas (I voted for TX, USA)



*****
•The Race Of Champions is the world renowned knockout motor sport event featuring some of the world’s greatest drivers
•A series of head-to-head races over one weekend, on a cleverly designed twin racetrack
•The greats of motor sport battle for the titles the ‘World’s Fastest Nation’ and ‘Champion of Champions’
•A stadium setting allows tens of thousands of spectators to see all the action from any seat, hear every roar of the engines and see every slide and every spin
•The action never stops - with extra thrills like stunt bike & car shows, DJs, cheerleaders and more both in the stadium and outside with the ROC ROCKS Fan Festival





ROC HISTORY
ROC HistoryThe Race Of Champions was created in 1988, the brainchild of IMP (International Media Productions) President Fredrik Johnsson and Michèle Mouton, the most successful female rally driver of all time.

The first edition of the event, held in Paris, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the inaugural World Rally Drivers Championship, gathering all the sport’s champions together in identical cars. It was also 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 Race Of Champions each year.

The Race Of Champions switched to its current parallel track format in 1989 at the Nürburgring, the first ever car race to do so. After establishing a temporary base in Gran Canaria from 1992 to 2003, the event has since taken in a variety of the world’s most evocative venues including the Stade de France in Paris, London’s Wembley Stadium and Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium. In 2010 it returned to German soil at Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT arena before heading to Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium in 2012.

Originally conceived as the ultimate shootout between the best international rally stars, experts from other motor sport disciplines increasingly craved their share of the action. Over the last decade in particular, the racers have given the rally boys more than just a run for their money. They include Formula 1 world champions Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, MotoGP legends Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Mick Doohan, eight-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen and serial NASCAR champions Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Rally stars still hold their own: Sébastien Ogier took the 2011 crown while six-time world champion Sébastien Loeb beat David Coulthard by a fraction of a second in the decisive heat of the 2008 final at Wembley for his third ROC title. Previous rally drivers who have won the event include the late Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol, who took a record four ROC victories.

Nevertheless, motor racing got its own back with Romain Grosjean's win in 2012. The tarmac racers also have their own multiple ‘Champion of Champions’ in DTM hero Mattias Ekström. The Swede took his third ROC win at Beijing in 2009, defeating Schumacher in the final after earlier knocking out reigning F1 champion Button. Clearly no respecter of legendary status, Ekström had taken his first title by defeating Loeb in the 2006 Paris final, before doing the same to Schumacher at Wembley the following year.



Schumacher has had his own back in the ROC Nations Cup, however, in partnership with countryman Sebastian Vettel. This event, hosted at the Race Of Champions every year since 1999, is like the World Cup of motor sport, pitching nation against nation in on-track battle courtesy of two fired-up drivers. Germany has won the last six titles, another record, but the other winners make up a cosmopolitan spread including France, Finland, Spain and the USA.

[954Stealth]

Ricoh Arena is pushing for ROC to be held in the UK this year
“This year the Ricoh Arena has a fantastic opportunity to host motor sport’s big end-of-season finale: the Race Of Champions,” said Jack Isaac, Ricoh Arena CEO.

Make sure you vote to get the event here in the USA @ COTA!! Link to vote is above

[954Stealth]

The current leaders are Germany’s Commerzbank Arena, Sweden’s Friends Arena, Britain’s Ricoh Arena and the Bushy Park Circuit in Barbados...

[E90SLAM]

We will definitely miss Schumi in ROC.
Surprised actually there's no North America party.

[954Stealth]

Confirmed 2014 information

December 12th and 13th:

Bushy Park Circuit will host the 2014 Race of Champions so they'll be heading off to Barbados at the beginning of December!

"The ROC discharge on a race track, is a violation of our decade-long tradition of stadium events. But it is a tribute to our long-standing home of Gran Canaria, which the Race fo Champions hosted from 1992 to 2003., We are certainly in back to the future stadium events, but in 2014 we will take advantage of the available space to build a truly spectacular ROC parallel track in Bushy Park, "said organizer Fredrik Johnsson.


http://www.raceofchampions.com/News/...champions.aspx

[1MOREMOD]

Haven't seen this before, very cool.

[devil20]

The first edition of the event, held in Paris, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the inaugural World Rally Drivers Championship, gathering all the sport’s champions together in identical cars. It was also 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 Race Of Champions each year.

[954Stealth]

Jose Lopez, the recently crowned WTCC champion is confirmed for ROC.

"...nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, Formula 1’s Romain Grosjean (reigning ROC Champion of Champions) and Susie Wolff (Williams development driver), 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, NASCAR superstar Kurt Busch, Australian V8 Supercar legend Jamie Whincup and 2014 FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg are already confirmed."

[954Stealth]

Stig Blomqvist is now confirmed for this race! He'll be driving a Audi Quattro S1 Group B rally car




Drivers already announced for the 2014 Race Of Champions:
•Tom KRISTENSEN, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner
• Romain GROSJEAN, Lotus F1 Team driver, reigning ROC Champion of Champions
•Ryan HUNTER-REAY, Indianapolis 500 winner 2014, IndyCar Champion 2012
•Jamie WHINCUP, V8 Supercar Champion 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008
•Petter SOLBERG, FIA World Rallycross Champion 2014, FIA World Rally Champion 2003
•Susie WOLFF, development driver for the Williams F1 team
•Kurt BUSCH, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion 2004
•José-Maria LOPEZ, FIA World Touring Car Champion 2014
•Esteban OCON, FIA European F3 Champion 2014
•Mick DOOHAN, 500cc MotoGP World Champion 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994

[954Stealth]

David Coulthard is now confirmed to be competing

[954Stealth]

Oops I was out of the country when this went on.

Here's a couple highlights

[954Stealth]

[954Stealth]

[954Stealth]

[954Stealth]

David Coulthard crowned Champion of Champions

14/12/2014 15:00:00



Thirteen-time Formula 1 grand prix winner David Coulthard lifts the Race Of Champions trophy for the first time

•Coulthard prevails after a Grand Final win over young Mercedes F1 reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein

•Six-time V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup and this year’s FIA European F3 champion Esteban Ocon make it as far as the semi-finals

•Formula 1’s Romain Grosjean, the reigning ROC Champion of Champions, fails to make it past the group stages this time

•Yesterday’s ROC Nations Cup winners for Team Nordic Tom Kristensen and Petter Solberg also go out early on




Multiple Formula 1 grand prix winner David Coulthard put in a stunning performance to eclipse 15 fellow stars of motor sport and win the Race Of Champions on a thrilling afternoon of action and entertainment at Bushy Park Barbados.

Following Team Nordic’s triumph in Saturday’s ROC Nations Cup, today’s Race Of Champions pitted many of motor sport’s biggest names against each other in identical cars on a purpose-built parallel track.

On another hot afternoon in Barbados, the best-of-three Grand Final boiled down to a battle of Formula 1 drivers young and old. But in the end Coulthard saw off Mercedes F1 official reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein to become Champion of Champions for the very first time.

Coulthard had been in the Race Of Champions Grand Final once before, when he lost out by the narrowest margin to rally legend Sébastien Loeb at Wembley in 2008. This time he prevailed over his young German challenger, who can nonetheless be proud of his run to the Grand Final at the first attempt.

Coulthard said: “We’ve had a fantastic week, never mind a fantastic race weekend. So huge thanks to all the wonderful people of Barbados for coming out – and of course to Fredrik Johnsson and his team at ROC. I’m retired so it’s lovely to get another trophy. But I think everyone can see that in Pascal we have a star for the future. He’s already signed up with Mercedes in Formula 1 as a reserve driver and winning races in the DTM so motor sport’s in good health with great young drivers like this.

“But yes, I’m pleasantly very surprised and I’m slightly embarrassed because there’s such great talent out there. Maybe not racing for two years is the secret! Of course I don’t race any more - but at this event I had the advantage because being 23 years older than Pascal I’m used to changing gear whereas he was looking for the semi-automatic shift! It’s been a good weekend so thank you to the Race Of Champions, thank you to Barbados and I think a small rum punch is in order…”

Wehrlein added: “It was a pleasure for me to be here and to drive in the Race Of Champions. It was so much fun, but in the end David did really well. I couldn’t beat him – maybe because for me it’s a bit tough to drive a manual shift car with a clutch and everything. I’m used to driving with shift pedals and braking with my left foot so I was struggling a bit with that. But today David was unbeatable so congratulations to him. To reach the Grand Final and lose against him is not bad for my first year. During the weekend I’ve improved so maybe I’ll come back next year and see what happens…”




Read the rest here:
http://www.raceofchampions.com/News/...champions.aspx

[SenorFunkyPants]

I Tivo'ed the whole show and just watched the action. Its was quite a low key event with so few big name F1 drivers. I thought DC was really impressive, especially his win over Petter Solberg in the 600BHP rallycar Polos. Its worth a watch if you can find a highlights show.