The Race of Champions
is an international motorsport event held at the end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers. It is the only competition in the world where stars from Formula One, World Rally Championship, NASCAR, sportscars and touring cars compete against each other, going head-to-head in identical cars.
The race was first organised in 1988 by former rally driver Michèle Mouton and Fredrik Johnsson, IMP (International Media Productions) President. Originally the event was a competition between the world's best rally drivers, but has since expanded to include top competitors from most of the world's premier motorsport disciplines, including motorcycle racing.
The top individual overall in The Race of Champions is given the title "Champion of Champions", and receives the Henri Toivonen Memorial trophy, but within the event there is also a competition for individual countries.
The ROC Nations' Cup was added in 1999 and now features teams of two drivers who compete for their country in a head-to-head, best-of-three knockout event.
The event has taken place in several venues, but most recently has been held in major sporting stadiums. After three years based at the Stade de France in Paris, the event moved to the new Wembley Stadium in London in 2007. Wembley was confirmed as the host for the 2008 event, which took place on Sunday 14 December. After feedback from fans following the 2007 event, organisers reduced ticket prices for the event. However, Wembley was dropped as venue, and it will move to the Beijing National Stadium for the 2009 event. [1]
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RACE OF CHAMPIONS TICKETS
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Overview
The format changes slightly from year to year but in the 2007 event the participating drivers were grouped into eight two-person teams based on their nationality.
Prior to the Race of Champions itself these eight teams compete in the ROC Nations' Cup where a team advances by going head-to-head with another country's team and winning two races out of three. If each team wins one of the first two races, the winners of each round go head-to-head in the decider. The advancing team then goes through the semi-finals and super-finals, by which time only two teams remain.
In the main event - 'The Race of Champions' itself - the individuals compete head-to-head in one race around the track, with the winner advancing and the loser getting knocked out. Similar to the national race, the drivers are gradually eliminated until two reach the super-final.
In both the ROC Nations' Cup and the Race of Champions, the super-final consists of three runs. The team or driver that achieves two victories first wins.
Cars
The cars used in The Race of Champions are mandated by the race organisation and vary from year to year. Prior to each run, a type of car is assigned to both of the drivers, with each machine being identical in every respect. Over the course of the event, each driver may get to drive several different cars.
In 2007, five cars were selected for the event. These ranged from a ROC specific
dune buggy, a high power sports car, a
World Rally Car, a large touring car (with 3.5 litre engine) and a
Super 2000 specification saloon. The actual cars used varies, but generally fall into one of the five categories above.
For 2008, six cars will be used - the ROC car, the KTM X-Bow, the RX150, the Ford Focus WRC, the Fiat Abarth 500 Assetto Corse and Solution F Prototype.
History
The first-ever Race of Champions was held in 1988 at the
Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near
Paris, in memory of
Henri Toivonen, who died while leading the 1986
Tour de Corse, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the
world championship for rally drivers.
[2]
The inaugural cast included all the eight world rally champions from 1979 to 1988;
Björn Waldegård,
Walter Röhrl,
Ari Vatanen,
Hannu Mikkola,
Stig Blomqvist,
Timo Salonen,
Juha Kankkunen and
Miki Biasion. The final was a battle between two
Flying Finns
, in which Kankkunen beat Salonen to become the first "Champion of Champions". The cars used at the first event were
Audi Quattro S1,
BMW M3,
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth,
Lancia Delta Integrale,
Opel Manta 400 and
Peugeot 205 Turbo 16.
[3]
The following years saw new events in addition to the main race. The
International Rally Masters
, started in 1990, was designed to offer the season's best drivers, who were yet to win a championship title, the chance to win a spot in the main Race of Champions. The
Classic Rally Masters
, first contested in 1994, was a "historic" Race of Champions competed with pre-1965
Porsche 911's. These two events have since been discontinued. The
ROC Nations' Cup
, first contested in 1999, continues along the individual event.
2004
The 2004 event took place on December 6 at the
Stade de France in
Saint-Denis. The individual event was won by
Heikki Kovalainen, and the team event by
Jean Alesi and
Sébastien Loeb representing
France. There was also a special "World Champions Challenge" race held between 2004 Formula One world champion
Michael Schumacher and 2004 world rally champion
Sébastien Loeb, which Schumacher won. Drivers that took part are:
| Country
| Driver 1
| Driver 2
|
| Brazil
| Felipe Massa
| Tony Kanaan
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| Finland
| Heikki Kovalainen
| Marcus Grönholm
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| France
| Jean Alesi
| Sébastien Loeb
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| France (Team PlayStation)
| Sébastien Bourdais
| Stéphane Sarrazin
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| Germany
| Michael Schumacher
| Armin Schwarz
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| Great Britain
| David Coulthard
| Colin McRae
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| Sweden
| Kenny Bräck
| Mattias Ekström
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| USA
| Casey Mears*
| Jimmie Johnson
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* - Casey Mears was a last-minute substitute for
Jeff Gordon, who was hospitalized with the
flu and told not to participate in this event by doctors while at NASCAR's awards banquet in New York City that week.
2005
The 2005 event took place on
December 3 again at the
Stade de France in
Saint-Denis. The individual event was won by
Sébastien Loeb after
Tom Kristensen crashed out of the final, and the ROC Nations' Cup event was won by
Tom Kristensen and
Mattias Ekström representing
Scandinavia.
Changes from the past included a number of
wildcard drivers, the use of the
Porsche 911 GT3 instead of the
Ferrari 360 and the introduction of the
Renault Mégane alongside the
Citroën Xsara World Rally Car and now traditional "ROC Buggy" as competition cars. The drivers that took part were:
| Country
| Driver 1
| Driver 2
|
| France
| Jean Alesi
| Sébastien Loeb
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| USA
| Jeff Gordon
| Travis Pastrana
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| Great Britain
| David Coulthard
| Colin McRae
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| Finland
| Heikki Kovalainen
| Marcus Grönholm
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| Brazil
| Felipe Massa
| Nelson Piquet, Jr.
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| Scandinavia
| Tom Kristensen
| Mattias Ekström
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| Benelux
| Christijan Albers
| Francois Duval
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| Team Playstation France
| Sébastien Bourdais
| Stéphane Peterhansel
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| Germany
| Bernd Schneider
| Armin Schwarz
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| Wildcard - ROC
| Dan Wheldon
| Daniel Sordo
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2006
The 2006 Race of Champions took place on December 16 at the
Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The Nations' Cup was competed first and the event was won by Finland, with
Heikki Kovalainen beating United States'
Travis Pastrana on the final round. Kovalainen's team mate was the two-time World Rally Champion
Marcus Grönholm, whereas Pastrana drove all the rounds for the US team, after both
Jimmie Johnson and his replacement,
Scott Speed, had to withdraw from competing due to injuries (Johnson had a non-racing related injury).
The individual event and the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy was won by
Mattias Ekström of
Sweden. He beat Heikki Kovalainen by 0.0002 seconds in the semi-finals, and then defending champion,
Sébastien Loeb of France, in the finals. The lineup was:
| Country
| Driver 1
| Driver 2
|
| France
| Sébastien Bourdais
| Sébastien Loeb
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| France 2
| Yvan Muller
| Stéphane Peterhansel
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| USA
| None*
| Travis Pastrana
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| England
| James Thompson**
| Andy Priaulx
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| Finland
| Heikki Kovalainen
| Marcus Grönholm
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| Scandinavia
| Tom Kristensen
| Mattias Ekström
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| Scotland
| David Coulthard
| Colin McRae
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| Germany
| Bernd Schneider
| Armin Schwarz
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| Spain
| Nani Roma
| Dani Sordo
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* - As
Jimmie Johnson, and later replacement
Scott Speed were both injured and a replacement could not be found. Pastrana raced all rounds for the team.
** - As
Jenson Button could not race due to two cracked ribs.
2007
The 2007 Race Of Champions took place on 16 December at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The ROC Nations' Cup took place at the start of the afternoon and was won by
Germany over
Finland. The individual event followed and the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy was won by
Mattias Ekström of
Sweden, beating
Michael Schumacher of
Germany in the final. The lineup was:
| Country
| Driver 1
| Driver 2
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| England
| Jenson Button
| Andy Priaulx
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| Scotland
| David Coulthard
| Alister McRae
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| Germany
| Michael Schumacher
| Sebastian Vettel
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| Scandinavia
| Tom Kristensen
| Mattias Ekström
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| USA
| Jimmie Johnson
| Travis Pastrana
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| Finland
| Heikki Kovalainen
| Marcus Grönholm
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| Norway
| Petter Solberg
| Henning Solberg
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| France
| Sébastien Bourdais
| Yvan Muller
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2008
The 2008 Race Of Champions event took place at
Wembley Stadium, London on 14 December 2008. A special race was due to take place during the event, with Olympic gold medallist
Chris Hoy cycling against the reigning Formula One World Champion
Lewis Hamilton, who will be driving a Mercedes road car. However, due to the slippery nature of the track, the race did not occur. Hamilton also demonstrated his championship-winning Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One car at the event, his first major British public appearance since winning the F1 title and
David Coulthard demonstrated his
2008 Brazilian Grand Prix Red Bull Racing mount. The following drivers took part:
| Country
| Driver 1
| Driver 2
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| Autosport Great Britain
| Jenson Button
| Andy Priaulx
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| F1 Racing Great Britain
| David Coulthard
| Jason Plato
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| Germany
| Michael Schumacher
| Sebastian Vettel
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| Scandinavia
| Tom Kristensen
| Mattias Ekström
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| USA
| Carl Edwards
| Tanner Foust*
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| France
| Sébastien Loeb
| Yvan Muller
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| All-Stars
| Jaime Alguersuari**
| Troy Bayliss
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| Ireland
| Gareth MacHale
| Adam Carroll
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*Travis Pastrana was scheduled to drive for Team USA, but the week before race, he broke his hip.
**Mark Webber was scheduled to drive for Team Australia, but sustained a broken leg in November. He was replaced by Alguersuari and the team was re-named "ROC All Stars".
Winners
| Year
| Location
| Champion of Champions
| Nations' Cup
| Rally Masters
| Classic Masters
|
| Nation
| Team
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| 2009
| Beijing
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| 2008
| London
| Sébastien Loeb
| Germany
| Michael Schumacher
Sebastian Vettel
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|
|
| 2007
| London
| Mattias Ekström
| Germany
| Michael Schumacher
Sebastian Vettel
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|
|
| 2006
| Saint-Denis
| Mattias Ekström
| Finland
| Heikki Kovalainen
Marcus Grönholm
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|
|
| 2005
| Saint-Denis
| Sébastien Loeb
| Scandinavia
| Tom Kristensen
Mattias Ekström
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|
|
| 2004
| Saint-Denis
| Heikki Kovalainen
| France
| Jean Alesi
Sébastien Loeb
|
|
|
| 2003
| Gran Canaria
| Sébastien Loeb
| All-Star
| Fonsi Nieto
Cristiano da Matta
Gilles Panizzi
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|
|
| 2002
| Gran Canaria
| Marcus Grönholm
| USA
| Jimmie Johnson
Jeff Gordon
Colin Edwards
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|
|
| 2001
| Gran Canaria
| Harri Rovanperä
| Spain
| Jesus Puras
Ruben Xaus
Fernando Alonso
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|
|
| 2000
| Gran Canaria
| Tommi Mäkinen
| France
| Regis Laconi
Yvan Muller
Gilles Panizzi
| Armin Schwarz
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|
| 1999
| Gran Canaria
| Didier Auriol
| Finland
| Tommi Mäkinen
JJ Lehto
Kari Tiainen
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|
|
| 1998
| Gran Canaria
| Colin McRae
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|
| Alister McRae
| Miki Biasion
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| 1997
| Gran Canaria
| Carlos Sainz
|
|
| Jarmo Kytölehto
| Walter Röhrl
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| 1996
| Gran Canaria
| Didier Auriol
|
|
| Flavio Alonso
|
|
| 1995
| Gran Canaria
| François Delecour
|
|
| Andrea Aghini
| Marc Duez
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| 1994
| Gran Canaria
| Didier Auriol
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|
| Timo Salonen
| Jean-Louis Schlesser
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| 1993
| Gran Canaria
| Didier Auriol
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|
| Stig Blomqvist
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| 1992
| Gran Canaria
| Andrea Aghini
|
|
| Flavio Alonso
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|
| 1991
| Madrid
| Juha Kankkunen
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|
| Josep Maria Bardolet
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| 1990
| Barcelona
| Stig Blomqvist
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|
| Kenneth Eriksson
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|
| 1989
| Nürburgring
| Stig Blomqvist
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|
|
|
|
| 1988
| Montlhéry
| Juha Kankkunen
|
|
|
|
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Total Wins
Champion of Champions
| Driver
| Victories
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| Didier Auriol
| 4
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| Sébastien Loeb
| 3
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| Stig Blomqvist
| 2
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| Juha Kankkunen
| 2
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| Mattias Ekström
| 2
|
| Andrea Aghini
| 1
|
| François Delecour
| 1
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| Carlos Sainz
| 1
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| Colin McRae
| 1
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| Tommi Mäkinen
| 1
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| Harri Rovanperä
| 1
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| Marcus Grönholm
| 1
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| Heikki Kovalainen
| 1
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Nations Cup
| Country/Team
| Victories
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| France
| 2
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| Finland
| 2
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| Germany
| 2
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| Spain
| 1
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| United States
| 1
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| All-Star
| 1
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| Scandinavia
| 1
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See also
- Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)
- International Race of Champions
References
- Race of Champions moves to Beijing
- The concept
- History - 1988 overview