Race of Champions
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| Category | racing and rally |
|---|---|
| Country | International |
| Inaugural season | 1988 |
| Drivers | 16 (2012) |
| Teams | 8 (2012) |
| Last Drivers' champion |  Romain Grosjean |
| Last Teams' champion | |
| Official Website | raceofchampions.com |
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. The ROC Nations' Cup was added in 1999 and now features teams of two drivers who compete for their country.
The event has taken place in several venues, but most recently has been held in major sporting stadia. After three years based at the Stade de France in Paris, the event moved to the new Wembley Stadium in London in 2007, where it remained for 2008. The Race of Champions visited China in 2009 with an event at the Beijing National Stadium and then moved to Düsseldorf's ESPRIT arena in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 ROC once again moved to Asia with an event in the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Overview [edit]
In the Race of Champions, the individual drivers compete head-to-head in one race around the track. The drivers are gradually eliminated using a round-robin format until the best two reach the super-final. Prior to the Race of Champions, eight teams compete in the ROC Nations' Cup using a similar format.
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 [edit]
The cars used in The Race Of Champions 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 will get to drive several different cars.
In 2012, the cars selected for the Race Of Champions included a ROC Car buggy, the KTM X-Bow, the Audi R8 LMS, the Lamborghini Gallardo SuperTrofeo, the VW Scirocco R-Cup and the Euro Racecar (stock car).
History [edit]
Early years [edit]
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.[1]
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.[2]
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 911s. These two events have since been discontinued. The ROC Nations Cup, first contested in 1999, continues alongside the individual event.
2004 [edit]
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 |
| Finland | Heikki Kovalainen | Marcus Grönholm |
| France | Jean Alesi | Sébastien Loeb |
| France (Team PlayStation) | Sébastien Bourdais | Stéphane Sarrazin |
| Germany | Michael Schumacher | Armin Schwarz |
| Great Britain | David Coulthard | Colin McRae |
| Sweden | Kenny Bräck | Mattias Ekström |
| United States | Casey Mears* | Jimmie Johnson |
* – Casey Mears was a last-minute substitute for Jeff Gordon, who was hospitalised 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 [edit]
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 |
| United States | Jeff Gordon | Travis Pastrana |
| Great Britain | David Coulthard | Colin McRae |
| Finland | Heikki Kovalainen | Marcus Grönholm |
| Brazil | Felipe Massa | Nelson Piquet, Jr. |
| Scandinavia | Tom Kristensen | Mattias Ekström |
| Benelux | Christijan Albers | François Duval |
| Team PlayStation France | Sébastien Bourdais | Stéphane Peterhansel |
| Germany | Bernd Schneider | Armin Schwarz |
| Wildcard – ROC | Dan Wheldon | Daniel Sordo |
2006 [edit]
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 |
| France 2 | Yvan Muller | Stéphane Peterhansel |
| United States | None* | Travis Pastrana |
| England | James Thompson** | Andy Priaulx |
| Finland | Heikki Kovalainen | Marcus Grönholm |
| Scandinavia | Tom Kristensen | Mattias Ekström |
| Scotland | David Coulthard | Colin McRae |
| Germany | Bernd Schneider | Armin Schwarz |
| Spain | Nani Roma | Dani Sordo |
* – 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 [edit]
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 |
|---|---|---|
| England | Jenson Button | Andy Priaulx |
| Scotland | David Coulthard | Alister McRae |
| Germany | Michael Schumacher | Sebastian Vettel |
| Scandinavia | Tom Kristensen | Mattias Ekström |
| USA | Jimmie Johnson | Travis Pastrana |
| Finland | Heikki Kovalainen | Marcus Grönholm |
| Norway | Petter Solberg | Henning Solberg |
| France | Sébastien Bourdais | Yvan Muller |
2008 [edit]
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 was to drive a Mercedes road car. However, due to the slippery nature of the track, the race did not occur. Hamilton drove parade laps with Hoy in the Mercedes road car, however, and 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Autosport Great Britain | Jenson Button | Andy Priaulx |
| F1 Racing Great Britain | David Coulthard | Jason Plato |
| Germany | Michael Schumacher | Sebastian Vettel |
| Scandinavia | Tom Kristensen | Mattias Ekström |
| USA | Carl Edwards | Tanner Foust* |
| France | Sébastien Loeb | Yvan Muller |
| All-Stars | Jaime Alguersuari** | Troy Bayliss |
| Ireland | Gareth MacHale | Adam Carroll |
*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 renamed "ROC All Stars".
2009 [edit]
The 2009 event took place in Beijing's National Stadium ("Bird's Nest") on November 3 (Nations Cup) and 4 (Drivers Cup).
2010 [edit]
The 2010 event took place in Düsseldorf's Esprit Arena on November 27–28.[3]
2011 [edit]
The 2011 event was due to take place in Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena on December 3–4,[4] but after Eintracht Frankfurt's relegation to German football's Second Division, the stadium could no longer host the event on those dates.[5] The Race of Champions was held in the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, just as in 2010.[6]
2012 [edit]
The 2012 Race of Champions took place on December 14-16 at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.[7] The individual Race Of Champions was won by Lotus F1 driver Romain Grosjean, who beat Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen in the finals. The ROC Nations Cup was won for the sixth consecutive time by Team Germany's Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.
The 2012 edition was the first to include a ROC Asia competition, with teams from host nation Thailand, India, China and Japan battling for two spots in the ROC Nations Cup and individual seats in the actual Race Of Champions.
Winners [edit]
Total wins [edit]
Champion of Champions
| Driver | Victories |
|---|---|
| Didier Auriol |
4 |
| Sébastien Loeb |
3 |
 Mattias Ekström |
3 |
| Stig Blomqvist |
2 |
 Juha Kankkunen |
2 |
 Andrea Aghini |
1 |
| François Delecour |
1 |
 Carlos Sainz |
1 |
 Colin McRae |
1 |
| Tommi Mäkinen |
1 |
| Harri Rovanperä |
1 |
| Marcus Grönholm |
1 |
| Heikki Kovalainen |
1 |
 Filipe Albuquerque |
1 |
| Sébastien Ogier |
1 |
| Romain Grosjean |
1 |
Nations' Cup
| Country/Team | Victories |
|---|---|
 Germany |
6 |
| Finland |
2 |
| France |
2 |
| Spain |
1 |
 United States |
1 |
| All-Stars | 1 |
| Scandinavia | 1 |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "The concept". Race of Champions. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "History overview". Race of Champions. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Germany to host 2010 Race of Champions". raceofchampions.com (Race of Champions). 2010-04-23. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Frankfurt to host 2011 Race of Champions". raceofchampions.com (Race of Champions). 2011-04-14. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ "New location for 2011 Race of Champions". raceofchampions.com (Race of Champions). 20 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "The Race of Champions returns to Düsseldorf". raceofchampions.com (Race of Champions). 1 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ Elizalde, Pablo (25 May 2012). "Race of Champions moves to Thailand for 2012". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 26 May 2012.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Race of Champions |
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