Double DTM and FIA World Rallycross Champion Mattias Ekström put in a stunning performance to eclipse 17 fellow superstars of motorsport and win the 2023 Race Of Champions for a record-equalling fourth time – on a day of non-stop action on the frozen Baltic Sea at Sweden’s Pite Havsbad, just 60 miles from the Arctic Circle.

Following Team Norway’s triumph in yesterday’s ROC Nations Cup, all cooperation went out of the window today. The individual Race Of Champions pitted some of the world’s greatest drivers – from series including Formula 1, Formula 2, IndyCar, Le Mans, W Series, World Rally, World Rallycross, Nitro Rallycross and X-Games –head-to-head on an icy parallel track featuring ROC’s iconic crossover bridge.

On a sunny afternoon at Pite Havsbad, the Race Of Champions saw greats of global motorsport battling for glory in a mix of identical machinery – including the electric Cupra UrbanRebel Concept, Zeroid X1 rallycross car powered by QEV and FC1-X Nitro Rallycross car. The off-road Polaris RZR PRO XP made a welcome ROC return as did the SuperCar Lites, now powered by 100% fossil-free biofuel.

In front of packed crowds of Swedish fans braving the cold, the best-of-three Grand Final boiled down to a duel between home hopeful Ekström and Mercedes-AMG F1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher. After a thrilling finale as both drivers pushed to the limit, Ekström saw off his German rival by two heats to nil – despite a brief scare when he had to put out a fire in his car – to be crowned ROC Champion of Champions for the fourth time. The Swede thus equals the all-time Race Of Champions record also held by French rally greats Didier Auriol and Sébastien Loeb.

Incredibly, Ekström won two of his previous ROC titles against Mick’s father Michael – at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2007 and at Beijing’s Olympic Stadium in 2009 – which made today’s finale even more special. To reach the Grand Final Ekström and Schumacher had to see off a field featuring 18 of the world’s greatest drivers. Because the track conditions on snow and ice can change quickly depending on the weather, ROC’s traditional group stage did not take place. Instead this year’s Race Of Champions used a straight knockout system with the field split into two halves: one featured the international racing drivers while the other had the rally experts and those with more experience of off-road driving.

At the semi-final stage Schumacher defeated his fellow countryman, the four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, 2-0 to take bragging rights in the circuit racers’ half of the draw. On the rally side, Ekström finished on top of the pile having brought an end to a spirited run by Thierry Neuville, the winner of 17 WRC rallies. The quarter-finals saw many big names bite the dust – not least nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, who lost to Vettel. The reigning FIA Formula 2 Champion Felipe Drugovich was the other racing driver who went out, beaten by Schumacher on countback of fastest times after a 1-1 tie.

On the rally side Ekström saw off his fellow Swede, the five-time World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson, after a close battle between the two home hopefuls. The last driver going out at this stage was yesterday’s ROC Nations Cup winner for Team Norway Oliver Solberg, who lost to Neuville after crashing out of their first heat.

The Round of 16 was another graveyard for motorsport’s superstars. In the racing half of the draw, double F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen fell to Drugovich and 10-time F1 grand prix winner Valtteri Bottas lost to Kristensen. 2022 eTouring Car World Cup Champion Adrien Tambay and triple W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick also left the competition at this stage, beaten by Schumacher and Vettel respectively.

The rally side of the draw was just as brutal. Reigning ROC Champion of Champions and nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb fell to Neuville, albeit beaten by just four hundredths of a second. Loeb’s fellow World Rally Champion Petter Solberg lost the battle for family pride, defeated by son Oliver after their shared triumph for Team Norway in yesterday’s ROC Nations Cup. McLaren Extreme E driver Tanner Foust was another of the early casualties, falling to Kristoffersson, while extreme sports legend and Nitro Rallycross Champion Travis Pastrana lost out to Ekström.

Kicking off the afternoon’s action, four of the racing drivers were matched up in pairs for two Round 1 play-offs. 13-time F1 grand prix winner David Coulthard fell to defeat by Tambay while IndyCar race winner Felix Rosenqvist had to bid an early goodbye after spinning off against Schumacher.

Ahead of the main competition, the home fans were given a treat as four Swedish heroes took part in a celebrity race in the Polaris RZR PRO XP. The field featured Olympic skiing gold medallists Ingemar Stenmark and Anja Pärson, ice hockey’s NHL legend and Olympic gold medallist Tomas Holmström and YouTube sensation Emil Hansius. In the end it was Holmström who came out on top, beating Stenmark in the final while Hansius pipped Pärson for bronze.

This year’s Race Of Champions has raised funds and awareness towards a selection of worthwhile charities. The key recipients have included German children’s charity Kinderlachen, the Zelmerlöw and Björkman Foundation’s school in Kenya, the ICM (institute for advanced research on brain and spinal cord injuries in Paris) plus a range of the drivers’ other favourite charities.

Here’s how Team Norway won Nations Cup: https://formularapida.net/video-team-norway-wins-2023-race-of-champions-nations-cup/

[Note: The story is as per press release]

L'entrada Video: Ekstrom beats Schumacher to win 2023 Race of Champions ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

After the pandemic stoppage, Race of Champions marks a return in 2022 with a snow/ice event in Sweden on February 4-6. It is not just the event which is returning but the pair of Vettel and Schumacher will make their return too as part of ‘Team Germany’.

While Aston Martin’s Vettel and Haas’ Schumacher will play for their individual glory in ROC competition, together they will form Team Germany for ROC Nations Cup and this time they will look for the win after ending up second in 2019 in Mexico.

Vettel has already won the Nations Cup with Michael Schumacher for six times. “I’m really looking forward to being back competing in the Race Of Champions again and to represent Germany together with Mick,” said Vettel.

“At ROC Mexico, we came 2nd in the ROC Nations Cup, so our aim is to do one better in Sweden. The competition will be very strong especially from the Nordic drivers who have a lot more experience than us driving on snow and ice,” summed up Vettel.

At the same time, Schumacher added: “Representing Germany together with Sebastian will for sure be big fun, and obviously we aim to win a trophy again. We have to continue the success of Team Germany, and fight for victory, and I am sure we both will take that very seriously.

“The other teams, especially the Nordic ones, may have more ice-driving experience, but we will try to make up for that with our motivation and resilience over the days of the event. Either way, I so very much look forward to meeting all the other drivers and spending time with them during the Race Of Champions weekend. The snow and ice promises to make this ROC event extremely special, and I am more than sure the drivers will have a crazy good time together in Sweden.”

Vettel and Schumacher are the third from the current F1 grid to confirm ROC participation after Valtteri Bottas, who will represent Team Finland alongside Mika Hakkinen. There seven more drivers confirmed thus far, making it 11 to be firm thus far.

Current drivers announced for the 2022 event:

• Sebastian Vettel – 4x Formula One Champion

• Mick Schumacher – FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 Champion

• Jimmie Johnson – 7x NASCAR Cup Champion

• Mika Hakkinen – 2x Formula One Champion

• Valtteri Bottas – Current Formula One front-runner

• Sebastien Loeb – 9x World Rally Champion

• Travis Pastrana – 2021 American Rally Association Champion and Extreme sport legend

• Tom Kristensen – 9x Le Mans winner

• Johan Kristoffersson – Reigning FIA World Rallycross Champion

• Petter Solberg – FIA World Rally and Rallycross Champion

• Oliver Solberg – Rising WRC star

Schedule for the 2022 event:

• Saturday 5th of February 2022, 12:00 – 15:00 CET: ROC Nations Cup (to Crown the World’s Fastest Nation)

• Sunday 6th February 2022, 12:00 – 15:00 CET: Race Of Champions (to Crown the “Champion of Champions”)

Here’s news on Valtteri Bottas doing ROC

L'entrada Vettel and Schumacher form Team Germany for Race of Champions return ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Having taken part in the Arctic Lapland Rally in the last few years, Mercedes F1 driver Bottas will make his Race of Champions debut in the 2022’s Snow & Ice event to be held in Sweden, representing Finland in the ROC Nations Cup.

By 2022, Bottas will become a Alfa Romeo driver, having signed with the Swiss-Italian F1 outfit. The Finn joins the likes of Tom Kristensen, Johan Kristoffersson, Sebastien Loeb, Mattias Ekstrom, Travis Pastrana, Petter Solberg and Oliver Solberg.

He is the first F1 driver to be confirmed for the 2022 event, which will focus on sustainability and have electric cars. “I’m really looking forward to finally be able to compete in the Race Of Champions after watching the event on TV for many years,” said Bottas.

“The fact that this year’s event will be held on snow and ice makes it even more interesting. I’ve competed in the Arctic Rally a few times so hopefully that experience will help as we aim to beat the strong competition and especially our Nordic neighbours from Sweden and Norway to add to Finland’s many wins both in the individual ROC and the ROC Nations Cup,” summed up Bottas.

At the same time, ROC head Fredrik Johnsson added: “Valtteri has told us since several years that he would like to participate in the Race Of Champions and we are very happy that he is finally able to make his ROC debut in our first ROC World Final on Snow & Ice.

“In the latest Formula 1 race in Monza, Valtteri once again proved that he is one of the world’s fastest drivers. Finland has a proud history at the Race Of Champions and it will be fascinating to see how the longstanding sporting rivalry between Finland and host nation Sweden plays out. We always have a lot of very fast drivers at ROC, but the new parallel ice track on the frozen ocean will be a big x factor.”

Schedule for the 2022 event:

• Saturday 5th of February 2022, 12:00 – 15:00 CET: ROC Nations Cup (to Crown the World’s Fastest Nation)
• Sunday 6th February 2022, 12:00 – 15:00 CET: Race Of Champions (to Crown the “Champion of Champions”)

Here’s more on ROC Sweden

Here’s Frederic Vasseur on why Valtteri Bottas

L'entrada Bottas to make his Race of Champions debut in Sweden’s snow event ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

WEC:

The entry list for the 2021 WEC season was officially unveiled on Thursday with five entries in the new Hypercar class, with 11 in LMP2, four in LMGTE-Pro and 13 in the LMGTE-Am. One of missing teams, who announced its entry early on, is ByKolles in the Hypercar class.

Other than that, they have two cars from Toyota (#7 & #8), one for Alpine Elf Matmut (#36) and two for Glickenhaus Racing (#708 & #709). The sole driver for the French team is Andre Negaro, while the two US-entered teams are Gustavo Menezes & Ryan Briscoe.

Having already known some of the LMP2 entries, Team WRT is the team whose name features on the entry list with the sole driver being Robin Frijns in the #31 Oreca 07. The sole Ligier entrant is #44 ARC Bratislava, with Miroslav Konopka as its driver.

With the new ruling as per the WEC regulations, there are five Pro/Am entries in the LMP2 class, they are #20 High Class Racing, #21 DragonSpeed USA, #29 Racing Team Nederland, #44 ARC Bratislava and #70 Real Team Racing.

Moving on to the LMGTE Pro class, there are just four cars with two of AF Corse’s Ferrari and two from Porsche, after the departure of BMW and Aston Martin. The latter features in the LMGTE Am class, though, with three cars – one under its own name.

The rest of the Am field has five cars each from Porsche and Ferrari. Like the all-female team in LMP2, the Am class will have its own with #85 entry of Iron Lynx being fronted by Rahel Frey, Manuela Gostner and Michelle Gatting, driving a Ferrari 488 GTE EVO.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said: “Hypercar marks a turning point for endurance racing. This new top class is the dawn of a bright future for the discipline with Toyota, Glickenhaus and Alpine ready to engage in thrilling battles on the track. Despite today’s adverse conditions, the grid remains impressive, and our championship as popular as ever.

“To the delight of the FIA and the ACO, who have been encouraging women to join the fray, the field comprises two all-women teams. A first! See you in a few weeks’ time for the start of what promises to be a sensational season.” At the same time, Richard Mille, President of the FIA Endurance Commission, stated:

“I’m pleased looking at this season’s entry list. The FIA WEC managed to attract a strong and diverse grid, which is something particularly impressive in the wake of the current health and economic climate. There will surely be numerous fascinating storylines over the course of the season. We’ll witness a milestone in the history of endurance racing with the debut of the world’s first Le Mans Hypercar.

“There are several strong line ups entered in LMP2 and LMGTE machinery and we can expect fierce competition in these categories. It’s also great to see the two all-female lineups, who competed at Le Mans last year, stepping up to the FIA WEC full time.” And finally, Frederic Lequien, CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship, added:

“There is no doubt that the future of endurance racing looks very bright and this is perfectly demonstrated by the strength and variety of teams on the entry list. Not only do we have a brand-new Hypercar category which is set to grow even bigger from next year, but it’s extremely encouraging to see record numbers of entrants in the LMP2 and LMGTE Am classes. To have six females join the grid also highlights the diversity in our championship and endurance racing as a whole. The 2021 WEC season will definitely be one to watch.”

Here’s the PDF of the 2021 WEC entry list: https://storage.googleapis.com/fiawec-prod/assets/ressources/TV_DISTRIBUTION/2021_FIA%20WEC%20Entry%20List.pdf

Race of Champions:

With a virtual event in 2020 and none in 2021, Race of Champions will return to on-track action in January 2022, with its first-ever snow-laden event in Sweden on the frozen Baltic Sea at Pite Havsbad, which is about 60 km from the Arctic Circle.

The track, in fact, will remain open until end of each winter season for unique ROC Driving experiences for both corporate and private clients. The 2022, event, though will feature electric cars, as ROC aims to host a carbon-neutral championship.

“After organizing the Race Of Champions in some of the most prestigious venues like the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing, Stade de France in Paris, Wembley Stadium and London’s Olympic Stadium, it is a huge honour to be able to bring our event to my home country Sweden for the first time,” said Race Of Champions President and co-founder, Fredrik Johnsson.

“At ROC we are always looking for ways to put new exciting tests in front of some of the world’s top race drivers. In the past, that might have been a very tight track inside a stadium, but this time we will be able to build a longer, wider more spectacular track. The event will be unlike anything we are used to seeing and be one of the ultimate tests of a driver’s car control.

“After the event we will keep the Race Of Champions track open until end of each winter season for unique ROC Driving experiences for both corporate and private clients developed in a long-term partnership with Pite Havsbad Group.” At the same time, Governer of Norrbotten, Bjorn O Nilsson, added: “Race Of Champions at Pite Havsbad will be the largest event that has been held in Norrbotten and it is very gratifying that it brings many new jobs in the long term.”

The full line-up will be announced in the lead-up to the event. Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson, though, had the chance to drive the first-ever ROC Snow & Ice track. “It is so much fun driving around this ROC track, sliding the car through the wide corners. It will be a true challenge but I think all the drivers will love it,” he said.

“Participating in Race Of Champions in Mexico in 2019 was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and to now be able to do it here in my home country is going to be even more special.” On the use of electric cars and a carbon neutral event, ROC is trying to lure manufacturers, who wish to showcase their EV tech in sub-zero conditions.

“It is important that every motorsports series and event continue to look for ways to become environmentally responsible,” said Johnsson. “We expect ROC to be a carbon-neutral race in 2022 and are working toward that important milestone.”

“Sustainable development and renewable energy has been a long term priority for Norrbotten since over 10 years. Limiting our carbon footprint is very important to us and at Pite Havsbad we’re proud to use sustainable energy for up to 95% of your heat consumption,” said Tobias Lindfors owner of Pite Havsbad Group.

Here’s last news of WEC

L'entrada WEC reveals ’21 entry list, as ROC heads to Sweden for Arctic event in ’22 ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Rally racer Guerra, who recently competed in selected rounds in the WRC2 class, was crowned the champion of champions in the final of the 2019 Race of Champions in Mexico on Sunday evening when he beat Loic Duval two-nil.

The Mexican made it look like easy, first winning in the RX Superlite car and finishing it off in the KTM X-Bows to take the trophy home – much to the delight of the home crowd. The fans had a lot to cheer as three Mexicans made it to the Semi-Final of the event.

Guerra was put in a tough Group C where he had Sebastian Vettel, Mick Schumacher and Daniel Suarez against him. The 33-year-old made it to the Quarter-Final after beating Vettel and Suarez as the F1 champion was knocked out in a major upset.

After racing as Team Germany, it was Schumacher who beat Vettel in their final bout to knock him out – the only winning trophy that Vettel took home was the ROC Skills Challenge that he won. Meanwhile, the Group C winners then faced Group D winners where Esteban Gutierrez and Pierre Gasly made it through.

The two beat Enzo Bonito and Ryan Hunter-Reay as sim racer Bonito had another scalp to his name when he beat Hunter-Reay after beating di Grassi on Saturday. At the same time, Duval had to come through a qualifier where he faced and beat Helio Castrovenes.

In his Group C, he had Lucas di Grassi, Johan Kristofferson and Josef Newgarden where he progressed along with Kristofferson. The two faced Group A winners where Patricio O’Ward and Tom Kristensen made it through.

They beat Abraham Calderon and David Coulthard, thereby ending any chance for reigning champion David Coulthard to defend his title. In the QF, Duval beat Kristensen to progress into the SF 1 to face Pato O’Ward, who defeated Kristofferson.

Mick Schumacher was then knocked out by Esteban Gutierrez in the other QF as the former F1 driver had Benito Guerra against him in SF 2 after the rally driver beat Pierre Gasly in his bout. Guerra made it three F1 drivers in his hit list as he progressed to the Final after beating Esteban Gutierrez.

Meanwhile, Loic Duval got the better of Pato O’Ward as the Frenchman eventually lost out to Benito Guerra in the finale with the Mexican becoming only the third driver in ROC history to win at home after Sebastien Loeb in 2005 and Carlos Sainz Sr in 1997.

“This feeling is completely amazing,” said Benito Guerra. “I’m lost for words but really happy. It’s incredible to compete against so many of the world’s top drivers. I had to face many great drivers along the way, not least three F1 drivers in Pierre Gasly, Esteban Gutierrez and Sebastian Vettel.

“So this is an amazing moment for me, definitely one of the highlights of my career. It was a very tough competition, but I’m really happy to come out as the number one. Thank you so much to Fredrik Johnsson and his team for bringing the Race Of Champions to Mexico and for doing such a perfect job putting on this event”.

“Of all the amazing cars we drove, my favourite was the Vuhl. I’m proud to be a Mexican driving a Mexican car in front of a Mexican crowd. Thank you so much to all the crowds for supporting me too, it felt incredible. This win is for Mexico.”

Debutant Loic Duval added: “Of course I would have loved to win today, but I’m very happy with my achievement in reaching the Grand Final – and to be beaten by a Mexican in Mexico was special”.

“In these races you never know how to balance being conservative and going for it, but in the end I lost against the best man on the day. All the people were of course cheering for Benito but that was fine by me, it just meant the atmosphere was incredible”.

“Mexico is one of the best countries for supporting motorsport and it’s nice to have this kind of support and to see people waving flags in the crowds. This whole weekend has been an awesome experience, to hang out with all these great drivers and to talk about everything, not just racing”.

“I didn’t drink too much last night, which probably helped. But there is always another day – and hopefully I can come back to the Race Of Champions again in the future to go one step further.”

https://twitter.com/RaceOfChampions/status/1087105511584133121

[Read: Nations Cup report]

L'entrada ROC 2019: Guerra beats Duval to become champion at home in Mexico ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

The team of Tom Kristensen and Johan Kristoffersson won the 2019 event after winning the tie-break with the Le Mans legend and ROC veteran Tom Kristensen doing enough to get the better of the new Ferrari junior, Mick Schumacher – on his debut.

The final had Germany taking on Nordic with the former eyeing for its ninth Nations Cup win while the latter going for their second (third if we count the win for Scandinavia). Tom Kristensen started off well, winning Heat 1 over Vettel in the RX Superlite car.

Sebastian Vettel touched the barriers which sealed his loss in a Best of 3. Mick Schumacher though took the race to a tie-breaker after winning two-nil over Johan Kristoffersson in Vuhl 05 track day car but the young German couldn’t replicate his fine form against Tom Kristensen.

The two drove the KTM X-Bows with the Dane winning the competition by a combined time of 0.8s. “That was a very tight fight, as you saw with my race with Sebastian Vettel,” said Tom Kristensen. “Then Mick Schumacher had a brilliant fight with Johan Kristoffersson that took it to the decider.

“He should be very proud of himself on his first visit to the Race Of Champions – and I’m always proud any time I beat a Mick Schumacher. So we are both very proud to take Team Nordic to the win today. It was Johan Kristoffersson who brought us into the final, because he was very strong early on.

“He started the day better and I finished the day better, and it worked out in the end. The Mexican crowd has a lot of passion and we loved being here. This was my 15th ROC appearance, equaling Stig Blomqvist’s record.

“I hope Stig is watching it somewhere and I hope he’s a bit proud of me even if I’m not a Swede.” His teammate Johan Kristoffersson added: “The Race Of Champions is a tough event – to work all the way through the group stages then go to the semi-finals and final.

“We had some crucial victories along the way and then Tom brought home the biggest trophy. It’s my first time in Mexico and I’m really happy to be here, and to be a part of the event against some of the best drivers in the world.”

Mick Schumacher impressed all with his fine performances. He started off slowly but quickly got on to help his team into the final. “This was a great experience, and it was special to share it with Sebastian,” he said.

“He’s done an awesome job and without him we wouldn’t have made it into the final. So we’re happy to have had a good run in the ROC Nations Cup. We did well – not quite enough to get the win, but second place is not too bad.

“It’s great for the Mexican fans to see so many different drivers and nationalities as well. There has been a lot to take in but I was happy to be here to fight against some legendary drivers all the way to the final.

“During one race against Helio Castroneves I also took my sister Gina as a passenger. I guess she brought me some luck because I won that one, so I was happy to win with her too. Now we can turn our focus to tomorrow’s individual Race Of Champions.”

Sebastian Vettel couldn’t replicate what he achieved with Mick’s dad but was happy with the run. “Mick Schumacher and I can be proud of what we did today,” he said. “It would have been great to go home with the trophy but it’s never easy to get all the way through the Race Of Champions, and we did well.

“There’s no shame in losing against Tom Kristensen and Johan Kristoffersson, who are world class drivers and they were just a bit too quick today. In the final I had a good feeling in the rallycross car, but Tom was a bit quicker.

“It’s fun to be here in Mexico, we’re all from the same motorsport family and we don’t get to spend much time together so this is a nice way to do it. As for tomorrow, anything can happen.

“With the format we have at the Race Of Champions, it’s so competitive you have to get everything right. It’s about adapting to the cars without mistakes and finding the flow. It will largely depend on our form tonight in the bar.

“Most of all it’s obviously very special to have teamed up with Mick Scumacher today. I remember my first Race Of Champions appearance and looking up to Michael. We all know it would be more special to have Michael here to witness Mick’s performance today, but I’m sure he would be proud of his son.”

https://twitter.com/RaceOfChampions/status/1086772777313546242

Both Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher fought well through the Group Stage and the Semi-Final to reach the Final. The team topped Group A where they won four out of six races and then cleanly beat Team Brazil in the Semi-Final.

At the same time, Tom Kristensen and Johan Kristoffersson won their Group C and beat Team Mexico in a clean fight to reach the Final. Apart from Team Nordic and Team Germany, the group stages had wins for Team Mexico and Team Brazil as well.

Ex-F1 driver Esteban Gutierez and 2018 Indy light champion Patricio O’Ward formed Team Mexico while Lucas di Grassi and Helio Castroneves made up Team Brazil (Group B winner). Six other teams had a difficult day as they couldn’t progress from the group stage.

Among them, Team France’s Pierre Gasly and Loic Duval were put in the tough Group A but lost too many races along with Team Infinitum Mexico of Memo Rojas and Benito Guerra, while Group B saw the fall of Team Telcel Mexico and Team Sim Racing All Star.

The third Mexican team had Daniel Suarez and Ruben Garcia Jr while the ESports team featured Enzo Bonito and James Baldwin. Meanwhile, Group C’s Team GB had David Coulthard and Andy Priaulx with Team USA having Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden.

                                                       Written by Vinay CK and Edited by Darshan Chokhani

L'entrada ROC 2019: Kristensen wins Nations Cup for Team Nordic over Germany ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

This year, the Race of Champions will take place this weekend on January 19-20 in Mexico’s F1 circuit with host of drivers from around the globe from various racing championships taking part, both in the Nations Cup and also individually.

The entry list is headlined by ROC veteran and champion Sebastian Vettel as he teams up with debutant Mick Schumacher – son of Michael – with the two representing Team Germany in the ROC Nations Cup.

The performance of the team will be looked upon closely, especially seeing Schumacher Jr alongside the F1 champion who also raced in ROC with his dad previously. Another of the current F1 driver to take part in the event will be Pierre Gasly.

The Frenchman who will race for Red Bull Racing in 2019 will represent Team France with DTM racer Loic Duval alongside – the two are making their debut in ROC. Elsewhere, Team Brazil will have Lucas di Grassi and Helio Castroneves in their ranks.

Di Grassi is a former F1 racer and a Formula E champion while Castroneves has won the Indy500 three times. The home Team Mexico features fives drivers so far with a sixth one to be confirmed after a selection event on January 17.

The two teams are paired up with NASCAR Xfinity champion Daniel Suarez and three-time Daytona 24 Hour winner Memo Rojas as one and the other one featuring Indy Lights racer Patricio O’Ward and PWRC champion Benito Guerra.

The fifth driver named is former F1 racer Esteban Gutierrez. Team USA representatives will be IndyCar champions Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden with Team Nordic having Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen and Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson.

It is unclear if Team Britain will compete at all as only ex-F1 racer David Coulthard has been named to race. At the same time, the Team Sim Racing All Star will feature Mercedes’ Brendon Leigh and McLaren’s Enzo Bonito.

The majority of the racers competing in the Nations Cup on Saturday will also line-up for the individual Race of Champions competition on Sunday. Last year, Team Germany took the Nations Cup title, while Coulthard beat Petter Solberg to win the individual event.

UPDATE: British racer Andy Priaulx has confirmed his participation in the 2019 event as he will pair up with Coulthard to represent Team Britain.

                                          Written by Vinay CK and Edited by Darshan Chokhani

L'entrada List of drivers and teams for 2019 Race of Champions in Mexico ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Neither René Rast nor Timo Berhnard are Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, but they demonstrated that once again, Germany does not need a a Formula One driver to be competitive. The 2018 Race of Champions gathered the best drivers in the world to compete in a showdown that went down to the wire.

Germany had the easy path to the finals. Not only they won their group, but also they shattered the Saudi Arabia team. They were the favorite team after 7 wins in total before facing their rivals in the final.

As per Latin America (the team formed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves), they had to fight a bit more. In fact, they were not classified to the semifinals but it was a mistake by the organisation, which they restored inmediately it was detected. Team Sweden, who were classified, did not have a full aggregated time due to a crash of Joel Eriksson in one of the heats.

Then, during the semifinals, Team Latin America faced Team Nordic. Tom Kristensen and Peter Solberg fought hard against Montoya and Castroneves, but finally Montoya beat Solberg in the third and final heat.

As the final begun, it was clear that the drivers were on. No friendship and no calm driving. Germany draw first blood after Rast defeated Montoya in the Euronascar car. Then, Castroneves restored the balance with a victory over Bernhard.

For the third and final heat of the final, Rast and Castroneves went face to face. It was a tight race, and even though Castroneves kissed the wall, both the Braziliand and his German rival were separated by tenths. Unluckily for Castroneves, he was not in front when the chequered flag was waved. This result brings the eighth win for Team Germany, the first without an F1 driver.

L'entrada Germany gets their 8th win in the Race of Champions ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Juan Pablo Montoya

One of those drivers that don’t need to be introduced. The colombian driver has a huge career behind the Wheel. Winner twice of the 500 miles of Indianapolis, former F1 driver, F3000 champion in 1998, and Cart winner in 1999. Recently, in 2015, he was vicechampions of IndyCar before Scott Dixon beat him on the last race at Sonoma. In F1, despite he didn’t win the World Championship, he was third in 2002 and 2003 with BMW Williams. He has been always a carismatic drive rand, for sure, this year he Will bring a great show for the fans at ROC.

Helio Castroneves

Montoya’s teammate at Penske when they were both at IndyCar. The brasilian has been always linked with United States motorsport. With just one appeareance in Europe, it was in 1995 when he took part of british F3. All the other participations where at american continent, taking part at promotion categories at his homeland, Brazil, or at american IndyCar. He never has won a single Championship despite his truly talent, but his up and downs destroyed all his options to win a Championship.

Timo Bernhard

Bernhard it’s a clear exemple of what is a resistance winning driver. Probably he Will be reminded by his achivements at the World Endurance Championship, winning the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2017, and winning 2017 and 2015 championships, sharing the Porsche 919 Hybrid with Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley. The 919 Hybrid who brough lots of positives tto the emblemàtic brand of Stuttgard. He took part also on other championships like the 24 hours of Daytona, the 24 hours of Nürburgring or the American Le Mans Series. It seems that the german wants to repeat the experience of the ROC after making his debut.

René Rast

This 31 year old german driver made his DTM debut with 30 years with Audi, after having a winning career, first of all at karting, and then with GT cars, specially at the Porsche Supercup Championship. We want to remark that on his first DTM season, Rast won the Championship. The driver from Minden repeat his experience at ROC after his debut, like Bernhard, to fight hard and trying to be at the podium.

Tom Kristensen

Another great driver from resistance. And also from ROC. His career has lots of wins, specially as Audi driver. 9 times 24 hours of Le Mans winner, being the last time on 2013, where alongside with Audi he won the Championship at the end of the season. At ROC he took part 14 times, winning the Nations Cup twice. This year will be back to try to win the individual competition.

Petter Solberg

Solberg had his best times with Subaru compiting in rallies, where the norwegian feels better. He won the World Rally Championship in 2003. Aftr his times in rallies, Solberg changed to the circuits competitions, but also like rallies, so he compete in World Rallycross, where he was crowned champion in 2014 and 2015. This year is the sixth participation in ROC where he has won Nations Cup once.

Josef Newgarden

This 27 years old driver, won IndyLights Championship at 2011 and recently, he was crowned IndyCar champion, so his new target will be winning the prestigious 500 miles of Indianapolis. In 2018 we will see him again at Penske and he has never discarted to join F1 in a future. Newgarden enjoyed his ROC debut so, this year we will see him again after his succesfull year at IndyCar.

Ryan Hunter-Reay

The last of IndyCar drivers. This 37 years old driver enjoy ROC’s race and is because of that that he will repeat, being this one his sixth participation. In 2012 he as crowned IndyCar champion with Andretti and in 2014 he finally won the 500 miles of Indianapolis. His talent and expirience well be gai nat ROC show.

David Coulthard

One of the big drivers at ROC show. With Tom Kristensen, the two drivers with more participations. His best year is motorsport where linked with F1, where he was McLaren driver doing pair with Mikka Hakkinen and with Kimi Räikkönen. After his McLaren years, he hired for Red Bull, brand which he is linked already. Despite he never won the F1 World Championship, he has a huge reputation at the paddock. 1991 has been his best year, winning the prestigious Macau GP of F3 and the F3 Masters.

Lando Norris

One of the best emergint talents from United Kingdom and of course, the main star of McLaren program. This british driver of only 18 years old will compete with drivers lie Coulthard, Kristensen os Newgarden in ROC, and that says only good things about him. Hee is a real winner and he have won the british F4, the Toyota Racing Series, Formula Renault 2.0 boht Eurocup and NEC and this year European F3. He has been also second on last year F3 Macau GP. So, this guy comes with really good references.

Johan Kristoffersson

The second rally driver of this year race. The 29 years old swedish has been vicechampion of World Rallycross in 2015. On seond term we have to say his succesfull years at Porsche Carrera Cup at Scandinavia. Once again, like other drivers, Kristoffersson wants to repeat ROC experience.

Joel Eriksson

Another 18 years old drive rand main rival of Lando Norris in this year European F3 championship, being second behind the british. On this year ROC they will meet and race again. Taloking about his career, his most remarkable hit was the 2016 win at F3 Masters.

Memo Rojas

Mexican driver linked with Red Bull we will come bac kat ROC show. This year he will do it as European Le Mans campions with G-Drive, after beating United Autosports team. Rojas drives also for G-Drive at WEC on LMP2 category. By the way, where he have spend his main efforts trough his career is at IMSA, also known eraly as United Sports Cars Championship.

Abraham Calderón

One of the les known drivers from this year ROC. This 29 years old mexican has contest with trucks an also this year at mexican NASCAR where he raced with Toyota and won the Championship after winning 5 races out of 12 and having another podium finish so, he was at the podium in the half of the podiums.

Khalid Al Qassimi

Probably the best of the local drivers. Al Qassimi it’s Citroen driver from the World Rally Championship despite he hasn’t been succesfull there. He will try to do a better jo bat ROC show.

Khaled Al Qubaisi

He go back to cricuit drivers. A new exemple of a resistence driver. This guy from Arabian Emirates won the 24 hours of Dubai in 2012 and 2013 i since that moment he focused his World Endurance Championship participation on GT amateur class where he was vice campions in 2016.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi

The only one driver from Arabia Saudi, but not because of that less important, because he is a regular driver since 2008 of World Rally Championship and he has also won WRC2 in 2012. On addition, he is the owner of fast food empire called Jan Burguers. Probably, we are speaking of the incoming mister McDonald’s on Arabian lands, at least from Arabia Saudi.

Karl Massaad

19 years old driver from Lebano who has raced in british F4 this yearreachend two podium finish in 30 races, finishing the championship on top10. It would be interesting to see if this driver could reach Norris or Eriksson level on ROC show.

Rudy van Buren

First Nederland driver and a diferent kind of career comparing to the rest of drivers. He is the winner of the contest that McLaren did so he became their eSports star. This will be his very first real experience on the motorsport world and would be really interesting what this 25 years old guy can do on the track.

L'entrada Race of Champions 2018: Which drivers will fight at Riyadh stadium? ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.