NEWS // COULTHARD TO COMPETE @ RACE OF CHAMPIONS

Ex F1 driver David Coulthard was today added to the list of drivers set to take up the traditional end of season challenge that is the Race Of Champions. The event on the 2nd-4th November is scheduled to take place at the "Birds Nest " stadium in Beijing already has 16 top line drivers entered including Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel,Andy Priaulx and newly crowned F1 Champion Jenson Button.

With the staging of the ROC having moved away from Wembley Stadium which held the event for the last two years, this year's competition will see the racing take place on what has been promised a slightly more open and flowing track set-up. Organisers predict that the cars will reach top speeds of up to 150kph on what is the widest and longest indoor ROC circuit ever built... [read more]

At just over a kilometre in length and with a width of 7 metres, more than 4,000 tonnes of asphalt and gravel and a bridge weighing 110 tonnes will be needed to build the circuit (Below) inside the Beijing National Stadium.

The format for the event remains the same with seperate competitions for "The Nations Cup" which sees two driver teams representing their country and the individual " Race Of Champions" which traditionally brings the racing to a cose. Last years winners of the "Nations Cup" were Germany and both Schumacher (below) and Vettel are again entered. The 2008 Individual winner at Wembley was Sebastian Loeb.

Three time WTCC champion Andy Priaulx is looking forward to the event and said "having enjoyed competing in The Race of Champions at Wembley and Stade de France, as well as the ROC Legends event in Porto, I’m excited to see the track in Beijing, which I’m told is going to be better than ever before". “I’ve reached the semi-finals for the past two years, so my goal has to be to win the event this year, as well as achieving a good result for Team Autosport Great Britain in The ROC Nations Cup.

He added “The competition will be tough, but whatever happens it will be tons of fun, which is the spirit of ROC, and it will be spectacular to compete in somewhere as incredible as the Bird’s Nest Stadium.” (below)

Drivers currently entered for the event as of today are as follows:

Michael Schumacher
Sebastian Vettel
Jenson Button
Andy Priaulx
David Coulthard
Yvan Muller
Miko Hirvonen
Mick Doohan
Tom Kristensen
Mattias Ekstrom
Giniel de Villiers
Tanner Foust
Travis Pastrana
Jamie Whincup
Emanuele Pirro
Clivio Piccione

More entrants are to be announced soon.


Photo: Race of Champions
Editorial: Neil Tozer