Red Flag: Race of Champions moves to China
by Noah Joseph on Apr 17th 2009 at 8:30AM 
2008 Race of Champions - Click above for a hi-res gallery
The Race of Champions, for those unfamiliar, is a year-end event in which the top drivers from various motorsport disciplines – including F1, rally, touring cars, Le Mans...even motorbikes, drifting or the occasional NASCAR pretty-boy – compete against each other in a series of heats on varied machinery around a dedicated track built inside a major sports arena. The event crowns two winners: the solo Champion of Champions, and the Nations Cup in which drivers pair up to represent their home countries. After a decade in the Canary Islands, the race was held for three consecutive seasons at the Stade de France before moving to Wembley Stadium for the past two years, but a new arrangement will see this year's race held in Beijing at the Bird's Nest stadium built for last year's Olympic games. Previous champions have been predominantly rally drivers (including three titles for Sebastien Loeb and two for Mattias Ekstrom), while Germany's contingent of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have taken the national honors. Who will be crowned champion this year? Tune in on November 3-4, only two days after the Formula One season wraps up in Abu Dhabi (assuming they can get the Yas Island circuit ready in time) to find out.
[Source: F1-Live]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Swede 9:15AM (4/17/2009)
How would it be Race of Champions without being elitist? Race of Average?
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Kattleox 9:20AM (4/17/2009)
I'm sure china will win all the events. They have excellent drivers; probably the best in motorsport EVER.
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Noidor 9:27AM (4/17/2009)
They have an equivalent of NASCAR mafia over there...no doubt! LMAO!!!
BTW I know why everyone is running from the UK as far as organizing any kind of a motoring show...all the health and safety checks, all the regulations, fees...it's prohibitavely expensive.
ale 9:33AM (4/17/2009)
Only until recently did China even show up well in A1GP, though much better than our sad US team... but Id still say Chinese drivers have some development to go before they can match Vettel, Loeb, Ekstrom, or [insert ROC driver].
From the A1GP they have a couple of good ones, but it remains to be seen if they'll be invited to compete...
Rob 9:25AM (4/17/2009)
Which once again proves how superior rally racing is to every other form of motorsport; the drivers dominate in these events.
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bn 10:06AM (4/17/2009)
I think they "dominate" these events because the cars they race with are more similar to the cars they actually race in their events. This is especially true with the ROC buggy that slides around like a nutcase on the track. Rally racers are more comfortable with racing in slippery conditions :P.
Case in point: Coulthard won the one race where they raced with the KTM X-Bow, and loss the two in the ROC buggy.
Different types of cars. Different results. And Schumie himself gets close almost every year (except last).
iAN 12:35PM (4/17/2009)
Good luck getting serious Nascar talent to enter this as it's midweek in the middle of the Championship chase period.
Basically the promoters have sold out this event rather than consider getting all the best drivers and a good timeslot on TV.
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Rui Peixeiro 1:37PM (4/17/2009)
Are this true???
The ROC 2009 are announced to Portugal...
http://www.rocportugal.com/
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Nima 4:56PM (4/17/2009)
Ekström is not a rally driver, but rather drives in the DTM.
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