Andy Priaulx clinched his third consecutive World Touring Car Championship
yesterday whilst American star Jimmie Johnson claimed a second NASCAR Nextel Cup, further adding to the multitude of motor racing titles already held by the elite driver line-up for The Race of Champions (ROC) in December.
Having just secured the 2007 WTCC title over fellow ROC driver Yvan Muller this weekend, Priaulx now counts six championships including three FIA World accolades. This makes him the 2007 Race of Champions’ second most successful FIA World Champion after Michael Schumacher, who holds nine single-seater titles in addition to his famous seven Formula 1 World Championships.
Representing Finland in this year’s ROC, which takes place at Wembley Stadium on 16 December, Marcus Grönholm sits high up the 2007 championship title ladder with seven titles in rallying, including two World Rally Championships (2000, 2002) in addition to his five Finnish Rally titles.
The Finn could increase his tally to include a third World Rally Championship, should he win against Sébastien Loeb in the WRC season finale in two weeks time. The Race of Champions in 2006Formula 1-bound Sébastien Bourdais clinched his fourth consecutive Champ Car championship last month and now counts six champion accolades in single-seaters.
Right on the heels of Bourdais is the 2007 DTM champion, Mattias Ekström, who clinched his fourth championship title last month in Germany.
“The Race of Champions is one of the best places to go if you’re looking for drivers with a bit of experience and success!” said the Audi driver, who partners seven-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen for the ROC Nations’ Cup Team Scandinavia. “There are plenty of good guys coming so it’s always a prestigious event. Some people say it’s for fun, and I have to say it is fun! But once we put our helmets on it’s maximum attack!”
Team America also features its share of honours with reigning Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana successfully defending his 2006 title this year, whilst Jimmie Johnson is now NASCAR’s champion for the second year running.
“The Race of Champions has always attracted an array of first-class drivers from all disciplines within motorsport and it is great to see that this year is no different,” said Fredrik Johnsson, President of ROC organisers IMP. “We would like to offer our congratulations to our recently crowned 2007 champions and look forward to seeing them in action at Wembley Stadium this December.” DRIVER CHAMPION TITLES M. Schumacher FIA Formula 1 World Championship
(‘94, ‘95, ‘00, ‘01, ‘02, ‘03, ‘04)
German Formula 3 (‘90)
German Formula König (‘88)A. Priaulx FIA World Touring Car Championship (‘05, ‘06, ‘07)
European Touring Car Championship (‘04)
British Renault Sport Spider (‘99)
British F1 Hillclimbing (‘95)J. Johnson NASCAR Nextel Cup (‘06, ‘07)S. Bourdais Champ Car World Series ( ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07)
International Formula 3000 (‘02)
French Formula 3 (‘99)M. Ekström DTM - German Touring Car Championship (‘04, ‘07)
Swedish Touring Car Championship (‘99)
Renault 5 Junior Cup (‘96)T. Pastrana Rally America Championship (‘06, ‘07)
World Freestyle (‘98)M. Grönholm FIA World Rally Championship (‘00, ‘02)
Finnish Rally Championship
(‘91-Class N, ‘94, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98)Y. Muller British Touring Car Championship (‘03)
French Supertourisme (‘95)
British Formula 2 (‘92)
The ROC was created in 1988 by Fredrik Johnsson and the world’s best woman rally driver Michèle Mouton.
The premise is simple: using identical equipment and track, drivers can prove themselves based on talent alone. The drivers compete in a series of knockout heats in their own division to determine their class champion. Then, in a shoot-out to determine who is the master of motorsport, the winners go head-to-head in a super final. The victor is awarded the title “The Champion of Champions”.
Drivers confirmed for 2007 include:
Seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher Formula One star Jenson Button Triple World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel Four-time Champ Car Champion & Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais Seven-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen Two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström Two-time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson Eight-time X-Games winner & double Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana Double World Rally Champion, Marcus Grönholm Renault F1’s Heikki Kovalainen 1995 British Rally Champion Alister McRae World Touring Car Championship star Yvan Muller This traditional end-of-season showdown attracts spectators from across Europe. For three years the event, held at the Stade de France in Paris, has attracted well over 50,000 spectators each year.
Action from the Race of Champions 2006 was broadcast in over 200 countries and watched by more than 186 million viewers.
