Champions and driving greats from the world’s major racing series are sizing up their opposition for this weekend’s Race Of Champions, to be held at Bushy Park Barbados on Dec. 13-14, following Tuesday’s draw for the event.
The annual end-of-season race, which has been running for more than 25 years, brings together some of the world’s best drivers from motorsport’s major disciplines and sets them free to battle head to head in identical machinery on a unique track with two parallel lanes linked by a crossover bridge. This year’s track at Bushy Park will be twice as long as recent years, leading to even more speed.
There are two prestigious titles up for grabs over the weekend, which will feature over 60 individual duels. First, on Saturday, Dec. 13, the drivers pair up in teams based on country/region for the ROC Nations Cup. Then on Sunday, Dec. 14, all friendly cooperation goes out of the window in the Race Of Champions as they slug it out to be crowned individual “Champion of Champions.”
Nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen announced his retirement from the World Endurance Championship last month, but he will now look to finish his year in style. The Dane has reached the last two Race Of Champions Grand Finals, but if he wants to go one step further he must avenge his Bangkok defeat by Formula One’s Romain Grosjean, the reigning ROC Champion of Champions.
The ROC 2014 field includes this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will partner with past NASCAR champion Kurt Busch for Team USA. The pair will have to compete against drivers including Hunter-Reay’s own brother-in-law, Robby Gordon, a seven-time off-road champion who has raced just about everything on four wheels.
The race will also see its first female competitor in the form of Williams’ F1 test driver Susie Wolff.
