home > press releases

ROC at Wembley

KTM and the RX150 join race car line-up for The Race of Champions at Wembley

Exciting KTM open-topped sportscar will offer audience a look at star drivers at work in the cockpit

The Race of Champions has added the awesome KTM X-Bow and the RX Racing RX150 to its eclectic list of competition vehicles for this year’s event at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 14 December.

The stunning X-Bow is the first car to be built by Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, KTM, and is homologated by the FIA to compete in the GT4 European Cup.  The car has already made a significant impact on the motorsport world, with German Christopher Haase winning the Sports Light class of the GT4 championship.

KTM and RX Racing join a mouth-watering existing line-up of performance vehicles in which racing aces from across the motorsport spectrum will compete this year. The current list is as follows:

  • Ford Focus WRC
  • KTM X-Bow
  • Solution F Prototype
  • Abarth 500 Assetto Corse
  • ROC Car
  • RX Racing RX150

An Audi TFSi engine producing 240bhp powers the 790kg X-Bow from 0-100kmh in just 3.9 seconds, while the open cockpit will give The Race of Champions crowd a fascinating view of the star drivers at work as they saw at the wheel around the unique Wembley circuit.

Meanwhile, the RX150 is a 150bhp, six-speed rallycross car that is at home on tarmac and loose surfaces, so will provide even more tail-sliding action on Wembley’s tight, twisty circuit. It has featured in its own one-make race series across the UK this year.

 

The RX Racing RX150 will provide a thrilling new element to The Race of Champions

President of ROC organiser IMP, Fredrik Johnsson, said: “Our line-up of cars is superb this year, with each vehicle providing a different challenge for the drivers, and an exciting spectacle for the crowd. 

“The RX150 is an agile and dramatic vehicle that will be perfectly suited to our track, and I’m particularly delighted to welcome KTM to our event, as I think being able to actually see the drivers at work will add a new dimension to The Race of Champions.”

The 2008 line-up of vehicles was announced today at a media preview for The Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium, which featured F1 drivers Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Mark Webber, as well as triple World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx.

Tickets for The Race of Champions are on sale now by calling 0844 412 1743, or online at www.raceofchampions.com. Adult prices start at £18 and child tickets at £9.

Notes to editors:

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
  • Reigning World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx
  • Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard
  • Triple Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais
  • Seven-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen
  • Former DTM Champion Mattias Ekström
  • Reigning NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson
  • Eight-time X-Games Champion Travis Pastrana
  • Double World Rally Champion, Marcus Grönholm
  • Renault F1’s Heikki Kovalainen
  • Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel
  • 1995 British Rally Champion Alister McRae
  • World Touring Car Championship star Yvan Muller
  • 2003 World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg
  • Five-time Norwegian Rally Champion, Henning Solberg

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.