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ROC at Wembley

Nations Cup semi-finals


Team England v. Team Germany in the Semi Final.

Media information: 16 December 2007

It was England versus Germany at Wembley once again this afternoon for The ROC Nations Cup’s semi-finals with Team Autosport England and Team Germany battling it out whilst Team Finland and Team Norway faced each other.

Team Germany and Team Finland triumphed and go on to the final.

Driver reactions from today’s The ROC Nations Cup semi-finals:

Five-time Norwegian Rally Champion, Henning Solberg (Team Norway)
“At the start I couldn’t get off. I almost hit a wall at the beginning of the lap! Driving against all these big names is very nice though.”

McLaren F1’s Heikki Kovalainen (Team Finland)
“It’s still early but it feels ok. I made no mistakes compared to this morning when I made a few. It’s feeling a bit more normal now but it was really close!”

2003 World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg (Team Norway)
“I couldn’t get it into first gear going around the corners but there’s always a bit of luck involved in these competitions. It’s good to get to the semi-finals but I think we could have done better. The ROC is going to be a big attack!”

Formula One star Jenson Button (Team Autosport England)
“My second lap I ran a bit wide into the double right-hander. It’s a bit of a pity.”

Seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher (Team Germany)
“I think this was one of the bigger challenges. The car is really not my car so it’s good to win!”

Triple and reigning World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx (Team Autosport England)
“I didn’t think about the competitor at all. You’ve just got to ignore that and go for it. I was doing my best but had a bad run in the Ford during practice so I wasn’t so confident. It’s just one of those things. It’s not good to get knocked out by Germany at Wembley… who invited them anyway!”

Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel (Team Germany)
“I had a big mistake in the first lap and nearly put it into the wall so this result if fantastic!”

Editors’ Notes

Copyright-free hi-res photos are available to download at www.raceofchampions.com or by calling Andy Bothwell or Paul Rayner at Performance PR on +44 (0)208 5413434. Alternatively you can E-mail andyb@performancepr.com or paul@performancepr.com.

The Race of Champions was started in 1988 by Fredrik Johnsson and Michèle Mouton, the world’s most successful female rally driver.

The Race Of Champions event on December 14 will be made up of two separate competitions – The ROC Nations Cup and The Race of Champions.

Each competition pits drivers against each other in a head-to-head knockout format, with equal equipment ensuring races are won and lost on talent alone.

The ROC Nations Cup features drivers paired into teams based on their nationality. The teams then fight head-to-head against each other in knockout competition. Last year Team Germany (Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel) beat Team Finland (Marcus Grönholm and Heikki Kovalainen) in the final.

The Race Of Champions is a straightforward knockout competition, where 16 drivers go head-to-head until the champion is decided. In last year’s Final, Mattias Ekström beat Michael Schumacher in the third race of a best-of-three battle.

Already confirmed for The Race of Champions 2008 are:

  • Seven-times F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher (Team Germany)
  • Triple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx (Team Autosport Great Britain)
  • Honda Racing F1 Team race winner Jenson Button (Team Autosport Great Britain)
  • Toro Rosso F1 racer Sebastian Vettel (Team Germany)

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