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ROC at Wembley

Variety show at The Race of Champions

Media information: 3 December 2007

Wembley Stadium has been transformed into a tarmac circuit ready for The Race of Champions in just under two weeks’ time and organisers today announced further plans for the entertainment line-up.

In between The Race of Champions heats, which will see the world’s best drivers compete to be named Champion of Champions, drivers and fans alike will be wowed by a series of daredevil exhibitions, including bike stunts and Formula 1 car demonstrations.

With trick names like the Superman Backflip, Tsunami and Cliff Hanger, the Red Bull Freestyle X Fighters’ Moto Exhibition is bound to be a crowd-pleaser with motocross master Mat Rebeaud headlining.

Also on two-wheels, street bike freestyle rider and Moto-stunt World Champion Chris Pfeiffer will be giving the crowd his trick tips, demonstrating a series of spectacular donuts and wheelies, making full use of the compact ROC track with his versatile machine.

“The bikes are always a really popular element of the show,” said Fredrik Johnsson, President of event organisers IMP. “They’re so agile; the tricks they perform are really amazing, and always have the crowds on their feet.”

This year, for the first time, The Race of Champions has modified the 1km parallel track to include a special donut zone so the dynamic exhibitions from Red Bull & Toro Rosso F1, Audi Le Mans and DTM-winning cars will have centre stage and plenty of room for extra burn-outs and wheel spins.

“We wanted to make sure these stunt drivers could give the fans the best show possible,” said Johnsson, who says the noise of an F1 car in a stadium is awesome. “Having a dedicated area means they’ll be able to be even more adventurous than previous years, and the fans were never disappointed then so this year will be amazing!”

Fifteen-time world record holder Terry Grant, who has been a crowd favourite in Paris for the last three years, will also be making his ROC comeback. His spectacular show is like nothing ROC newcomers will have seen before, with the former banger racer leaping from moving cars and making his modified motors perform to order.

And finally, to mark this 20th edition of The Race of Champions, the fabulous Audi S1 Group B Rally car as driven by all the official world rally champions from 1979-1992 in The Race of Champions 1988, 1989 & 1990 will also be making an appearance.

Sixteen drivers are confirmed for The Race of Champions, many of them multiple champions from disciplines including F1, touring cars, NASCAR, Champ Car, rally and sports car.

They will be competing in identical cars around the specially-designed parallel track watched by an expected 80,000 crowd, all with a perfect view of every second of action.

To book tickets for The Race of Champions, go to www.raceofchampions.com or call +44 161 385 69 25 for less than seven tickets, or +44 207 930 3000 for eight or more.

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)

IMP, Les Caravelles, 25 Boulevard Albert 1er, MC 98000, MONACO
For media enquiries call +44(0)208 5413434 or email andyb@peformancepr.com or paul@performancepr.com
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