Travis Pastrana is joining the growing list of top-tier drivers participating in ROC's latest innovation in motorsports competition. The first ROC World Final on Snow & Ice will provide some of the fastest racing in ROC's history, with the Arctic cold and ever-changing surfaces promising to provide unique challenges to a line-up of some of the world's best drivers. To be held at the beginning of 2022 in Pite Havsbad, Sweden, the event will mark Pastrana's ninth visit to ROC—an annual showdown that for more than thirty years has drawn many of the most successful racers from every corner of global motorsports to contest the individual championship and the team competition, ROC Nations' Cup. In the event at Stade de France in Paris in 2006, Pastrana made it to the semi-finals in individual competition as he famously climbed through the qualifiers of that event with a broken leg. The best result in the ROC Nation's Cup event with Team USA is second. For ROC Sweden the 11-time X Games Champion is aiming to win it all. “Race Of Champions is such a prestigious and unique event. It’s an honor to be able to compete against so many icons and legends from all disciplines of racing. I don’t know who my teammate on Team USA will be yet. It would be nice to team up for example with Nascar Champion Jimmie Johnson again and try to do even better than we did at Wembley Stadium in England! But whoever my teammate is we will aim to win it all,” said Pastrana, just after winning the 100 Acre Wood Rally, ahead of Ken Block, and taking the lead in the 2021 American Rally Association series. Travis’ list of career firsts is extensive and includes winning the first-ever X Games in California and landing the world’s first double backflip on a motorbike. He has accumulated 17 X Games medals, including 11 gold medals and is 4-times America Rally Champion. Beyond his prowess as an athlete, Pastrana is the co-creator and superstar of the Nitro Circus action sports franchise, Nitro World Games and the upcoming Nitro Rallycross Series. He’s broken more than 60 bones, survived 25 concussions and, in the process, become the world’s most celebrated extreme sports Champions. “I’m not Crazy, just very competitive”, Travis says.
For the inaugural ROC World Final on Snow & Ice, Pastrana will race head-to-head against a growing list of legends, champions and rising stars already announced, including 9-time Le Mans winner, Tom Kristensen, and reigning FIA World Rally and Rallycross stars Johan Kristoffersson, Petter Solberg and Oliver Solberg. In addition, the event's promoters expect some of the biggest stars from the Nordic countries to be on hand for the ROC Nations Cup as well as the individual championship. Teams already confirmed include Petter Solberg and his son Oliver Solberg representing Team Norway, and Denmark’s Tom Kristensen and Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson, joining forces as Team Nordic as they look to defend the ROC Nations Cup title captured at ROC Mexico 2019.
ROC Nations Cup was introduced in 1999 and quickly became a fixture in every ROC WORLD FINAL since. Held on the first day of competition, this novel team event has created some fierce rivalries and enduring dynasties, including Germany's dominance from 2007 through 2012 delivered by multiple Formula 1 World Champions and Nations' Cup team mates, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. "I'm proud that we have created an event that has become so important to drivers," said ROC co-founder and President, Fredrik Johnsson. "Some great friendships and rivalries have been established here over the years."
The final driver line-up for ROC Snow & Ice will be announced in the lead up to the event, but Race Of Champions is renowned for attracting superstars from all of the premier leagues in global motorsports including Formula 1, Le Mans, Nascar, IndyCar, World Rally and Rallycross. Over its three decades, the event has been a battleground for European legends like Michael Schumacher, Tom Kristensen, Sebastian Vettel, Sébastien Loeb, Petter Solberg, Mattias Ekström, Colin McRae, David Coulthard, Marcus Grönholm, and Jenson Button; along with other international stars like Nascar champions Jimmie Johnson, Kurt and Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon; Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden of IndyCar; Formula E Champion Lucas Di Grassi; Legendary Extreme sports star Travis Pastrana; and Indy 500 champs Juan-Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves.
ROC Sweden: Carbon neutral event.
Another innovation to be introduced at the 2022 event, the equipment will all be powered by either electric or 100% fossil-free biofuel engines. "These are the first steps toward making Sweden our first carbon-neutral event," said Johnsson. "It is ambitious, but it is essential for motorsports to move to more sustainable vehicles and operations." Cars announced to date include the FIA RX2e—an electric rallycross car generating 250kW (335bhp) of power and up to 510 Nm torque. The RX2e accelerates from 0-100km/h in less than 3.3 seconds. The SuperCar Lites will return to ROC, but this time powered by biofuel. "We have more exciting announcements to come," continued Johnsson. "The fast, frozen track will be a great test for these newer technologies." Event organizers expect to host live attendance, but have a contingency plan to comply with any COVID restrictions that persist. Organizers and local officials will be providing updates through 2021 (visit raceofchampions.com) with regard to date, ticket sales and any restrictions affecting travel and local services due to COVID, as well as updates regarding any permitted live attendance and ticket sales.
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