A select group of international stars to take on the snow and ice in Pite Havsbad, Sweden, January 29-30, 2022
Raine Wermelin, Director, Porsche Sweden and Fredrik Johnsson, President, Race Of Champions.
Linked to the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia, the Challenge will feature the lightweight 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Drivers Marc Lieb, Lukas Sundahl and Anton Marklund confirmed entries in the new Porsche ROC "Snow + Ice" Challenge.
Porsche is an Official Car Partner of the 2022 ROC "Snow + Ice" WORLD FINAL, featuring superstars like Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen; reigning FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson; three-time winner "ROC Champion", Mattias Ekström; current American Rally Association front-runner, Travis Pastrana; FIA World Rally and Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg; and rising WRC star, Oliver Solberg.
Just 60 miles from the Arctic Circle, Pite Havsbad, Sweden, is host to the Challenge and the 2022 ROC "Snow + Ice" WORLD FINAL February 5-6, 2022.
The Porsche Race of Champions "Snow + Ice" Challenge will take place on January 29-30, 2022, one week before the annual 2022 ROC "Snow + Ice" WORLD FINAL. Both events will feature an innovative course built on the frozen Baltic Sea and the performance of the new 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. "By adding this Invitational one week before the ROC World Final, we are deepening our collaboration with Porsche, said ROC President, Fredrik Johnsson.
As an Official Car Partner of the 2022 ROC "Snow + Ice" WORLD FINAL, Porsche will host the Challenge, selecting four drivers from the highly-competitive Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia to compete against four premier drivers from a range of global racing series. Among the drivers already confirmed for the Challenge is Porsche factory driver and former winner of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Marc Lieb. "Race Of Champions is legendary and a competition concept developed in close collaboration with Porsche is guaranteed to be spectacular," said Marc Lieb. "I look forward to the challenge and an exotic race on the ice in northern Sweden." Lieb's credentials also include victory at the 24-hour at Le Mans, four wins at the 24-hour at the Nürburgring, and topping the 24-hour at Spa Francorchamps, the 12-hour at Sebring, and the 12-hour at Bathurst.
Porsche also confirmed today that Swedish driver, Lukas Sundahl, will be on the starting line at the Challenge in Pite Havsbad. Sundahl is a specialist in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport and has been dominating the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia for the past three years. Two-time European champion in Rallycross, Anton Marklund, will also join this elite field, with additional driver names to be announced.
The ROC racing format is unique, winner-takes-all contest that gives drivers from various disciplines of racing the opportunity to test their talents against competitors they would never typically encounter. ROC has been creating exhilarating racing concepts for more than three decades, and the snow and ice in Sweden will be provide the next innovation and the fastest racing since ROC's earliest days at Nürburgring. "The new Clubsport is ideal for this course," Johnsson continued. "That car will use all of its 425 horsepower on this wide open track." The 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport is a lightweight (1320 kg) factory-built mid-engine racing car (1320 kg) with stock performance topping 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds.
"Porsche is about unique car experiences and world-class motorsport," said Raine Wermelin, Director, Porsche Sweden. "The collaboration with Race Of Champions offers a perfect platform for us to reach new target groups who love driving and an active lifestyle." Porsche will also provide a fleet of Taycan PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid electric vehicles) for all transportation services at both the Porsche ROC "Snow + Ice" Challenge and the ROC WORLD FINAL the following week. The vehicles will also be featured in the ROC Celebrity Race at the WORLD FINAL, February 6, 2022. The ROC organization will announce Celebrity Race entrants as information becomes available.
Event organizers do not expect to host live attendance at the Porsche ROC "Snow + Ice" Challenge, although a limited number of tickets have been released for the 2022 ROC WORLD FINAL and are available at Tickster.
Photo credits: Armin Hadzic, A1 Work