World Cup of Motorsports UPDATE 2 Team USA wins: U.S. Joins Eight Countries for World Cup of Motorsports the 2002 Michelin Race of Champions Nations Cup. Team USA was among the first to announce involvement in this year’s Michelin Race of Champions Nations Cup, the annual contest that puts the world’s fastest rally, motorcycle and circuit racers against one another in fierce head-to-head competition. Representing the U.S. is four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon, Winston Cup rookie sensation Jimmie Johnson and World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards. This year’s ROC Nations Cup promises to be the most hotly contested in the event’s four year history, as the Americans take on the fastest drivers and riders from France, UK, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Brazil and Italy. Many recently-crowned champions are among the international cast, including this year’s World Rally champ Marcus Gronholm (Finland), CART’s Cristiano da Matta (Brazil), Formula 3000’s Sebastien Bourdais (France), 250cc MotoGP Champion Marco Melandri (It), European Rally victor Renato Travaglia (Itay), European Touring Cars champion Fabrizio Giovanardi (Italy), World Enduro’s Kari Tiainen (Finland), 125cc Motocross champ Mickael Maschio (France) and Speedway GP winner Tony Rickardsson (Sweden). Rounding out the rosters will be Formula One stars Fernando Alonso (Spain) and Nick Heidfeld (Germany), CART driver and former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack (Sweden) as well as MotoGP riders Carlos Checa (Spain) and Alex Barros (Brazil). Supported by Michelin since the inaugural event in Paris in 1988, The Race of Champions was conceived, and remained for the first eleven years, a rally-only event that invited drivers to race head-to-head, side-by-side in exactly the same cars and on a figure-eight parallel-track. The premise was simple: using identical equipment and circuit, drivers could prove themselves based on their talent alone. In 1999, event promoters, seeing the potential for a World Cup of racing, introduced The ROC Nations Cup as a means of expanding that unique concept to other disciplines of motorsport and to allow racers to compete for their flags. In this event, three-man national teams, each comprising the country’s best rally (or off-road), motorcycle and circuit racers’ face off against one another in a series of 1-lap heats, quarter-finals and semi-finals leading up to the climactic final (this year, Saturday November 30th). The ROC Nations Cup is now a highlight of The Michelin Race of Champions weekend (November 29th – December 1st), which is hosted by the Circuito Ciudad Deportiva rally circuit in Gran Canaria and is largely responsible for the recent explosive growth in media coverage of this weekend of racing: the event is now televised in more than 187 countries. The nine countries in this year’s ROC Nations Cup will be divided into three groups: each country will compete against all others in its group, with rally, circuit and motorcycle racers competing against their counterparts.(Golin Harris PR), no word on if any of the race will be televised.(11-28-2002) UPDATE: Sweden’s Kenny Brack collected the honours in today’s ROC America challenge beating NASCAR ace, Jeff Gordon, in an exhilarating two-lap Final. The inaugural ROC America pitted US based open-wheeled stars, Kenny Brack and Cristiano da Matta against tin-top racers, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Racing in the unfamiliar hardware of the Michelin Race of Champions unique ROC Cars, the CART star powered past Gordon in a time of 1:56.45 – the fastest lap of the competition. The four-time NASCAR Champion had initially blitzed his way into the lead only to crash heavily into the barrier in the closing stages. He said: “The first lap was my best of the day, but I really messed up at the end. Even so, it was great fun.” On his way to the Final, Brack notched up convincing victories over 2002 CART Champion, da Matta and Gordon. The eagerly awaited contest between Gordon and NASCAR rookie sensation, Jimmie Johnson, saw the former take the flag a mere sixteen hundredths of a second ahead of his protégé. Gordon quipped afterwards: “I’m gonna be proud of that moment for a very long time.”(ROC Site) see more and pictures at the Jeff Gordon site.(11-29-2002) UPDATE 2: USA clinched the fourth Michelin Race of Champions Nations’ Cup in Gran Canaria today. Colin Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson triumphed in dramatic fashion over the Italian bike, racing and rally trio of Marco Melandri, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Renato Travaglia by three heats to two. An ecstatic Jimmie Johnson said afterwards: “Admittedly, this is a big surprise but it feels great. We came here wanting to win, and to have some fun, and we had both. It’s a truly awesome feeling.” Four time NASCAR Champion, Jeff Gordon paid tribute to the dominance of Colin Edwards in the Honda Blackbird powered ROC Cars – the 2002 Superbike World Champion won every race: “He was the key player for us. Having been here a couple of years ago, he had the experience that helped make a difference. He was just so smooth.” Edwards may have controlled both his heats, and Gordon may have scored a memorable victory over 2002 European Touring Car Champion, Giovanardi, but Johnson’s six tenths of a second loss to Travaglia was the most exhilarating contest. On their way to the Final, the USA eliminated previous winners France (2000) in the Semis and Spain (2001) in the Opening Group Stages. The story of the day: Group Stages: After rolling his Peugeot 206 WRC in practice on Friday, Marcus Gronholm led Finland to victory in Group A over fellow Scandinavian’s Sweden and the UK. Italy emerged triumphant from Group B wining 5 Heats to 3 over second placed France, with F1 driver, Nick Heidfeld scoring the only success for Germany. Group B was also the scene of the closest race in Nations’ Cup history, where Frenchman Sebastian Loeb beat former double World Rally Champion, Walter Rohrl by just six ten thousandths of a second. Group C witnessed some of the most entertaining clashes with USA’s Gordon spectacularly crossing lanes in his unsuccessful pursuit of Brazil’s, Cristiano da Matta. Although Spain completed a white wash over Brazil to finish joint top with 4 Heat wins, the American triumvirate recorded the fastest collective time to book their place in the Semis. Much to the disappointment of the home crowd, 2001 Nations Cup winners, Spain, failed to clinch the last Semi-Final berth, which is allotted to the fastest runner-up. Group B’s France registered a time of 5mins 47.11secs – over three seconds quicker than Spain.(ROC Site) and see more and some images at the Jeff Gordon site.(11-30-2002) (11-29-2002)
