The Finnish star, who won rallying.s premier crown in 2000 and 2002, willcompete in The Race of Champions . an event he won in 2002 . onWednesday 4 November, a day after he and Mikko Hirvonen team up torace for Finland in The ROC Nations Cup. Finland has twice won The ROCNations Cup, the last time being in 2006, when Gronholm was paired withF1 star Heikki Kovalainen.
The Race of Champions is great fun, and I missed competing in it lastyear,. said Gronholm. .Everyone has a laugh, but you always want to win, and because you.re in the same cars you don.t have the excuses if youdon.t. It.s exciting, and I think racing in China will be fantastic.
Gronholm was also full of praise for Hirvonen, who narrowly missed on theWorld Rally title at the weekend after a dramatic battle with three-timeRace of Champions winner Sébastien Loeb.
.Well done to Mikko for his performance this year. He.s very quick and hedoesn.t make many mistakes, which makes him a tough driver to beat. Iknow he won.t take long to get used to the event format in Beijing andwhen he does, Finland will have a very strong team..
The final slot in this year.s line-up has been filled by Frenchman GuerlainChicherit, who won the 2009 FIA Cross Country Cup and will join YvanMuller in France’s ROC Nations Cup team.
The ROC Nations Cup will feature a group stage this year, with 10 teamsbattling in three groups to decide who progresses to the semi-finals. Withthe draw having been made by officials from the Olympic Stadium, BeijingSport Bureau and Chinese Auto Federation, Finland will race in Group A, against the German team of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, the Australian team of Mick Doohan and Jamie Whincup, and the Chineseteam whose drivers will be decided in ROC China on Monday 2 November.
Group B will feature Jenson Button and Andy Priaulx’s Team AutosportGreat Britain, David Coulthard and Giniel de Villiers’ Team All Stars, and the Monagasque team of Emanuele Pirro and Clivio Piccione.
The final group will be made up of Tom Kristensen and Mattias Ekstromfor Team Scandinavia, Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust for Team USA, plus Yvan Muller and Guerlain Chicherit for Team France. Each team willrace all the others in their group and the two nations with the lowestnumber of wins will be eliminated, leaving four teams to progress to thesemi-finals.
Fredrik Johnsson, President of Event Organisers IMP, is pleased to haveput together one of the most diverse Race of Champions fields ever.
.This year.s line-up is one of our most varied ever, as we aim to make TheRace of Champions a real battle of champions from many different typesof competition disciplines. With champions from Formula 1, rallying,
touring cars, sports cars, off-road rallying, MotoGP and drifting, plus anew group stage format which means more action than ever before, it willbe a great show not only for the fans in China, but also for ROC fansaround the world..
The Race of Champions 2009 line-up and groups for The ROC Nations Cup:
Group A (Top 2 teams qualify)
Team Germany Michael Schumacher 7-time F1 World Champion
Sebastian Vettel Youngest ever Grand Prix Winner
Team Finland Marcus Gronholm 2-time World Rally Champion and Winner ofThe Race of Champions 2002
Mikko Hirvonen 2009 World Rally Championship runner-up
Team Australia Mick Doohan 5-time MotoGP World Champion
Jamie Whincup 2008 V8 Supercars Champion
Team China TBD Will be decided in ROC China
TBD Will be decided in ROC China
Group B (Group Winner qualifies)
Team AuotsportGreat Britain
Jenson Button 2009 F1 World Champion
Andy Priaulx 3-time World Touring Car Champion
Team All Stars David Coulthard 13-time F1 Grand Prix Winner
Giniel de Villers 2009 Daker rally Winner
Team Monaco Emanuele Pirro 5-time Le Mans 24 Hours Winner
Olivio Piccione A1GP Race Winner
Group C (Group Winner qualifies)
Team Scandinavia Tom Kristensen 8-time Le Mans 24 Hours Winner
Mattias Ekstrom 2-time DTM Champion and 2-time Winner ofThe Race of Champions
Team France Yvan Muller 2008 World Touring Car Champion
Guerlain Chicherit 2009 FIA Cross Country Cup Winner
Team USA Travis Pastrana 10-time X Games Gold Medallist
Tanner Foust 2-time US Formula Drift Champion
