The 2007
Race of Champions is ready to hit the track at Wembley for the very first time in just under a fortnight, with event organisers promising something for everyone.
The 20th running of the celebrated end-of-season spectacular – which began life in Paris back in 1988 as largely a World Rally Championship benefit, before moving to the Nürburgring, Barcelona, Madrid, Gran Canaria, back to Paris and now London – will unite heroes from a whole variety of motorsport disciplines by pitting them against each other in a series of head-to-head encounters in identical machinery around a highly technical, custom-made, parallel tarmac circuit. Cars will range from a Ford Focus RS WRC '07 machine to an Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24, Solution F Touring Cup, FIAT Grande Punto S2000 Abarth and special
Race of Champions buggy.
Amongst the 16 drivers confirmed for 2007 are German racing icon and seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, fellow grand prix aces Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Sebastian Vettel and 2005
RoC winner Heikki Kovalainen, double World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm, three-time World Touring Car Championship title-winner Andy Priaulx, 'King of Le Mans' Tom Kristensen, twice DTM champ Mattias Ekström, four-time Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais and reigning double NASCAR title-holder Jimmie Johnson, ensuring a star-studded line-up of the very highest calibre.
“The stadium is a little bit shorter than what we have used before,” said co-founder Michèle Mouton, the most successful female rally driver of all time. “We are very pleased with the track, and I hope the drivers will be happy with it too – we always try our best to please them! They are the actors after all. Everyone at Wembley has done a very good job, and so far everything looks good.”
In-between the
Race of Champions heats – to determine who follows in such as Kovalainen, Grönholm and Ekström's wheeltracks as Champion of Champions – fans will be wowed by a series of daredevil exhibitions, including bike stunts and demonstrations. With trick names like the
Superman Backflip,
Tsunami and
Cliff Hanger, the Red Bull Freestyle X-Fighters' Moto Exhibition is sure 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 and making full use of the compact
Race of Champions track with his versatile machine. Back on four wheels, meanwhile, the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 cars will perform burn-outs and wheelspins, whilst Audi's multiple Le Mans winning machine will put in an appearance too, alongside the Ingolstadt marque's legendary Audi S1 Quattro Group B Rally car.
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 performance is like nothing event newcomers will have seen before, with the former banger racer leaping from moving cars and making his modified motors perform to order.
“We are trying to put together a complete show,” underlined Fredrik Johnsson, fellow event co-founder and president of organisers IMP, “not just for the motorsport fans but for everybody. People coming here will be able to see not only the world's best drivers, but also some of the world's most exciting cars.
“The bikes are always a really popular element of the show. They're so agile; the tricks they perform are really amazing, and always have the crowds on their feet.
