Race of Champions 2014

[stonemonkey]

From Barbados 13-14 dec

With:
Jolyon Palmer
Suzie Wolff
DC
Grosean

http://www.raceofchampions.com/this-is-roc.aspx

[zurich_allan]

Been looking forward to it since the 2013 one was cancelled! Good lineup as usual, and especially looking forward to seeing DC and Suzie teaming together in the nations cup!

It's a great few weeks for Motorsport actually from my personal perspective since the Andros Trophy season starts this weekend too!

[racechick]

Loved the one I went to in the Stadt de France. I had a brilliant weekend in Paris. But it was unbelievably rigged! A fantastic spectacle though, wouldn't have missed it!

[Jabberwocky]

Calling it race of champions is a bit misleading

[racechick]

Indeed it is. It's Micky Mouse fun time.

[1Lemon]

Loved the one I went to in the Stadt de France. I had a brilliant weekend in Paris. But it was unbelievably rigged! A fantastic spectacle though, wouldn't have missed it!

How is it rigged?

[What's Burning?]

Every time I see this, what I really wish for and miss is the original IROC series in 1974, it's how I became a race fan and it's where I became a Porsche fan.

[racechick]

Loved the one I went to in the Stadt de France. I had a brilliant weekend in Paris. But it was unbelievably rigged! A fantastic spectacle though, wouldn't have missed it!

How is it rigged?

The one I watched was billed as a big showdown between Schumacher and Loeb. Well in a heat Massa beat Schumacher so they disqualified Massa for touching the sides of the track ( EVERYONE was touching the side if the track, the track is set up in a Rugby stadium, it's tiny, so they touch the sides quite a bit) . So Schumacher went through, then he was beaten by Kovalinen in the final , so he didn't get through to the showdown anyway. So what do they do they put on another race with Loeb and Schumacher only in it. Schumacher won this and was in all the papers next day as winning ROC, even though Loeb won the real one. Also one of the cars kept braking down, one of the Ferraris( you have to race in different sorts of cars)so if you got that one it was bad news.

But it was good fun , just not something to be taken too seriously.

[zurich_allan]

Those trucks!! I'm watching the races in them through my fingers - terrifying!!

[Jabberwocky]

The suspension movement on the Baja cars amaze me every year.

[zurich_allan]

So in the nations cup, Coulthard pretty much single handedly got GB to the final against the Nordic team (Susie Wolff was incredibly disappointing), then eventually made a single mistake that cost them the win. Well done to the Nordic side for their win. DC could be one to watch for the individual crown tomorrow!!

[Jabberwocky]

To be fair to Susie Wolff, she has never achieved anything on track outside of an all female series
https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/susie-stoddart/

So to put her up against a lot of top flight drivers past and present is always going to make her look bad.

[zurich_allan]

To be fair to Susie Wolff, she has never achieved anything on track outside of an all female series
https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/susie-stoddart/

So to put her up against a lot of top flight drivers past and present is always going to make her look bad.

Oh I know, I saw every DTM race she drove in, I just somehow hoped that the recent couple of years experience with Williams might have developed her a bit. Quite sad that it's proven not to be the case.

[Jabberwocky]

It makes Williams look desperate to have her on the driver payroll

[zurich_allan]

It makes Williams look desperate to have her on the driver payroll

To be fair, perhaps she gives good technical feedback which could make her a competent development driver (such as Luca Badoer / evidence in the way the Williams has performed this past season?), but she's certainly not a top level racer.