Schumacher and Vettel to defend ROC title
“The Race of Champions is always big fun to compete in," says Schumacher. “It's the perfect combination of fighting on track and at the same time having fun together, and this comes across to the audience. The spectators feel this special atmosphere and ultimately enjoy themselves as much as we do. “I'm really looking forward to joining in again this year, and am curious to see how the Chinese spectators will react to our crazy show on the track in the famous and beautiful Olympic Stadium. I'm sure they will love an event that has been entertaining European motorsport crowds for over 20 years.
"What's also important to me is that ROC helps raise money and awareness for ICM, the Institute for advanced research on Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders, which is under construction in Paris and that I have been a supporter of for several years." The duo will enter the ROC Nations Cup as favorites, having won the event for the past two years at Wembley Stadium. In The Race of Champions, Schumacher has twice reached the finals (in 2004 and 2007), while Vettel is hopeful of improving on his form from last year.
"I'm really looking forward to this year's Race of Champions in Beijing," said Vettel, who won this year’s Chinese GP in Shanghai. “The event is always a lot of fun and to compete in the Bird's Nest is going to be amazing. I think everyone still has the image of this fantastic stadium in their memories from the Olympic Games last year." “I look forward to trying to take our third title for Germany in The ROC Nations Cup together with Michael and personally I'm also aiming to win the individual Race of Champions after the disappointment last year when I was knocked out in the quarter-finals." Schumacher continues: Sebastian and I are geared up to defend our title again. And of course I will push also in the driver's category and will try to win there too."
The two German drivers will join Team Monaco’s Clivio Piccione and Emmanuele Pirro who won their places in the event by winning The Race of Champions’ first regional final, ROC South Europe in Portugal, on June 6-7.