Race of Champions 101: Full lineup set for 26th running this weekend
What offseason?
Sure, many of the world’s greatest racecar drivers may be on their way to Barbados – but they’re not heading there to drink alcohol and sit on a beach (well, at least they’re not supposed to be).
No, they’re there to win the 26th running of the Race of Champions, which will take place this weekend from Dec. 13-14 at Bushy Park Circuit in Barbados.
The annual competition pits two drivers against each other in identical cars on the same circuit in order to crown an individual champion, and the winner of the nations cup.
Romain Grosjean comes back to defend his 2012 crown (after the event was cancelled due to political turmoil in Bangkok in 2013) while Germany’s streak of six-consecutive titles will come to an end, as the team is not represented at this year’s event.
So, here’s how it will work:
Saturday: ROC Nations Cup
Saturday’s Nations Cup will begin with a group stage, with four teams being represented in each group. The teams will compete in a round-robin-like format for the group stages, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knock-out style semi-final and – if they’re lucky – final stages:
Group A:
Group B:
Saturday: ROC Caribbean
Following the ROC Nations Cup, host nation Team Barbados will take on teams from Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago. Two drivers from the event will get to advance to Sunday’s Race of Champions: The driver who sets the fastest time for Team Barbados, and the driver who sets the fastest time from the other three teams.
Sunday: Race of Champions
Like Saturday’s Nations Cup, the Race of Champions will begin with a round-robin-like group stage competition, in which the top two in each group will be able to advance to the knockout stages, and ultimately battle for the individual title as the winner of the 2014 Race of Champions.
Group A:
Group B:
Group C:
Group D:
