The Race of Champions will return this weekend for the second consecutive year on the snow and ice of Sweden’s Pite Havsbad.
After being held at some of the world’s most iconic venues, 2022 marked the first year that the competition took place on snow and ice and this weekend ROC returns for an encore in the Arctic air of north-eastern Sweden.
The competitors will take part in two events: On Saturday, January 28 the drivers pair up in teams to pursue the title of world’s fastest nation. However, it isn’t long until the teamwork comes to an end as the drivers fight it out to be crowned the Champion of Champions in the individual ROC the following day, Sunday January 29th.
Battling head-to-head in identical machinery, all of the action takes place on a purpose-built track on the coast of the frozen Baltic Sea. This year’s machinery sees the return of the off-road Polaris RZR PRO XP and the Rallycross SuperCar Lite – now powered using 100% fossil-free biofuel. The electric Zeroid X1 rallycross car and Cupra UrbanRebel Concept complete the roster.
The draw for the individual ROC splits the field into two halves: one being international racing drivers and the other being those with more off-road racing experience. The winners of each half of the draw will meet in the Grand Final.
Rally legend Sebastian Loeb is swapping the heat of the Dakar Rally for the icy conditions of Pite Havsbad as he prepares to defend his Champion of Champions title in 2023. The Frenchman went up against Sebastian Vettel in the ROC Grand Final in 2022 and is this year teaming up with eTouring car (ETCR) Champion Adrien Tambay for the Nations Cup. On Sunday, Loeb will begin his individual defence, first facing Thierry Neuville.
Sticking with rally, World Rally and World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg will once again team up with his son Oliver Solberg for Team Norway. The pair were the winners of the Nations Cup in 2022 and on Saturday will compete against Team France in the first round. On Sunday, the Norwegian Father and Son go head-to-head after they were drawn to race against each other in the first round: “We’re always a competitive family, but this might be something a bit extra,” Solberg Jr. joked on Twitter.
But on Sunday in the individual draw we race against each other – me v my dad – in the first round! 😅 We’re always a competitive family, but this might be something a bit extra 🙈 #FathervSon #ROCSweden (2/2) pic.twitter.com/xGdVA9EKrK
— Oliver Solberg (@OliverSolberg01) January 24, 2023
Fresh out of Formula 1 retirement, Vettel will be making his 11th appearance at ROC. The four-time F1 world champion has proven to be a strong contender in the history of ROC, winning the Nations Cup for Team Germany a record seven times. Vettel will once again be partnering with F1 driver Mick Schumacher for Saturday’s Nations Cup.
13-time Formula 1 race winner, David Coulthard and newly signed Andretti Autosport Indy NXT driver, Jamie Chadwick complete Team GB. The pair will go head-to-head with Team Germany in round 1 of the Nations Cup.
10-time Formula 1 race winner, Valtteri Bottas, will be making his ROC debut on the ice of the Baltic Sea, as he teams up with two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen for team Finland. The pair will be facing the winners of the eROC final in the first round of the nations cup.
Indycar ace Felix Rosenqvist and 2022 Formula 2 Champion Felipe Drugovich will also make their ROC debuts this weekend. Rosenqvist will compete infront of his home crowd as he pairs up with Danish Le Mans legend, Tom Kristensen, for Team Nordic. Drugovich will swap the familiarity of racing on asphalt, for snow, as he teams up with Neuville to complete Team All Stars.
Team All Stars will face the stars and stripes of Team USA in the quarter-finals of the Nations Cup. McLaren Extreme E driver, Tanner Foust and NRX Nitro Rallycross Champion, Travis Pastrana both complete Team USA.
Track conditions in the snow and ice can change quickly, therefore, ROC’s traditional group stage will not take place because it often results in ties that require a countback of fastest laps. Instead events at the 2023 ROC World Final will use a straight knockout system.
Keyword: 2023 Race of Champions preview: Who will be competing?