Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race Results

2015 Race of Champions to be held in London

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The 2015 Race of Champions (ROC) will take place in London, with the former Olympic Stadium used for the event.

The ROC sees drivers compete against each other in races on short circuits within a stadium, with a knockout format deciding both a Nations Cup winner - for a pair of drivers representing a country - as well as individual victors. London has previously held the event at Wembley Stadium in 2007 and 2008, while the latest running took place at Bushy Park in Barbados last December.

2014 Champion of Champions David Coulthard says it a big step for the race to be held at the former Olympic venue, though he is cautious about his hopes of defending his title having beaten the likes of Romain Grosjean, Pascal Wehrlein and Jolyon Palmer last year.

"It’s fantastic that the Race Of Champions is coming to London," Coulthard said. "Each of the events has been special in its own way but with so much racing heritage in the UK and as a Brit myself, to host it here in an iconic venue like the former Olympic Stadium is a big deal. I’m sure it will be the best one so far.

“There seem to be some people who aren’t enjoying this Formula 1 season as much as previous years. If they want to rediscover the reason why they enjoy motor sport, they should come along to the Race Of Champions. The stadium environment is what makes it special. You look down on the cars from the grandstands so it gives you a view you wouldn’t get in many venues. When it comes to getting so close to the action, the nearest thing would be Monaco in F1.

“I’m proud yet slightly embarrassed to have won it last year. There are younger and more talented drivers who take part but that’s the nature of the knockout system. You get a chance to compare your driving with a wide range of different drivers in a lot of different vehicles. Somebody has to win so it may as well be me…”

This year's ROC will take place on November 20-21, a week before the final round of the F1 season in Abu Dhabi.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.