Button and Coulthard to race at ROC 2017

©RaceOfChampions

Jenson Button and David Coulthard have both been confirmed on the 2017 Race of Champions line-up for the event in Miami.

Both drivers took part in the 2015 ROC - held in London's Olympic Stadium - and the next event will take place in January with its first appearance in the United States. While Button will not race in F1 next year, the 2009 world champion returns for his sixth ROC outing and he says it's an event all the drivers take seriously once they're in the cars.

“I’m delighted to be coming back to the Race Of Champions once again," Button said. "It is always a great event with a special atmosphere. You get to race against the best drivers from all over the world and we enjoy our time both on and off the track as we meet old friends from all the different motor sport series.

“The main thing is that everyone wants to put on a good show for the fans – and we only pretend to play it cool before giving it everything when we’re revving up the cars on the line. I urge race fans to get themselves to Miami in January to enjoy the action up close and personal and to give us a cheer.”

Coulthard will also appear once again having been crowned ROC Champion of Champions at the 2014 version of the event in Barbados.

“I’m delighted to be coming back to the Race Of Champions," Coulthard said. "I was proud to win it a couple of years ago, beating off drivers who I’ll admit are younger and more talented than me! But that’s the nature of the knockout system. You also get a chance to compare your driving with a wide range of different drivers from all over the world in a lot of different vehicles, while having fun out of the car.

“The Race Of Champions is even better for race fans. 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. If anyone wants to remember why they enjoy motor sport, they should come along. Look forward to seeing you in Miami.”

The Race of Champions will take place from January 21-22 at Miami's Marlins Park. Current and former F1 drivers already confirmed as taking part include Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, Juan Pablo Montoya and Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi.

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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.