The draw for this weekend’s Race Of Champions was conducted on Tuesday, with Joel and Team Sweden set to go up against some of the most famous names in international motorsport in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on Friday and Saturday.
Riyadh’s King Fahad International Stadium played host to the draw – with Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Vice Chairman of the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia and Prince Khaled Al Faisal, President of the Motor Federation Of Saudi Arabia picking the group line-ups.
Press release: Joel and Team Sweden set for ROC Riyadh
The ROC Nations Cup on Friday will see Joel and Team Sweden stablemate Johan Kristoffersson face off group-stage competition from Team Nordic, Team Great Britain, and Team Sim Racing All Stars. The British team features 13-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, as well as Joel’s main rival for the 2017 FIA F3 European Championship, Lando Norris – reigniting a season-long rivalry between the two.
For the individual contest on Saturday, both Joel and Kristoffersson have been drawn for Group C – again alongside Norris. The group is completed by reigning DTM champion René Rast, whom Joel will be up against in the German touring car series later this season.
ROC Nations Cup Draw (Friday 2 February)
Group A
Team GERMANY (Timo Bernhard & René Rast)
Team LATIN AMERICA (Juan Pablo Montoya & Helio Castroneves)
Team MEXICO (Memo Rojas & Abraham Calderon)
Team USA (Ryan Hunter-Reay & Josef Newgarden)
Group B
Team NORDIC (Tom Kristensen & Petter Solberg)
Team GREAT BRITAIN (David Coulthard & Lando Norris)
Team SWEDEN (Johan Kristoffersson & Joel Eriksson)
Team SIM RACING ALL STARS (Rudy van Buren & eROC winner)
Group C
Team SAUDI ARABIA (Yazeed Al-Rajhi & ROC Factor Saudi Arabia winner)
Team UAE (Khaled Al Qubaisi & Khalid Al Qassimi)
Team LEBANON (Karl Massaad & Mansour Chebli)
How it works: The winners of each group will progress to the semi-finals, along with the leading runner-up from Groups A and B. The knockout rounds are best-of-three: if scores are tied at 1-1 after the first two heats, the third decisive heat is always contested by the two winning drivers.
Race Of Champions Draw (Saturday 3 February)
Group A
Juan-Pablo MONTOYA (Colombia) reigning ROC Champion of Champions
Helio CASTRONEVES (Brazil) triple Indianapolis 500 winner
Ryan HUNTER-REAY (USA) 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner
Winner of Round 1 between Memo ROJAS and Abraham CALDERON
Group B
Tom KRISTENSEN (Denmark) nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner
David COULTHARD (Great Britain) 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner
Timo BERNHARD (Germany) 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours winner
Winner of Round 1 between Rudy van BUREN and the eROC winner
Group C
Johan KRISTOFFERSSON (Sweden) 2017 FIA World Rallycross Champion
René RAST (Germany) 2017 DTM Champion
Lando NORRIS (Great Britain) 2017 European F3 Champion
Winner of Round 1 between Joel ERIKSSON and fastest driver from Lebanon in ROC Factor Middle East
Group D
Josef NEWGARDEN (USA) 2017 IndyCar Champion
Petter SOLBERG (Norway) double FIA World Rallycross Champion
Yazeed AL-RAJHI (Saudi Arabia) WRC2 rally winner
Winner of Round 1 between fastest driver from UAE in ROC Factor Middle East and ROC Factor Saudi Arabia winner
How it works: The top two from each group will progress to the quarter-finals. Then it’s a straight knockout tournament all the way to the best-of-three Grand Final, in which the ROC Champion of Champions will be crowned.
Further information
www.raceofchampions.com
