The Race of Champions is heading to the United States for the first time in its history, and Formula One ace Sebastian Vettel has spoken out about defending his ROC title.
When the Race of Champions comes to Miami in January, Sebastian Vettel will be on hand as the defending winner.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver captured the title at last year’s event in London and Vettel,during a conversation with Motorsport, spoke on winning the event last year, and how excited he is to defend his crown.
“I’m very happy to have finally won the individual Race Of Champions title last year in London’s Olympic Stadium and I look forward to defending my title at ROC in Miami,” he said.
“All the drivers are strong, and the top US drivers from NASCAR and IndyCar will certainly be extra motivated to win in front of their home fans now that the event is being held in their country for the first time.
“This will also be the first time ROC has been held in a baseball stadium so I’m curious to discover the new track layout. But as always it’s the same track and identical cars for everyone so only driver skill makes the difference.
2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, a Florida native, and veteran NASCAR driver Kurt Busch are slated to be part of the 2017 field.
Watch highlights from Vettel’s winning year at the Race of Champions:
The two-day event is divided between solo and group competition. The first half is the Race of Champions itself, with drivers competing for individual glory like Vettel won last year. On Sunday, drivers pair up in teams for the ROC Nations Cup, bidding by nationality for the title of “World’s Fastest Nation.”
Organizers have also spoken about the decision to bring the event stateside.
“We are thrilled to be bringing the Race Of Champions to the United States at last,” said ROC President Fredrik Johnsson. “Miami’s Marlins Park is a wonderful venue and it’s our first time inside a baseball stadium. Rest assured we will put together a truly memorable event for fans of fast cars and even faster drivers.
“American race fans are passionate about their sport and I’m sure they will enjoy the great competition and shows we put on.”
Previous venues included England’s Wembley Stadium, the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing and the Stade de France in Paris. There has never been a ROC champion from the U.S., but that would certainly be a way to commemorate America’s first time as a host nation.
They’ll just have to get through Vettel first.
