Susie Wolff will become the first female driver to compete at the Race Of Champions (RoC) when she partners fellow Scot David Coulthard for Team GB at this year’s event at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on December 14 and 15. The development driver for the Williams F1 team will join the line-up that includes F1 legend Michael Schumacher, Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen, four-time V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup and new World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier.
ROC 2013 will take place on a specially constructed tarmac track that has two parallel lanes winding round the stadium. Drivers will pair up for the ROC Nations Cup on Saturday, before competing in the individual Race Of Champions on Sunday. Tickets are now available from the website www.raceofchampions.com.
Wolff raced in Germany’s DTM touring car series for seven years before she became development driver for the Williams F1 team in April 2012. “Any driver would love to be invited to do the Race Of Champions. It’s an event I have watched as far back as I can remember. What is so exciting is that the cars race head-to-head and you can see how close it is: it always comes down to hundredths. Jumping in and out of the different cars is going to be the real challenge. You need to make sure your car control is as good as it can be because you don’t have time to get a proper feeling for the car, you just get in and go,” she said.
She added, “Then there’s the ROC Nations Cup, where I certainly feel responsibility to make sure we do well as a nation. I know David from our time in DTM and I rate him really highly so to be part of the team alongside him makes me very proud. Of course we’ll be up against drivers who are absolutely at the top of their game. So I know it’s not going to be easy but I’m relishing the challenge.”
The news was warmly welcomed by Michèle Mouton, the world’s most successful female rally driver, who created the Race Of Champions with ROC President Fredrik Johnsson. She said: “As co-founder of the Race Of Champions and chairwoman of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission – Susie has been our Ambassador since 2012 – it is a pleasure to see her participating in ROC’s 26th edition in Bangkok.
“In competition Susie is reluctant to play the female card and only wants to be considered as a racing driver who simply fights to fulfil her dream of driving in F1, working hard to improve and perform well for her team. The main difficulty at ROC is to be able to quickly adapt your driving skills on different types of cars in a short time and I am convinced that Susie will do her very best!”
Held every year since 1988, the Race Of Champions brings together the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s main disciplines – including Formula 1, World Rally, Le Mans, MotoGP, Nascar, IndyCar, Touring Cars and the X-Games – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.
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Drivers already announced for the 2013 Race Of Champions:
- Michael SCHUMACHER, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion
- Tom KRISTENSEN, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner
- Sébastien OGIER, 2013 World Rally Champion
- Jamie WHINCUP, V8 Supercar Champion 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008
- Narain KARTHIKEYAN, Formula 1 driver and ROC Asia Champion 2012
- Karun CHANDHOK, Formula 1 driver and ROC Asia Champion 2012
- David COULTHARD, 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner
- Susie WOLFF, development driver for the Williams F1 team
