IT’S ‘STAR WARS’ AS COULTHARD DEFENDS RACE OF CHAMPIONS TITLE

Dumfries and Galloway Race Ace David Coulthard prepares to do battle against the worlds greatest driving stars to defend his Champion Title at the star studded 2015 Race of Champions at Londons Olympic Stadium this Friday.

1 a 1 a race of champs 7 — David Coulthard and team mate Susie Wolf at ROC 2014

• British Olympic greats and international stars lead the field for a unique driving challenge at London’s former Olympic Stadium on the evening of Friday November 20
• Olympic athletes Greg Rutherford, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Denise Lewis are among the celebrities looking to show off their skills on four wheels, joining London 2012 Team GB flagbearers Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Ben Ainslie
• They will face a line-up of fellow superstars from music and entertainment – including singer-songwriter Ella Eyre and TV personality Joey Essex – in the ROC Celebrity Skills Challenge presented by TAG Heuer
• The stars will take on a course specially designed to test a range of driving skills including chicanes, slaloms, 360° turns and parallel parking
• The event is one of many shows supporting Friday evening’s ROC Nations Cup featuring driving greats from F1, MotoGP, Le Mans and more
• Tickets for this feast of non-stop action and entertainment later this week are still available from www.raceofchampions.com
A host of celebrities will take to the track at London’s former Olympic Stadium on the evening of Friday 20 November to show off their skills in a unique driving challenge at the 2015 Race Of Champions.

Before 20 of the world’s greatest drivers compete for the evening’s showpiece ROC Nations Cup, there will be a special competition on four wheels for some of Britain’s most well-known faces from sport, music and entertainment: the ROC Celebrity Skills Challenge presented by TAG Heuer.
The field of competitors features long jumper Greg Rutherford, who took gold in this very stadium on London 2012’s famous ‘Super Saturday’. Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis is in action as well, along with her fellow heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who will be gunning for gold next year in Rio de Janeiro.
The line-up also features two of Britain’s greatest ever Olympians Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Ben Ainslie who have ten Olympic gold medals between them – six for Hoy in cycling and four for Ainslie in sailing. They were also Team GB’s flagbearers at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympic Games at the very same stadium.

The Olympians will be joined on track by multiple medal-winning Paralympic cyclist Jon-Allan Butterworth and one of England’s triumphant 2003 Rugby World Cup winners Mike Tindall.
The world of entertainment will also be represented by MOBO award-winning singer-songwriter Ella Eyre, German television personality Joko Winterscheidt and British reality TV star Joey Essex, all of whom will hope to surprise the sports stars and set the fastest time.
ROC president Fredrik Johnsson said: “We always keep the entertainment coming non-stop at the Race Of Champions, even between the races on track. Now we hope the London crowds will enjoy seeing these famous faces trying to hurl the Ariel Atom Cup around our special ROC Celebrity Skills Challenge course on Friday evening.
“We’re glad to see so many Team GB heroes returning to the home of London 2012 three years ago. But can the athletes fend off the challenge of the other sports stars and entertainers? If you want to find out, get yourselves down to the former Olympic Stadium and you’ll be guaranteed an amazing show. Tickets are still available for Friday’s action but time is running out so get in quick…”

The ROC Celebrity Skills Challenge presented by TAG Heuer will be part of a busy programme of shows to be held at the former Olympic Stadium during the Race Of Champions weekend. With a range of stunt drivers, music, cheerleaders and more, at ROC the entertainment and action never stops.
The Race Of Champions itself is an annual end-of-season contest which has been held for over 25 years. It brings together some of the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s major disciplines – including Formula 1, Le Mans, IndyCar, Rallycross and MotoGP – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.
The event is run over two days: first comes the ROC Nations Cup (on the evening of Friday November 20) when drivers pair up in teams based on nationality to bid for the title of ‘World’s Fastest Nation’. Then on the afternoon of Saturday November 21 it’s time for the Race Of Champions itself, when teamwork goes out of the window and it’s a flat-out battle for individual glory.
The 2015 field features F1 stars Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean, Nico Hülkenberg and Felipe Massa, ‘Mr Le Mans’ Tom Kristensen, reigning World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg, reigning Formula E Champion Nelson Piquet Jr, reigning World Touring Car Champion José Maria López, reigning DTM Champion Pascal Wehrlein, 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, triple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx, Williams Martini Racing’s Official Test Driver Susie Wolff, double British Touring Car Champion Jason Plato, Blancpain Endurance Series Champion Alex Buncombe, 2014 GP2 Champion Jolyon Palmer, ROC Champion of Champions David Coulthard plus MotoGP world champions Mick Doohan and Jorge Lorenzo.
Tickets for ROC 2015 in London are now available via www.raceofchampions.com. For access to rights-free high-resolution imagery and to keep up with all the latest news ahead of this year’s event please visit www.raceofchampions.com, Race Of Champions on Facebook plus @raceofchampions and #ROCLondon on Twitter.

Full line-up for the ROC Celebrity Skills Challenge presented by TAG Heuer:
• Chris HOY, six-time Olympic gold medallist in cycling
• Ben AINSLIE, four-time Olympic gold medallist in sailing
• Mike TINDALL, 2003 Rugby World Cup winner for England
• Ella EYRE, MOBO award-winning singer/songwriter
• Joey ESSEX, British television personality
• Jon-Allan BUTTERWORTH, multiple medal-winning Paralympic cyclist
• Joko WINTERSCHEIDT, German television personality
• Katarina JOHNSON-THOMPSON, Olympic heptathlete for Team GB
• Denise LEWIS, Olympic gold medallist in heptathlon
• Greg RUTHERFORD, Olympic gold medallist in long jump
Full driver line-up for the 2015 ROC Nations Cup:
• Sebastian VETTEL, four-time Formula 1 World Champion (Team Germany)
• Nico HÜLKENBERG, 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner (Team Germany)
• Tom KRISTENSEN, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner (Team Nordic)
• Petter SOLBERG, reigning FIA World Rallycross Champion (Team Nordic)
• Daniel RICCIARDO, three-time Formula 1 grand prix winner (Team Australia)
• Mick DOOHAN, five-time 500cc MotoGP World Champion (Team Australia)
• Felipe MASSA, 11-time Formula 1 grand prix winner (Team Brazil)
• Nelson PIQUET Jr, reigning FIA Formula E Champion (Team Brazil)
• David COULTHARD, reigning ROC Champion of Champions (Team Scotland)
• Susie WOLFF, Williams Martini Racing Official Test Driver (Team Scotland)
• Jorge LORENZO, double MotoGP World Champion (Team All Stars)
• Romain GROSJEAN, 2012 ROC Champion of Champions (Team All Stars)
• Jolyon PALMER, 2014 GP2 Champion (Team Young Stars)
• Pascal WEHRLEIN, 2015 DTM Champion (Team Young Stars)
• Ryan HUNTER-REAY, 2014 Indianapolis 500 Winner (Team Americas)
• José Maria LÓPEZ, double World Touring Car Champion (Team Americas)
• Jason PLATO, double British Touring Car Champion (Team England 1)
• Andy PRIAULX, triple World Touring Car Champion (Team England 1)
• Alex BUNCOMBE, 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series Champion (Team England 2)
• Jenson BUTTON, 2009 Formula 1 World Champion (Team England 2)