Tag: Karun Chandhok

• France’s Romain Grosjean lifts the Race Of Champions trophy after a Grand Final victory over Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen
• Grand prix veterans Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard make it as far as the semi-finals
• 2012 F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel knocked out in the quarter-finals for the second year in a row

Bangkok, 16 Dec 2012:French Formula 1 star Romain Grosjean put in a stunning performance to eclipse 15 fellow superstars of motorsport and win the Race Of Champions on an evening of thrills at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium. However, the Frenchman is yet to secure a seat for the Formula One drive in 2013.

India’s Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok won the Asia crown on Friday but lost in the Nations Cup on Saturday to Germany’s Schumacher and Vettel.

Following Team Germany’s victory over Team France in last night’s ROC Nations Cup, the Race Of Champions pitted many of the biggest names in motorsport against each other in head-to-head combat in a variety of different cars.

In the end Grosjean overcame Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen in the best-of-three Grand Final to become Champion of Champions for the first time. Kristensen, who also reached the final last year, was chasing his own first individual Race Of Champions title at the 12th attempt. But he was thwarted by the young Frenchman, who won both heats to seal glory.

Grosjean said: “That’s what I’d call a crazy day! It got a bit tough in the group stages but I managed to make it through. Then I had to face Sebastian Vettel in the quarter-final before Michael Schumacher in the semi-final – the two Germans who beat us in yesterday’s ROC Nations Cup final. Then I had the final with Tom. We’ve had a good history at this event and I’ve raced him before so it was good to face him in the final. I got a bit of extra luck to be in the right car at the right time but it felt good.

“It’s been a tough end to the F1 season but I finally got back on the podium yesterday, and now this! It’s great to get this win before I head off for a holiday. Thanks to everyone in Thailand because the welcome has been fantastic.”

Beaten finalist Kristensen has competed in 12 Race Of Champions events, more than anyone else in the field. The 45-year-old Dane nonetheless hopes to be back for more.

“This was the 25th year of the race and Romain is a deserving winner,” said Kristensen. “He had a very good Sunday – and I’m getting closer every year! It was a small gap between us in each of the heats and I made small mistakes but that’s the challenge of the Race Of Champions: to jump into different cars. Earlier I had a pretty fun run in the Audi against Ogier. I believe that was the fastest lap of the weekend so that’s what I’ll take away. Even though I’m a bit more than 25 years old like Romain, it shows I’m still pretty fast if I’m in a good car. This has been the warmest Race Of Champions I have competed in – both literally and thanks to the people who welcomed us and enjoyed having us here. I’m still young so maybe one day I’ll get the chance to win it!”

Michael Schumacher seemed to be continuing where he left off last night as he went undefeated until the semi-final stage. There he came up against an inspired Grosjean and his quest for the individual ROC title faltered again. Schumacher’s fellow F1 old-timer David Coulthard was beaten by Kristensen in the other semi-final.

After sharing in Schumacher’s success last night, 2012 F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel was eliminated in the individual quarter-finals for the second year in a row, also by Grosjean. Facing a tight battle, Vettel made a mistake and hit the barrier hard.

Another big scalp at the quarter-final stage was last year’s Champion of Champions Sébastien Ogier, beaten by Kristensen in a reverse of the result of last year’s Grand Final. Coulthard defeated China’s Ho-Pin Tung while Schumacher overcame 500cc MotoGP legend Mick Doohan in the other quarter-finals.

To start the evening the drivers were split into four groups of four, battling for the right to line up in the knockout stages.

Reigning champion Ogier began in dominant fashion, taking three wins out of three in Group A. Coulthard also progressed thanks to his two wins against V8 Supercar king Jamie Whincup and Production World Rally Champion Benito Guerra. Whincup beat Guerra but neither driver made it any further.

Tung was the surprise package of Group B. After falling to an initial defeat against touring car great Andy Priaulx, the Chinese driver recovered to top the group, beating Kristensen and home favourite Nattavude Charoensukawattana. The Thai prompted one of the night’s biggest cheers when he defeated Priaulx, meaning the last quarter-final berth was decided by a shootout between Kristensen and Priaulx. That went to the Dane when a mechanical problem sent Priaulx into the barriers.

Vettel made a predictably strong start, romping to three wins out of three including a victory over 2012 MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo. Group C also included another legend of two wheels in Doohan, who defeated Lorenzo in their heat. The Thai crowd went wild as Tin Sritrai beat Lorenzo and crossed the line ahead of Doohan, only to miss out on qualification due to a time penalty.

Schumacher and Grosjean both progressed comfortably from Group D – but it was the German who came out on top this time to keep his undefeated record intact with three wins to Grosjean’s two. 2012 IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay took a single victory against Kazuya Ohshima, Japan’s qualifier from ROC Asia, but it wasn’t enough to keep the American in the competition.

Grosjean’s triumph marks the end of the 2012 Race Of Champions. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and we look forward to seeing you next year for ROC 2013. Keep up with the news by signing up for all the latest updates at www.raceofchampions.com, @raceofchampions on Twitter or Race Of Champions on Facebook.

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• Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel stormed to their sixth consecutive ROC Nations Cup title for Team Germany in Bangkok
• The German duo defeated Team France’s Romain Grosjean and Sébastien Ogier by two heats to nil in the Grand Final
• Team All Stars (Jorge Lorenzo and Tom Kristensen) and Team Australia (Jamie Whincup and Mick Doohan) reached the semi-finals

Bangkok, 15 Dec 2012: Team Germany’s Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel added to their incredible run of success by winning their sixth consecutive ROC Nations Cup title in Bangkok.

On another hot evening in the Thai capital, legends from many of the world’s biggest motor sport series teamed up in pairs to battle for national pride. They raced a mix of cars – including the Audi R8 LMS, VW Scirocco, Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo and the Toyota GT86 – on a purpose-built parallel track at the Rajamangala Stadium.

To cap off a busy night of action, Schumacher and Vettel prevailed in the Grand Final against Team France’s Sébastien Ogier and Romain Grosjean. First Schumacher defeated Grosjean then Vettel beat rally ace Ogier in the ‘battle of the Sebs’.

The result meant that the German duo took an incredible ten wins out of ten on the night, matching their combined total of F1 world championships. They have now extended their record of ROC Nations Cup titles to six in a row too.

Schumacher said: “This is a historic day. It was already very special to win five times in a row but this new record just feels great. The Race Of Champions is a nice event with a nice set-up, there are great guys here and tough competition. We were pretty scared of the guys on Team France but in the end they lost time in the final heats so we were lucky to be consistent the whole way through.”

Vettel added: “Even Michael hasn’t managed six titles in a row before so this is something special. Six years is a long time and now we can look back and know we’ve won for the last six years. We all love coming here as it’s a special event. It’s a privilege and an honour to race with these guys. There’s one thing that connects us all, which is racing. Now I can look forward to tomorrow and hopefully stay in the competition as long as possible. I’ve tried that for the last five years and haven’t succeeded yet so it would be nice to put my name on that trophy too.”

Beaten finalists Team France also had a fine evening, topping their group before defeating Team All Stars (Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen and MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo) by two heats to nil in the semi-final.

Grosjean admitted: “We knew going up against Team Germany was the toughest moment of the evening. But we fought as well as we could with what we had in our hands. Last year we reached the semi-final, this year the final. Now the next step is to be on the top of the podium. They want to go for seven next year but we want to go for our first one in the future. For now it’s great to have brought the blue, white and red flag to the final.”

Reigning individual Champion of Champions Ogier said: “First I want to congratulate Team Germany because six victories in a row is a great result. We tried our best but they were very strong. We will try to do better next time. First I will do my best to retain the individual Race Of Champions title tomorrow but I know it will be tough.”

In the semi-finals Team Germany beat Team Australia’s Jamie Whincup and Mick Doohan by two heats to nil. They had earlier sailed through their Group B with six wins out of six to kick off their perfect night. Team Australia joined them in the semi-finals with three victories: two for Whincup, one for Doohan.

Following their triumph in yesterday’s ROC Asia, Team India’s Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok failed to make it beyond the group stages this time. They took a win apiece but it wasn’t enough against the might of Germany and Australia.

Host nation Team Thailand (Nattavude Charoensukawattana and Tin Sritrai) fought hard but they were unable to progress beyond the group stages. Sritrai nonetheless gave the home fans something to cheer with victory over Doohan.

Earlier in the evening, Team France (four wins) and Team All Stars (three wins) both progressed through the round-robin Group A to line up a best-of-three semi-final. Lorenzo memorably proved his two-wheeled skill extends to four wheels by defeating touring car great Andy Priaulx in one of the heats.

Team Americas were unlucky to miss out on qualification on countback of fastest times as they also ended up with three wins courtesy of Benito Guerra (2) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (1). Team Great Britain (Priaulx and David Coulthard) missed a semi-final spot after both fell foul of penalties for touching the barriers – though they still took one win each.

There is plenty more action to come in Bangkok on Sunday as the drivers will put their friendships aside and go it alone in the individual Race Of Champions.

Coverage of tomorrow’s finale will be available on television all over the world. Stations showing ROC live include SAT1 in Germany, Motors TV around Europe, Al Jazeera in the Middle East, Fox in Latin America and Brazil, Speed TV in Australia, the Sony Entertainment Network in India, PPTV and Euro Soccer channel in China, Super Sport in Africa plus many more. Please check local listings for exact details of broadcast times.

Tickets are still available for this weekend’s action. For a live results feed and access to high-resolution imagery please visit www.raceofchampions.com. Sign up for all the latest updates atwww.raceofchampions.com, @raceofchampions on Twitter or Race Of Champions on Facebook.

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• Drivers from all over Asia have assembled in Bangkok ahead of Friday’s ROC Asia and ROC Thailand
• The two most populous nations on Earth are represented by India’s Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok plus China’s Ho-Pin Tung and Han Han
• The racing begins with a four-way shootout between the host nation’s finest drivers to decide who will represent Team Thailand
  Many of Asia’s finest drivers have gathered at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium for ROC Asia and ROC Thailand, the opening events of this weekend’s ROC 2012 on Friday December 14.The Race Of Champions, which is being staged for the 25th consecutive year in 2012, brings together the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s main disciplines – including Formula 1, world rally, touring cars, Le Mans, MotoGP, IndyCar and the X-Games – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.

  A dazzling line-up of international superstars including multiple F1 world champions Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel plus multiple MotoGP world champions Mick Doohan and Jorge Lorenzo will compete in Saturday’s ROC Nations Cup and Sunday’s individual Race Of Champions. The on-track action begins on Friday with ROC Thailand and ROC Asia.

  The two most populous nations on Earth will be in the hunt for glory as Team India and Team China join Toyota Team Gazoo Japan and hosts Team Thailand in the line-up for ROC Asia. The four-way competition will seek to find Asia’s fastest nation, with the winners going on to race against the best drivers in the world in the ROC Nations Cup on Saturday.

  Formula 1’s Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok will join forces for Team India as they make their ROC debuts. Team China will partner F1 test driver Ho-Pin Tung with rally ace Han Han, better known as the world’s most widely-read blogger. The Chinese pair already have Race Of Champions experience as they both competed in the 2009 event at Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium, getting as far as the semi-finals of the ROC Nations Cup. Toyota Team Gazoo Japan will be represented by Kazuya Ohshima and Takuto Iguchi, rising stars from the Land of the Rising Sun.

  ROC Asia will be preceded on Friday by a four-way battle between drivers from the host country for the ROC Thailand crown. Sak ‘Kiki’ Nana, Tin Sritrai, Nattavude Charoensukawattana and Nattapon Horthongkum will compete in a round-robin group stage, with the two most successful drivers going on to face each other in the final. The two finalists will have the honour of representing Team Thailand in ROC Asia and Saturday’s ROC Nations Cup.

  Ahead of Friday’s events the drivers faced the media at the Rajamangala Stadium. Here is a selection of their quotes:

  Karun Chandhok (Team India) 

  “It’s amazing to have this much excitement about a motor sport event so close to home. So I’m very happy to be here and thank you to Fredrik Johnsson and his team for the invitation. It’s going to be a fun weekend and it’s nice to catch up with some familiar faces from the past. Narain and I just had a look at the stadium and the first thing that strikes us is how small it is. It’s quite different from driving at a grand prix circuit. It’s fantastic that motor sport is moving towards Asia and being here this weekend is another illustration of that. Motor sport has grown very quickly in India in the last few years too and hopefully one day we can have the Race Of Champions in India as well.”

  Narain Karthikeyan (Team India) 

  “It’s really nice to be in Thailand for the Race Of Champions. This is the first time that Karun and I have competed at a ROC event and it looks very interesting. To represent your country is always very good and Thailand is not too far away for us. I’m glad we got the invitation and we’ll try to do the best we can. Seeing the videos, it’s going to be the people who make the least mistakes who succeed, so you have to drive very precisely. There’s no margin for error.”

  Ho-Pin Tung (Team China) 

  “I’m very excited to be back at the Race Of Champions. People in China still ask us about our experiences at ROC 2009 in Beijing and I’ve heard there are Chinese fans travelling across to Thailand. So I’m very proud and I hope to give them a good show. I have a great team-mate in Han Han who is not only a great racing driver but a big celebrity in China. So it will put extra pressure on me to raise my game. Of course we’re all racing drivers and we all want to win. So even if we’re going to race against the greatest names in motor sport we’ll try hard to beat all of them…

  Kazuya Ohshima (Toyota Team Gazoo Japan) 

  “This is the first time that Japan has had a team at the Race Of Champions and we’re very happy to be here. There are a lot of very nice cars and I’m really looking forward to driving them. Team China, Team India and Team Thailand all look very strong, but we will try our hardest and we are confident we can do well. Japan has a lot of good racing drivers so I will try to make no mistakes otherwise I cannot go back to Japan!”

  Sak ‘Kiki’ Nana (ROC Thailand)

  “I’m really proud to have the Race Of Champions in Thailand and all four of us in ROC Thailand are very proud to be representing our country. We don’t have much experience in the Race Of Champions way of driving, especially with all the different cars. So that will be brand new for us and I don’t want to say too much yet as I’m still a bit nervous. But we’ll push hard, do our best and see what happens.”

  Tickets are still available for this weekend’s action. For a live results feed and access to high-resolution imagery please visit www.raceofchampions.com. Sign up for all the latest updates at www.raceofchampions.com, @raceofchampions on Twitter or Race Of Champions on Facebook.

Courtesy www.racer.com

Some of the champions for the 25th annual Race Of Champions:

• Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion
• Sebastian Vettel, three-time Formula 1 World Champion
• Jorge Lorenzo, two-time MotoGP World Champion
• Mick Doohan, five-time 500cc MotoGP World Champion
• Jamie Whincup, four-time V8 Supercar Champion
• David Coulthard, 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner
• Tom Kristensen, eight-time Le Mans 24-Hour race winner
• Andy Priaulx, three-time World Touring Car Champion
• Benito Guerra Jr., FIA’s Production World Rally Champion
• Romain Grosjean, GP2 Series champion
• Sebastien Ogier, World Rally Championship driver and 2011 ROC “Champion of Champions”

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