Le Mans winner and F1 star Nico Hülkenberg to race at ROC 2015

2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Nico Hülkenberg has signed up for this year’s Race Of Champions on November 20-21 at the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the iconic home of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hülkenberg became the first current Formula 1 driver in over 20 years to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with his 2015 victory on his debut for Porsche alongside team-mates Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber. The win has earned Hülkenberg the wider recognition he earned long ago in motor racing circles with a collection of titles in Formula BMW, A1 Grand Prix, the F3 Euro Series and GP2 on his way up through the ranks.

Since his Formula 1 debut in 2010 the German has shown consistently fine racecraft, not least his outstanding pole position by a full second for Williams in Brazil. He now races for Sahara Force India, for whom he scored 15 points finishes last year. Ever since June’s Le Mans win, Hülkenberg has been consistently in the points yet again.

Now Hülkenberg will make his Race Of Champions debut this November at London’s former Olympic Stadium. He will also partner four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel for Team Germany in the ROC Nations Cup. Vettel is also a six-time winner of the event in partnership with F1 legend Michael Schumacher, who is recovering from his serious skiing accident. Hülkenberg knows that’s a hard act for anyone to follow.

Hülkenberg said: “I’ve had a very good year so far and I’m very excited to be making my Race Of Champions debut. I’ve always wanted to take part but it never worked out so now I’m really happy to be a part of it and looking forward to it. I’m obviously stepping into big shoes to replace Michael Schumacher, which is a huge honour as well. I feel very happy and positive about that and it will be fun to team up with Seb and race and fight for Team Germany.

“The ROC track is very narrow and tight, a bit like racing on a street circuit. But it’s still quick and dynamic and entertaining to watch. There’s going to be quite a bit of car-hopping, adapting and adjusting from one machine to another. They’re all quite different so I don’t really know what to expect. But I guess I’ll get dumped into the cold water and then I’ll have to figure out how to swim…”

Hülkenberg’s new team-mate Sebastian Vettel added: “It’s obviously very sad that Michael can’t join us again but in his absence it’s great to have Nico as a partner on Team Germany this year. I have massive respect for what he did in the Le Mans 24 Hours – to win it on his first attempt is very impressive. That’s a great race to watch because the race is long yet they race flat out from the first lap for the whole of the race. The Race Of Champions is at the other end of the scale in terms of distance but I can assure Nico we push just as hard!”

The Race Of Champions 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, World Rally, Le Mans, MotoGP and the X-Games – 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.

Along with Hülkenberg and Vettel, drivers already confirmed for ROC 2015 include fellow F1 star Daniel Ricciardo, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, reigning FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg, current ROC Champion of Champions David Coulthard plus MotoGP greats Mick Doohan and Jorge Lorenzo.