The twentieth driver in the race
Twenty of the world`s top drivers will gather at the Stade de France in Paris this weekend for the 18th running of the Race of Champions – Nations Cup which kicks off at 4 p.m., Saturday December 3.
The twentieth and final driver to be confirmed is the recently-crowned Junior World Rally Champion, Dani Sordo. The Spaniard is looking forward to the chance to compete head-to-head with past and present World Rally Champions Sébastien Loeb, Marcus Grönholm and Colin McRae.

"I am very excited to be competing in the Race of Champions. It must be fantastic to drive in such a prestigious stadium against so many world class drivers. I am also looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Citroën Xsara WRC," said the `protégé` of former rally champion Carlos Sainz. "Two years ago, I won the ROC Spanish Rally Masters and I will be out to go much further in the competition this time round."

Drivers have already begun to arrive in Paris, including two-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, the two-time Champ Car Champion Sebastien Bourdais, Jean Alesi, Jeff `Mr. NASCAR` Gordon, Stéphane `Monsieur Dakar` Peterhansel, Tom `Mr. Le Mans` Kristensen, Travis `Mr. X-Games` Pastrana and the defending Race of Champions winner Heikki Kovalainen. They will join their fellow competitors at the Stade de France early Friday afternoon for the first free practice session at the wheel of Citroën Xsara WRCs, Porsche 911 GT3 Road Challenges, Renault Mégane Trophys and ROC Cars.

As the countdown to the action enters its final phase, Fredrik Johnsson, IMP President (event organiser) is delighted with the way preparations have gone: "The track has been completed and the drivers are beginning to arrive. Our priority today was to see how the two cars that are running for the first time here at the Stade de France – the Porsche and the Mégane – coped with the circuit. Everything went perfectly, including the jump over the bridge, so there won`t be any need to add chicanes this year. And that can only make the show even more spectacular with all these world class champions at the wheel!"


Tags: race-of-champions, roc, nations-cup, stadium, circuit, stade-de-france, dani-sordo,