The Final Hurdle

After a great day's racing full of big smashes and close races KL and I spent a couple of hours chilling in the hotel before heading to the airport for our return flight to the UK. Chadders left earlier in the day on his flight home to Newcastle and, as the earlier blog entry states, successfully got home despite the snow. We weren't so lucky.....

We'd actually got to the airport, checked in and gone through passport control very quickly and were having a beer and some food prior to the flight. Suddenly the tannoy blared out that our flight was closing and it was calling for us by name to go to the departure gate. When we got there they'd announced that the flight had been cancelled and we had to go to ticket sales (via the baggage carousel to collect our checked in luggage) to sort out return flights.

It transpired that only about a dozen people had actually checked in and gone through passport control as they'd arrived early like ourselves - the remainder had been turned away before they checked in and were already queued up to rebook and reschedule their flight.

So, we waited in line for over 90 minutes to speak to the ticket desk....


We eventually got to the front of the queue to find that there were no other flights back to the UK that night. The following night's (Monday) Jet2 flight back to Leeds/Bradford was now full so we could either wait for Tuesday night's Jet2 flight or cancel the flight and book an alternative route.

So, with a sigh, we booked on a Monday morning BA flight to Heathrow at an extortionate cost and decided to take our chances on sorting out onward travel ourselves. A taxi took us back to the same hotel we'd left earlier in the day and we checked back in and even managed to get the same rooms we had previously.

Sat in the bar with a cold beer (we'd both been completely dry all day as we would have been driving home from the airport) we checked out possible travel arrangements from Heathrow and realised that there was a tube strike which would severely hamper us getting in to London and over to Kings Cross for the train back to Leeds. We decided on hiring a car, which we found at a reasonable price, had a quick night-cap and retired to bed.

The taxi to the airport the following morning went without a hitch, we checked in and went through passport control to wait patiently for the gate to open. So far, so good.....



Our flight was on time and got to Heathrow early. The plane was pretty big in fact it was a 2 x 3 x 2 width plane - proper BA, that's why! Free refreshments and a snack and we even got to sit across from a wrapped up Asian girl who looked a bit like one of those suitcases that's been encased in cellophane for protection - very bizarre!

Our car was ready and waiting for us at Eurocar but sadly it was only a Vauxhall Astra - KL was most dischuffed that it wasn't a Golf after all.

The journey back to Leeds/Bradford took three and a half hours and was very uneventful. We dumped the car and trudged to our respective car parks to collect our vehicles. Sadly, my car is a little bit poorly after being out in such bad weather for the last few days - it's not used to being so cold - but I managed to get it to limp home.....although a trip to the garage tomorrow is planned.....hope it doesn't make my weekend cost even more!!

So, all in all gentleman a most splendid weekend...roll on LM2011 and next years's RoC - I wonder where it will be !??!



....and finally, if we get treated like that again by a budget airline the Monkey King will leave a horse's head in their bed!

Albuquerque celebrates stunning Race of Champions win

Filipe Albuquerque can't believe his “fantastic” Race of Champions victory on his ROC debut.

Sébastien Loeb “gave everything” but misses out on fourth Champion of Champions title in Grand Final.

Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher “too cautious” in quarter-final defeat by new world champion Sebastian Vettel.


Debutant Filipe Albuquerque celebrated a shock win in The Race of Champions after a stunning victory over Sébastien Loeb in Düsseldorf today.

The Portuguese driver, who competed in Italian GT racing for Audi this season, put a stellar line-up of motorsport stars in the shade in head-to-head battles around a unique parallel track at the ESPRIT arena.

Albuquerque qualified for this weekend's event by winning the ROC South Europe competition in August. He duly took his chance, beating Loeb 2-1 in the Grand Final, denying the rally legend a fourth Champion of Champions title.

After a breathless afternoon of action, this is what some of the drivers had to say:

Filipe Albuquerque: “Today was my day. Everything went so well and I made no mistakes. Since the beginning I was up against such good drivers - I had to beat Sebastian Vettel twice and in the final, wow, Sébastien was really on it. I just drove my race and when I won the first one I was really happy. In the second race I made a small mistake and straightaway he was there and won - a little mistake can cause you to lose everything in this competition. But in the deciding race I was nice and smooth with no mistakes. I can't believe it - it's the first time I am here and I have won - I could not ask for more. To win against great names, including Vettel in Germany when he has just won the world championship, is just fantastic.”

Sébastien Loeb: “It was a really good fight but Filipe was very strong. I drove some good races and got to the final after some interesting fights; I gave everything. This morning I wasn't so confident after what happened yesterday in the ROC Nations Cup when I was beaten by Andy Priaulx but today went much better. I won all my races except for the one that mattered most, the final. But I am sure Filipe will be back again next year to defend his title and I'd like to be back so I hope we can fight again!”

Sebastian Vettel: “It would have been interesting to have the current Formula 1 and World Rally champions together in the final but it wasn't meant to be. That's how it goes, Filipe drove a good race. With races coming so fast and just one race for the quarter and semi-finals, sometimes it works for you and sometimes it doesn't. In the quarter-final against Michael it worked but in the semi I pushed too hard into the first corner and lost too much time. The race against Michael was fun and it was very tight after one lap. What happened last year in the semi-final went through my head and I was thinking ‘not again'. That time I shunted the car but this year I managed to get it to the line first so it was nice to pay him back.”

Michael Schumacher: “The problem against Sebastian was that after the first lap I was ahead and I was probably too cautious. I was too careful and he got to the line first. But it's been really nice to be here with all these talented guys. On the one hand it is a competitive event but also it is a bit more relaxed and we have the chance to catch up with people we otherwise don't get to see, so I have enjoyed the weekend. I'm also happy Heikki and his girlfriend came out of his accident okay.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “I am fine luckily, no injuries, and also my girlfriend who was my passenger is fine. It was a major shunt and it started from the touch of the wall just before the finish line. I tried to use every inch of the circuit and I just kissed the wall. Then I was a passenger as I hit the wall at the first corner. It was a decent shunt.”

Alain Prost: “It was a slippery track surface on my second race after some fluid was dropped on the track and that made a big difference, particularly on the last corner and infield. But it was okay, just less grip, no big problem. I have enjoyed The Race of Champions more and more over the weekend and it's a shame I didn't go further - I would like to have another go! I am getting used to the cars; it is not easy but I really started to enjoy it.”

Andy Priaulx: “Sébastien Loeb is a tough guy to race against. You can never be too confident in this event because it's instant knockout so one small mistake and you're out. But I tried to just have fun and push hard. I've had a great time anyway. To race against Michael Schumacher yesterday was a great honour and then today to go against Mick Doohan, who is a great hero of mine, made it a great weekend anyway.”

Carl Edwards: “I did the best I could. Thanks to all the fans for coming out here; it has been a fun event and I have enjoyed it. I just needed to win something! The issue is I race on lots bigger tracks than this but I should still be able to pick it up. I got a good run in my second race but had a bit of trouble on the last lap and lost against Filipe Albuquerque. This event is a challenge because these drivers are very good and everyone is a champion. They are very competitive - everyone is smiling but they are still very competitive.”

Travis Pastrana: “In my first race the car stalled, I have no idea why, so I had no chance. I just choked on the last bend of my race against Tom Kristensen, my second race. I took it a bit too easy on the last lap and then pushed too hard on the last turn. Tom's a great driver and I got knocked out but that's the way it goes.”

Jason Plato: “I didn't drive very well today if I'm honest. The party we had last night in the hotel was probably too good! It was great to race against Alain Prost, who was a hero to me when I was a kid, but he beat me and beat me well actually. Yes we all want to be competitive but it is a great event and it is a pleasure just to be here to compete against these fantastic names. It was an honour to be invited here and I'd love to be back again next year.”

Tom Kristensen: “Today was not too bad after yesterday didn't go so well for Team Nordic in the ROC Nations Cup. The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic and it's never easy to race against Sébastien Loeb. We do our best when we are in the cars but we also have a lot of fun and I am pleased my Team Nordic team-mate Heikki is fine.”

Jet2Scuzz vs Lufthansa

It's a simple 1-0 to Lufthansa, they got me home while the Scuzzmeisters left Sniffer and His Highness stranded.

Not impressed at all.

Here's the arrivals board from the Leeds Bradford website.

Draw your own conclusions...

Albuquerque crowned Champion of Champions

Filipe Albuquerque lifts The Race of Champions trophy on his debut after stunning performance to beat Sébastien Loeb in the Grand Final in Düsseldorf.

Vettel beats Schumacher in titanic quarter-final showdown between Formula 1 champions past and present.

Former Race of Champions winner Heikki Kovalainen crashes out heavily in first race.


Filipe Albuquerque delivered a thrilling performance to eclipse 15 superstars of motorsport and win The Race of Champions at his first attempt on an exciting afternoon in Düsseldorf.

In front of a packed ESPRIT arena the Portuguese driver overcame World Rally champion Sébastien Loeb 2-1 in the best-of-three Grand Final on the specially-constructed parallel track to earn the title of Champion of Champions.

Following Team Germany's win last night in the ROC Nations Cup, The Race of Champions pitted 16 of the biggest names in motorsport against each other in head-to-head combat in a variety of different cars.

ROC South Europe winner Albuquerque's route to the final took him past Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel in a very tight semi-final following his quarter-final triumph against fellow Portuguese driver Alvaro Parente.

Loeb reached the Grand Final courtesy of a quarter-final win over eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen followed by victory against would touring car star Andy Priaulx in the powerful Audi R8 LMS.

In another quarter-final, an epic clash saw home favourites, and F1 rivals, Vettel and Schumacher clash in KTM X-Bows. Victory went to the younger man by just over half a second. Priaulx beat Bertrand Baguette in the other last-eight tie.

Earlier today, the action began with a bang in the round-robin group stage, which featured four groups of four drivers fighting it out for the right to line up in the knock-out quarter-finals.

In the very first race of the day, Heikki Kovalainen suffered a huge accident after the chequered flag when his Audi R8 LMS ploughed through the barriers and hit the concrete wall hard.

The F1 driver escaped injury but needed a precautionary visit to a local hospital for checks which prevented him taking any further part. He and Jeroen Bleekemolen were eliminated from Group A as Loeb and Baguette progressed.

Group B saw motorcycling hero Mick Doohan miss out along with Travis Pastrana, who suffered a stall, a last-corner defeat and a spin in his three races. Priaulx won all three races while Kristensen also went through.

It was close too in Group C, where Albuquerque and Vettel took the top two spots, knocking out NASCAR front-runner Carl Edwards and X-Games gold medallist Travis Foust.

The final group of the first round featured an incredible combined 11 F1 world championships and Schumacher beat Alain Prost by just over a second in a closely-fought contest in the ROC Car.

Schumacher won all three first-round races with Parente going through as runner-up. Current British touring car number one Jason Plato missed out, as did Prost, who spun out of his last race in the KTM X-Bow.

A total of 64,052 fans attended The Race of Champions during the course of the weekend.

So near and yet so far.....

Another slow start to the day - we all had breakfast together in a packed dining room and then spent an hour shooting the breeze and beginning our liquid refreshment intake of the day. This free mini-bar is coming in very handy!




After finding out how cold it really was yesterday we decided that being fully 'thermalled up' was definitely the order of the day so we loaded up the layers and ventured out into the weather. It had snowed a little bit but only small flurries compared with the snow back in the UK. The cold is really quite different to back home in that it's very dry and there is no frost. It's still below freezing but a much more pleasant 'European-style'.

We walked back to the old town and found one of the bars that Chadders' best mate from last night had apparently recommended and we dumped ourselves at a table and started on the house beer. It quickly became obvious that all of us were starting to quite badly overheat with all our layers so we decided to strip off down to our thermals. Chadders refused to let me take my trousers off so I had to soldier on and take in more fluids to cope!




For the next few hours we turned into three grumpy old men putting the world to rights and sharing our individual OCD traits and our annoyances on life, the universe and everything - encouraged by the surly attitude of the waiter. We've now arrived at the conclusion that all waiters are like that with the customers, irrespective of nationality - after witnessing them treating their fellow countrymen like that too.

So, after a meal of Currywurst for the boys and some other sausage and mash related dish for me (can you actually overdose on Pork?) the afternoon was moving on and we had to think about making tracks to the Esprit stadium. After a final pitstop at the bar Chadders and I went to on Thursday (we actually ordered a different beer too!) we headed for the taxi rank (having learned our lesson of being incompetent with the trains) and bumbled our way through sufficient German to get to the stadium.

The stadium facilities were quite impressive and we've decided that the Germans are quite a friendly bunch generally - unlike us of course! They had a system where the first drink you bought you paid an extra euro for a plastic glass (with a handle no less!) and then you took the glass back for each refill, returning it at the end of the night for your euro back. Obviously this meant that there was no litter anywhere within the stadium - no mean feat. The beer was four euros (although fizzy pop was too) but KL had decided to duck out on the beer and drink coke - he does only have one kidney though and he hasn't gone too yellow all weekend so it was probably a sensible move!

The Nations Cup was exciting and although we were pipped at the post by the German team in the final it was a very friendly affair. People even smiled at us when we cheered far too loudly after Andy Priaulx won his heat against Vettel!

We all had a hysterical fit of laughter (which resulted in KL actually crying laughing for several minutes and was close to actually losing control of his bladder - all that pop didn't help) at the German bloke next to us who kept clapping like a seal. My seal noises every time he clapped didn't help but obviously you had to have been there.....

We left the circuit out of completely the wrong doors and at completely the wrong end of the circuit to where we came in so we had to walk all the way round to the front to find the taxi rank to take us back.

Our hunger had returned so we headed back to the bar we had just left before the race for more meat (steak for Chadders and KL and Ostrich for me - Chadders and I also had some snails to start with!!).

At midnight we were kicked out of the restaurant because they were closing and we walked back to the hotel. All of us tired so no night-cap tonight.

It won't be quite the same on Sunday as Chadders is getting an earlier flight home and therefore only KL and I will make the journey back to the Esprit for the individual Race of Champions. Hopefully we can manage!

Schumacher and Vettel celebrate fourth ROC Nations Cup win

Sebastian Vettel revels in “very special” night after joining Michael Schumacher to win ROC Nations Cup for Team Germany.

Schumacher enjoys “emotional and fun” experience in front of Team Germany's home crowd.

“Close but no cigar” for Jason Plato as he and Team GB team-mate Andy Priaulx take runners-up spot.

Formula 1 superstars Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher both hailed Team Germany's incredible fourth successive victory in the ROC Nations Cup after a rollercoaster evening in front of their home crowd.

In a repeat of the last two ROC Nations Cup finals, Team Germany lined up against Team GB, represented in the ESPRIT arena by Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato.

The two teams were extremely closely matched and needed a sudden-death shoot-out to decide the result, with Schumacher beating Priaulx by a fraction.

After such an exciting ROC Nations Cup, the drivers gave their reaction to events. Here's what some of them had to say:

Michael Schumacher (Team Germany): “It is special because we had won this three times in a row which was great anyway. So to do it a fourth time here in Germany, considering we were almost knocked out in the group stages, is fantastic - we are more than happy. The crowd were very supportive tonight; they were cheering us all the way and with Sebastian having just won the world championship it was even more emotional and fun out there tonight. After the group stages we definitely needed to wake up - it felt like we were asleep. But when we were in the final, against the British guys, I thought we had a good chance.”

Sebastian Vettel (Team Germany): “The moment I went out on to the track everyone stood up and went crazy. It was a really cool night for all the fans, as well as for Michael and myself to get so much support. It was extremely close in the first round and we thought we might get knocked out. But I was lucky I had Michael on my team. It was a fun experience and to win at home, the first time in many years that The Race of Champions has been held in Germany, is very special.”

Andy Priaulx (Team GB): “To race against Michael Schumacher is always a privilege and we were beaten by two good guys tonight. I had some good races today, particularly the one against Sebastian Vettel. I beat the current Formula 1 world champion which is not bad for an old touring car driver! That is three years in a row I have lost out in the final after losing to Germany at Wembley and then Beijing. I really wanted to get it today but it is great to be here and we did well.”

Jason Plato (Team GB): “For lots of reasons we really wanted to win that one but in the end we weren't quick enough. I let the side down a bit as I wasn't on the top of my game when Andy certainly was. We gave it a good shot - close but no cigar.”

Bertrand Baguette (Team Benelux): “I had a lot of fun and for me racing against Michael Schumacher, Sébastien Loeb and Alain Prost is a dream. It went quite well but unfortunately we didn't make it to the final. I have to say I am happy for the people who voted for me to be here as part of Team Benelux. I am really proud to be here and very happy I could be here thanks to them.”

Heikki Kovalainen (Team Nordic): “That's the way it is sometimes. I managed to do well in my races and win all three but we had tough opponents. It is nothing to be ashamed of; just the way it is and next year we have to come back a bit stronger.”

Tom Kristensen (Team Nordic): “It is frustrating to be eliminated in the first round. Heikki did a fantastic job to win all his races and it would have been nice to progress but there's always next time. It makes me even more determined to do better tomorrow. You don't need to use the cars on Monday so everyone will push even harder!”

Carl Edwards (Team USA): “I had fun driving and I am excited for tomorrow when I need to redeem myself. I don't know what went wrong; I was just slower than I was yesterday. I was much faster yesterday, especially in the KTM, but there is no excuse, it was just me. I will run better tomorrow, I'm sure.”

Travis Pastrana (Team USA): “It felt really good to beat Sebastian Vettel in the first round and it was just really cool to race him because I have so much respect for him. It's unfortunate we couldn't go through but it was awesome having Carl Edwards over here and driving alongside me for Team USA. It was a bit tough for us out there but now I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”

Mick Doohan (Team All Stars): “That was an absolutely fantastic experience, really enjoyable. I was surprised to beat Carl Edwards because he spends all his year driving cars so I enjoyed that. This is a lot of fun for me and I just enjoy driving these cars against these drivers. I have a blast and if I can come close to these guys I am really happy.”

Alvaro Parente (Team Portugal): “I got the puncture during the run so I hit the wall because of that. Already on the straight the car didn't feel quite right so maybe I could have stopped there but I am a racing driver so I tried to push on. The puncture cost us the chance to go through but that was just down to bad luck and I'll try to get a better result tomorrow.”

Tonight's official attendance was 36,189 and tickets are still available to see the main event tomorrow, when the stars of world motorsport go head to head for individual glory in The Race of Champions.

Additional entertainment tomorrow is provided by Vettel, who will perform a demonstration run in his world championship-winning Red Bull Racing car.

Team Germany wins ROC Nations Cup again

Team Germany, featuring new Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, beat Team GB's Jason Plato and Andy Priaulx in the final to win ROC Nations Cup.

Vettel and Schumacher win the prestigious trophy for an incredible fourth time in succession.

Multiple World Rally champion Sébastien Loeb and F1 legend Alain Prost eliminated in semi-finals, along with Team Benelux (Jeroen Bleekemolen & Bertrand Baguette).

Local heroes Team Germany defeated Team GB in the final tonight to win the ROC Nations Cup in Düsseldorf after a thrilling contest featuring the world's top motorsport stars.

Legends from all aspects of motorsport did battle for national pride in the ROC Nations Cup, behind the wheel of various vehicles, including the awesome Audi R8 LMS, on a purpose-built parallel track at the ESPRIT arena.

The ROC Nations Cup trophy has been won for the last three years by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher for Team Germany and they did not disappoint a big crowd tonight.

Schumacher squared up against Team GB's Plato in identical KTM X-Bows for the first race of the best-of-three final and made the perfect start, winning by just under two seconds.

The action switched to Audi R8 LMS cars for the second race, which Priaulx won to keep the contest alive and set up a head to head with Schumacher for the title.

An incredibly tight deciding race in ROC Cars saw Schumacher narrowly defeat Priaulx and clinch Team Germany's fourth ROC Nations Cup crown to the acclaim of their home fans.

Earlier in the evening, Team GB as group winners and runners-up Team France progressed through the round-robin Group A to line up a best-of-three semi-final.

Team Nordic, featuring Tom Kristensen and Heikki Kovalainen were eliminated on the tie-breaker of combined times while Alvaro Parente hit a wall in a KTM X-Bow as he and Team Portugal team-mate Filipe Albuquerque were knocked out.

In the first semi-final, Team GB prevailed in two races, with Plato beating Alain Prost in a VW Scirocco before Priaulx just finished of Loeb in a Porsche 911 to eliminate Team France.

In the other group, Team All Stars (Mick Doohan & Tanner Foust) and Team USA (Carl Edwards & Travis Pastrana) were knocked out as Team Germany and Team Benelux set a semi-final date.

In that contest, the home fans were given a performance to remember as Schumacher beat Bertrand Baguette in a ROC Car while Vettel followed that up with an immensely popular win over Jeroen Bleekemolen in a KTM X-Bow.

Tonight's official attendance was 36,189 and tickets are still available to see the main event tomorrow, when the stars of world motorsport go head to head for individual glory in The Race of Champions.

ROC Nations Cup ticket holders receive a 50% discount on Race of Champions tickets by presenting their ticket from Saturday.

Additional entertainment tomorrow is provided by Vettel, who will perform a demonstration run in his world championship-winning Red Bull Racing car.

Comments from selected drivers will follow shortly.

Dusseldorf welcomes HRH the Monkey King!

Friday started off slowly with a lazy breakfast of ham, cheese, ham, cheese, ham, cheese, cheese and ham, followed by a couple of cheeky beers from my mini-bar - disgusting......all that ham and cheese!




We then preceded to meander around the town and get our bearings which clearly hasn't worked as we appear to get lost every time we leave the hotel.

However we did find a bar late morning serving some very nice ales and we tried both the light and dark beers - preferring the dark side of course! - before stepping out into the cold to find another watering hole. Still no snow here yet.








Our next port of call was a fantastic 80s rock bar complete with non-stop soft rock playing and a barmaid with a long curly perm - both Chadders and I couldn't get enough of it and spent the remainder of the afternoon sipping dark beer and listening to the breadth of German (and even some bands we had heard of) euro-rock.. Sadly they didn't play any David Hasselhoff at all!!

By this time we were starting to hear rumblings that HRH was at a UK airport getting ready to fly over and join us so we beat a retreat from the rock fest to find some food.

We found a small Italian with a menu we didn't understand (nothing new there) and ordered the catfish with some help from a very brusque librarian-type waitress. Excellent choice as it was very good!

HRH informed us that he was in a taxi heading to the hotel so we paid the bill and froze to death on the walk back.

Earlier in the day we had seen a number of homages to the great monkey king - a sample of which are below.








Now as a threesome we attempted to get back into Herr Schumacher's bar but it was so packed that we left and walked back to the old town to show KL the delights of the rock bar. Again that was busy too and we had to resort to sitting outside under a patio heater. KL's gillet kept him warm though.




Chadders was befriended by a nice German man and they seemed to get on like a house on fire. So much so that I think he's now one of Chadders' facebook friends and I did hear a vicious rumour that they've been tweeting about each other ever since ;o)

After several Jagermeisters and more dirty, dark beer we made it back to the hotel for a night-cap and retired back to our rooms/cells - KL also has the pleasure of his own private cell block too!

Practice makes perfect for RoC stars

New Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel excited by “special” event in front of his home crowd despite an off while “pushing hard” in practice.

Michael Schumacher warns Team Germany’s ROC Nations Cup rivals he is “hoping for number four” after three consecutive wins.

Team USA gunning for Team Germany, with Travis Pastrana “really excited about beating” Schumacher and Vettel.

The superstars of world motorsport are ready to do battle in The Race of Champions this weekend after practice concluded on Friday evening on the unique parallel track in Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT arena.

New Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel was among the drivers taking part in the final practice session on the specially-constructed indoor track. Also on track were NASCAR ace Carl Edwards, motorcycling great Mick Doohan, Travis Pastrana, Jason Plato and Tanner Foust.

The group pushed to the limit – and beyond when Vettel went straight through a trackside barrier and into a gravel trap in the KTM X-Bow.

After the final practice session, the second group of drivers held a press conference to give their thoughts on the weekend’s event. This is what they had to say:

Sebastian Vettel: “It has been quite a journey since Abu Dhabi. So far I am enjoying it a lot and I have another busy weekend here. It is nice for Michael and myself to be racing in front of our home crowd and it is special to have The Race of Champions in Germany. This is a different world compared to F1 but it’s lots of fun to compete against drivers from different areas of motorsport. We are here to enjoy ourselves but as soon as we put our helmets on we all go back to race mode and try to beat the guy next to us. In practice this evening I was pushing hard and just after the bridge the car went straight on - my eyes were turning right but my car wasn’t so I ended up in the gravel trap. If I do that tomorrow or Sunday it is not going to be great for me!”

Michael Schumacher: “This is a great opportunity for Sebastian and I to race in front of our home fans. The Race of Champions has been successful in other countries in the past and now, coming to Germany at a special time with Sebastian winning the world championship, it is the perfect way to celebrate the end of the season. It is a perfect set-up here and I think it will be a very special event. Of course, Sebastian and I will try to get some more silverware for Team Germany - that is a big motivation for us. We want to give the fans a good show; we have won the ROC Nations Cup three times already so naturally we hope for number four this weekend.”

Carl Edwards: “I am very excited to be here and hopefully we can do well for Team USA in the ROC Nations Cup, as well as for myself in The Race of Champions on Sunday. It’s an honour to be here and I am looking forward to it. I reached the semi-finals of The Race of Champions back in 2008 when I beat a certain guy called Schumacher in the quarter-finals - that was a big day for me. I really enjoyed that and I hope it happens again. Practice went well today so you never know.”

Mick Doohan: “I really enjoy The Race of Champions and I have been lucky enough that they keep inviting me back. I only race cars two times a year which is not a lot compared to the other guys here who are driving week in, week out. It is a real pleasure for me to be here competing with guys who are at the top of their game and I will try my best.”

Travis Pastrana: “The first time I ever really drove a WRC car was at The Race of Champions and I was up against Markus Grönholm. I was down a couple of seconds and tried to make it all up in one corner - it didn’t work because I ended up having my first big crash in a rally car! But I have had some more enjoyable moments and in 2006 I had a really good run to finish second in the ROC Nations Cup. Team Germany keeps beating everyone so with this event being in their home country I am really excited about beating those guys!”

Jason Plato: “It is great to be back here at The Race of Champions. It’s going to be fun and the trophy looks nice - I can certainly find a place for one like that at home! It is a big incentive to look at the drivers assembled here; they are the greatest in the world and it is really a pleasure for me to be alongside them. If Team GB can get to the same level as these legends it will be a big day for me.”

Tanner Foust: “This is my third Race of Champions and it’s amazing to come back again. I am looking forward to another shot at it. The trick to this event is to get all the cars to suit you. During your short practice sessions you don’t have a lot of time with each car so you need to remember exactly where the braking point is at each corner. Practice was tricky earlier because there isn’t much rubber down so it is quite slippery but that should change tomorrow.”

Wir befinden uns im Vaterland

....Which roughly translates to (according to Google) "We are in the Fatherland!"

Our respective journeys to Dusseldorf were fairly uneventful (I think Chadders got the better flight option of Lufthansa from Geordie-land - free drinks and everything on board!!) and although it took about half an hour to find each in the terminal we eventually had an emotional reunion centred around "Where can we get a beer?!".

We decided to take the Skytrain from the airport and change at the main airport train station. My Acrophobia remained under control on the sky train, even though it reminded me of the monorail at Blackpool - not a pleasant thought!

The next leg of our journey on the train to near the hotel was a complete disaster - the least said about that the better - and Chadders and I have vowed never to discuss it again.

So, some time later our taxi pulled up outside our abode for the next few days......

I had the foresight to book a double, business-class room which included a free mini-bar (which I've pretty much demolished so far - hope they refill it today) and the obligatory slippers and bathrobe.

Chadders on the other hand has booked Cell Block H - I am expecting him to be 'loved' in his shower at some point by some hairy German who just wants a friend but that remains to be seen.....

We immediately threw our stuff into our room/cell and ventured out onto the main road in search of an establishment that served fine, German beer. Within two minutes we came across 'Schumacher's Bar' where we drank several very quaffable beers served by a phenomenally grumpy German waiter - we're not sure whether it was our inability to construct any form of sensible German vocabulary or just the fact that he was always like that.





Nonetheless he continued to serve us and even brought us food - which we guessed at the contents prior to ordering but it turned out very edible - German sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes (or even 'potatoes!!!' said in a very high pitched Keith Lemon-style voice!) - what's not to like about that??!




At around midnight we were rather aggressively told to leave and we wandered out to find more beer. We stumbled across another bar across the road called 'Aroma' which we both immediately thought was a gay bar after we'd crossed the threshold but we sat down and had a beer anyway - what metrosexuals we both are!! We were going to stay for another but we'd both forgotten how disgusting smoking inside a bar was and had to leave before we choked to death!!




So, back to the hotel for a cheeky beer and then to bed....

Not a bad day one - no doubt things will liven up when his Royal Highness gets here.....especially knowing that he is the shy, retiring type!

Ready to RoC........

Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost – with a total of 11 Formula 1 world championships between them – will battle in the group stages of The Race of Champions following today’s draw at Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT arena
Sebastian Vettel will face the double American threat of Carl Edwards and Tanner Foust while former Champion of Champions Heikki Kovalainen will lock horns with rallying’s most successful driver, Sébastien Loeb
Team Germany begins its ROC Nations Cup defence against Team USA, Team All Stars and Team Benelux

The stage is set for a thrilling 2010 edition of The Race of Champions after the draw for the opening group stages was made in Düsseldorf this afternoon.

The Mayor of Düsseldorf, Dirk Elbers, made the draw at the 50,000-seater ESPRIT arena, host of this weekend’s Race of Champions and ROC Nations Cup.

An all-star line-up of 16 motor sport stars past and present - including current F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel and seven-time title winner Michael Schumacher - discovered what awaits them in this weekend’s event.

The drivers are split into groups of four for a round-robin first stage, with the stars of world motor sport going head to head for two-lap races on a parallel track for the right to participate in the knockout stages.

The first-round groups are:

Group A:
Sébastien LOEB, seven-time World Rally Champion
Heikki KOVALAINEN, Formula 1 grand prix winner
Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN, two-time Porsche Supercup Champion
Bertrand BAGUETTE, 2009 World Series by Renault Champion

Group B:
Tom KRISTENSEN, eight-time Le Mans 24-Hour race winner
Andy PRIAULX, three-time World Touring Car Champion
Mick DOOHAN, five-time World 500cc Motorcycling Champion
Travis PASTRANA, 11-time X-Games gold medallist

Group C:
Sebastian VETTEL, 2010 Formula 1 World Champion
Carl EDWARDS, 2007 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion
Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, A1GP race winner and winner ROC South Europe 2010
Tanner FOUST, 2010 X-Games rally and rallycross gold medallist

Group D:
Michael SCHUMACHER, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion
Alain PROST, four-time Formula 1 World Champion
Jason PLATO, two-time British Touring Car Champion
Alvaro PARENTE, GP2 race winner and winner ROC South Europe 2010

Action at the ESPRIT Arena begins on Saturday with the ROC Nations Cup, when home heroes Schumacher and Vettel aim for an incredible fourth consecutive title together or Team Germany.

The two groups are:

Group A:
Team France (Alain PROST & Sébastien LOEB)
Team Nordic (Heikki KOVALAINEN & Tom KRISTENSEN)
Team Portugal (Alvaro PARENTE & Filipe ALBUQUERQUE)
Team Great Britain (Andy PRIAULX & Jason PLATO)

Group B:
Team Germany (Michael SCHUMACHER & Sebastian VETTEL)
Team USA (Carl EDWARDS & Travis PASTRANA)
Team All Stars (Mick DOOHAN & Tanner FOUST)
Team Benelux (Bertrand BAGUETTE & Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN)

As well as a stellar driver line-up, The Race of Champions also features an impressive array of vehicles, including the powerful Audi R8 LMS, Porsche 911 and VW Scirocco. They will run alongside ROC favourites including the ROC car, KTM X-Bow, Solution F Prototype, FJ Racecar and the RX150 buggy.

Start as we mean to go on.....

Premier Lounge?

Large Vodka and Tonic?

What, what?!!

RoC Photos

As promised, I have added a selection of Race of Champions photos from previous years.  If any of you guys are able to bring additional photos with you tomorrow to add to the list I will be grateful.

24 hours to go and Chadders and I will be in the Fatherland no doubt a little worse for wear......tick, tock...

Higher Class of Britney

The 2011 ride on Britney has reached the top of its game.  Not only have we booked the 'usual' ferry times (going overnight on Tuesday and returning overnight on Sunday) but we have procured the most luxurious accommodation aboard that we can muster - it is all relative, granted.......

So, without further ado I can confirm that we will be residing in the top of the range premier 'Commodore' cabins which, allegedly, have the following features:

• More spacious and air-conditioned
• TV and DVD player
• Mini bar, tea and coffee making facilities
• Complimentary breakfast served in your cabin

I'm still evaluating and assessing possible Lucy/SDK options which will hopefully be sorted pre-Christmas

The lovely Britney in the flesh

RoC Roll of Honour

Fellow travellers. It gives me great pleasure to announce the scores
on the doors, for the first time, for the annual sabbatical that is
the Race of Champions. These numbers are based on the three of us
actually making it to the Fatherland of course.

6 - Sniffer
5 - KL
4 1\2 - Stupot
4 - Chadders
2 - Pie Boy
1 - The Gardener

I think I've got the numbers right but I'm sure you'll correct me if I haven't.

One week to go......

Brittany's Theme

A link to the music that signifies you've arrived in French, France and it's bloody early...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYhZVqODYsI

A must for next year

Planning to avoid gaining the Monkey Club Badge at all costs!!

Audi 1, 2, 3…….

Fantastic result – the French were not amused but a great race nonetheless.  Pity it wasn’t the Kristensen/McNish car that won though.

Arriving in formation

We’re now heading back to the port – definitely a great idea to wait for a couple of hours after the race, have a meal, pack up and then miss all the traffic.

Sun is shining (unlike the UK at the moment I believe) and the SDK is still doing her job – although she does need a bit of a scrub when she gets back to Blighty……..

Final Race Day

It’s now Sunday and due to data connectivity problems yesterday this post is later and longer than originally planned.  Technology, eh ?

Anyway, Friday was pretty uneventful and we didn’t leave the ‘Crime Scene’ (so called due to the police tape around our campsite pitches) all day so no cycling and no collection of our Kangeroo TV, yet…….

Most of the day was very sunny and several bottles of alcohol kept us adequately hydrated.  We’ve now been christened  ‘the 3 Daves’ by the guys in the tent across from us – with Joey now having a new nickname of ‘American Dave’ – methinks this one will stick !

Mad Friday went ahead as is the normal ritual with the road being just behind our tent so just a hop and a spit for us to watch the antics of the obvious lunatics.  To be honest it didn’t rate as highly as previous years, although we did see the odd great car.

Returning to the SDK our crime scene had been infiltrated and there had been a murder.  Chadders proceeded to investigate the obvious suspects before quickly identifying that it was the grinning buffoons across from us – marking the body with a combination of sugar and couscous was a stroke of genius !

Whodunnit?

Today was the first time anyone received a Le Mans injury and,  unsurprisingly with hindsight, it was American Dave.  He kicked a ten peg from a nearby tent completely out of the ground, ripped his toe and the peg hit the front of a nearby Porsche – oh dear !

It had to happen to someone

We watched the opening World Cup game on our satellite television setup interspersed with poor ‘adult TV’ channels – the best of a really terrible set of options being ‘Tease Me!’ – not recommended.

American Dave and his favourite channel

It rained heavily all night and after a quick breakfast, in comparison with previous mornings, we loaded up the Sac du Mans with beer and headed down t’ track.  Finally we collected the Kangaroo TV – quite impressive technology it is too – and settled into our seats in the grandstand – goosebumps started pretty soon after.

The very impressive Kangaroo

Seeing the herringbone start, even though contrived, was still quite special and we prepared for the start of the race.  In a moment of madness when we visited the supermarket for liquid provision on Wednesday morning we purchased a single can of what can only be described  as being lighter fluid.  The plan was to drink it at the start so with a heavy heart with pulled the ringpull, took a deep breath  and drank heavily……euuurrrgghh!

 

 

Absolutely filthy…..

The grandstand seats as last year were excellent and gave us a great view of the action, although not Mansell’s disappointing 4th lap crash which cancelled the race for the BeechDean car.  Having said that I did get some stick from Chadders for watching the Kangaroo rather than the action in the pitlane – you just can’t please some people ;o)

The Grandstand!

Great viewing!

Enroute back to the SDK to restock provisions we decided to indulge ourselves with Cheezy Peas – 21 Euros for three portions !!  Times really have changed……we remember when it was 20 Francs to see ‘the ladies of Le Mans’ !!

It wouldn’t be the same without this….

The England match came and went with expected disappointment – why do we always make it difficult for ourselves? – and we decided to watch some night racing down by the Esses/Tertre Rouge.  That was impressive as always !

Finally a comedy photo from a looky-likey…..

  There’s a guy works down the ‘crepe shop’ swears he’s Elvis….

Hopefully I’ll get a data connection at some point this morning – bring on the final part of the race – come on Audi !!

We’re HD ready !!

It’s Friday today and the campsite is now getting full as per usual.  Yesterday afternoon turned into an alcohol fueled haze but not before our very own satellite engineer fine-tuned our satellite and we now have HD in the SDK – who’d have thunk it ?  He actually got sunburn on his face from standing on the SDK’s roof!!

Those ridiculous glasses clearly leave their mark

The afternoon’s festivities took a turn for the amusing when we had our traditional jalapeno eating contest.  We expected Joey to fall by the wayside but he actually put up a storming show and I seem to remember that we declared it a draw……although seeing the sweat coming off Joey was highly amusing.

 

You’d think he’d know better!

 

It’s not big and it’s not clever…..

 

 

The glasses didn’t help…..

 

Definitely suffering……

More alcohol followed, and Sniffer’s luxury fish pie finished off the day, but not before the spot next to us was filled with three very nice cars – including a Ferrari Dino…..we’re still arguing between ourselves as to whether it is actually real and not a replica.

Is it or isn’t it ?

The sun is out and we’re planning to use the bikes today and pick up the Kangaroo TV……

Trev on Saturday morning?

Surely...not

I am currently taking annual leave.  My first day back will be Tuesday 15th June.  If you have an urgent request, please call me on my mobile.  I will NOT be checking my emails.  Thanks.

Ian

Trev's glasses...

Rain, rain and more rain…..

We’ve made a friend ! – one of the bugs that spent the night in our East Wing

A very wet night and we almost had a calamity with the awning being very full of water – foolishly we didn’t wind it back in but I think we managed to empty the water with no major damage to the SDK….hopefully……

Even though his Royal Highness has not made the trip this year  Chadders decided to repeat the ‘Monkey See, Monkey Poo’ disaster that occurred last year with the SDK’s toilet capability……needless to say we’ve only just stopped laughing – the quality line of the morning was Chadders saying ‘……but I thought there was enough room in there..!!!’.  After much kitchen roll and manual intervention later the SDK is back to working adequately.

Manual evacation procedure – maybe we should document this for next year?

The weather now is scorchio and we’re happily drinking the rest of the morning away before embarking on an afternoon of finalising the settings on the satellite dish.  No HD yet but hopefully that will be sorted by the end of the day.

Team effort for breakfast

 

 

Breakfast in the East Wing – this is the life!

 

Have you ever seen a more ridiculous pair of shades?