Motor sports stars deem Race of Champions a success after one day
MIAMI — Juan Pablo Montoya says he will be back. Winning the individual title in the Race of Champions will motivate a man.
ROC president Fredrik Johnsson says he would like the annual exhibition of the world’s greatest drivers back at Marlins Park next year and beyond. But he and city officials will require a scheduled post-event discussion to determine if they agree the sometimes-tepid market is fertile for the All-Star showcase.
"Today I’m officially regretting not doing this before," Montoya, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, said after beating retired sports car legend Tom Kristensen in the final. Montoya had previously turned down every invitation to compete in the ROC.
Drivers from multiple regimens including Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar and rally competed head-to-head in an assortment of uniformly prepared cars, vying for individual and national honors. A so-called Team America of drivers including NASCAR’s Kurt and Kyle Busch and IndyCar drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi will compete against a world team in the Nations Cup on Sunday.
"Everyody’s not under pressure," said participant and IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan. "We’ve all won championships. We’ve all proved that we’re good and this is just a fun event. Hopefully, we can do more of that. ... It’s fun to trash things and just go fast."
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In its 28th installment, the ROC had never been staged in the United States before this weekend. A modest crowd of domestic and foreign fans turned out for the first day of the competition on Saturday at Marlins Park, as the 613-meter butterfly-shaped asphalt track had been placed down onto a bed of gravel atop the grass infield. Originated in 1988 as a year-end contest of rally racers, it has been held predominantly in European stadiums in recent years.
Kanaan said attendance was below his expectations but not surprising for a first-time event. He deemed it a success with one day left.
Johnsson said there are options to return the race for 1-2 years.
"We have other options. We have a lot of people from U.S. venues and international venues who are coming here in Miami. We’ll analyze it and make a decision, but I think Miami is the perfect location," he said. "(Attendance) is a tricky one. Everyone says Miami is a fickle market, first time around. We have to build awareness. I think everyone who was ere will want to come back."
Ten facts about the Race of Champions in Marlins Park
- The park's natural grass surfaces had 50,000 square feet of metal plates laid atop it and a plastic layer to protect it before asphalt was laid.
- One truck entered the park every 20 minutes to install the 120 loads of gravel and 50 loads of asphalt in a 48-hour period. About 3,000 tons of gravel and 1,000 tons of asphalt were used.
- The Ariel Atom Cup car and ROC cars are the quickest to 60 mph, at 2.9 seconds each.
- The Radical SR3 RSX is fastest at 155 mph.
- Marlins Park is the 13th venue to host the race, which is in its 28th installment.
- German Formula 1 drivers Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel hold the record with six ROC titles in the Nations Cup.
- Pascal Wehrlein (22 years, three months) is the youngest driver in the competition while Tom Kristensen (49 years, six months) is the oldest.
- Drivers competed with passengers in the drivers seats, generally VIPs or sponsor affiliates.
- Tom Kristensen has finished as runner-up a record five times.
- The retractable roof of the park was left partially open, aiding the escape of exhaust.
Follow Brant James on Twitter @brantjames.
