After a recent second place in the 2021 world championship in rallycross, the 2019 world champion in rallycross Timmy Hansen now joins ROC Snow + Ice at Pite Havsbad. The 29-year-old rallycross driver makes his first appearance in the Race Of Champions and looks forward to participating in the star-studded event in February.
– I have seen and followed the competition for as long as I can remember and it is a great privilege for me to represent Sweden together with Mattias, it feels incredibly fun, says Timmy Hansen.
Timmy Hansen won the Virtual Race Of Champions 2020, but now it will be the first real ROC participation during this year's edition of ROC Snow + Ice which will be held on the frozen sea at Pite Havsbad 5–6 February. Hansen's experienced teammate Mattias Ekström, on the other hand, has participated seven times, of which he has won the individual ROC title three times.
– Incredibly fun with such a strong team for Team Sweden. It will be really entertaining for the home crowd to see, and that we now also get to experience the Race Of Champions competition for the first time on the frozen sea. We have top drivers from all over the world from Formula 1, Rally, RallyCross, Indy 500 and Le mans so it is difficult to say who will win, but of course you keep a little extra on the home team. We look forward to two crazy exciting and fast-paced days here at Pite Havsbad February 5-6, says Tobias Lindfors, Group President and owner of Pite Havsbad Group.
– Winning the Virtual Race Of Champions e-sports competition during the pandemic year 2020 was a fantastic experience and it will be incredibly cool to run the real competition. After missing both the FIA World Rallycross title and the Nitro Rallycross title with only 1 point, I am super motivated to try to win both the individual competition and the ROC Nations Cup, says Hansen.
This year's Nations Cup kicks off on Saturday 5 February and will include representatives from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, the USA, the United Kingdom, France and Latin America. In this unique format, two drivers join forces to represent a country or region in a series of head-to-head races leading to a final race where the "world's fastest nation" is crowned.
– When we first introduced the ROC Nations Cup in 1999, we could not imagine how popular the competition would be for both drivers and fans. In Race Of Champions there is both friendship and strong rivalries and the ROC Nations Cup really unites all this, says Fredrik Johnsson, president of Race Of Champions and continues.
– With two drivers as strong as Timmy and Mattias, the host nation Sweden must become one of the favorite teams, I will not be surprised if they win the ROC Nations Cup title in front of the home fans.
World stars ready for the event
Four-time Indy 500 champion Hélio Castroneves, four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, F2 and F3 champion and current Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, reigning FIA world champion in rallycross and Extreme e champion 2021 Johan Kristoffersson, nine-time world champion in rally Sebastien Loeb, seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, rally star and reigning ROC champion Benito Guerra, three-time winner of Race Of Champions Mattias Ekström, two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika Häkkinen, current Formula 1 star Valtar Valtter American Rally Association Champion and Nitro Rallycross Champion 2021 Travis Pastrana, FIA World Rally and Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg and his son, the new WRC star Oliver Solberg.
