The 2004 Race of Champions took place on December 4 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. Unlike previous events at a gravel course in Gran Canaria, the new Stade de France event was all-tarmac, so road racers became more competitive than rally drivers.
The Nations' Cup underwent some significant changes - nations were now represented by only two competitors instead of three, with the motorcyclists axed. In addition, the rules regarding having one rally driver and one circuit driver were relaxed, leading to some all-circuit driver teams. As the host nation, France was permitted to field two teams.
The individual event was won by a then-relatively unknown Heikki Kovalainen, and the team event by Jean Alesi and Sébastien Loeb representing France. There was also a special "World Champions Challenge" race held between 2004 Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher and 2004 world rally champion Sébastien Loeb, which Schumacher won.
Participants edit
* - Casey Mears was a last-minute substitute for Jeff Gordon, who was hospitalized with the flu and told not to participate in this event by doctors while at NASCAR's awards banquet in New York City that week.
Race of Champions edit
Racing Group edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| ROC Car | ||||||||||
 Heikki Kovalainen | 1:45.8988 | |||||||||
| Ferrari 360 Modena | ||||||||||
 David Coulthard | 1:56.9983 (penalty) | |||||||||
| Heikki Kovalainen | 1:48.9325 | |||||||||
| ROC Car | ||||||||||
 Jean Alesi | 1:50.6410 | |||||||||
 Casey Mears | 1:45.4170 | |||||||||
| Ferrari 360 Modena | ||||||||||
| Jean Alesi | 1:44.8707 | |||||||||
| Heikki Kovalainen | 1:45.3851 | |||||||||
| ROC Car | ||||||||||
 Michael Schumacher | 1:56.3805 (penalty) | |||||||||
 Kenny Bräck | 1:59.0832 (penalty) | |||||||||
| Ferrari 360 Modena | ||||||||||
| Sébastien Bourdais | 1:43.9553 | |||||||||
| Sébastien Bourdais | 1:52.5493 | |||||||||
| ROC Car | ||||||||||
| Michael Schumacher | 1:49.2940 | |||||||||
| Michael Schumacher | 1:43.6905 | |||||||||
 Felipe Massa | 1:53.6368 (penalty) | |||||||||
Rallying Group edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Citroën Xsara WRC | ||||||||||
| Mattias Ekström | 1:48.7732 | |||||||||
| Peugeot 307 WRC | ||||||||||
| Colin McRae | 1:58.7684 (penalty) | |||||||||
| Mattias Ekström | 1:46.5447 | |||||||||
| Citroën Xsara WRC | ||||||||||
| Marcus Grönholm | 1:45.2022 | |||||||||
| Stéphane Sarrazin | 1:47.6678 | |||||||||
| Citroën Xsara WRC | ||||||||||
| Marcus Grönholm | 1:46.0241 | |||||||||
| Marcus Grönholm | 1:44.6967 | |||||||||
| Peugeot 307 WRC | ||||||||||
| Sébastien Loeb | 1:44.0306 | |||||||||
| Jimmie Johnson | 2:18.5842 (penalty) | |||||||||
| Citroën Xsara WRC | ||||||||||
| Armin Schwarz | 1:50.7135 | |||||||||
| Armin Schwarz | 1:47.3488 | |||||||||
| Peugeot 307 WRC | ||||||||||
| Sébastien Loeb | 1:45.6719 | |||||||||
| Sébastien Loeb | 1:46.4110 | |||||||||
| Tony Kanaan | 1:54.8822 (penalty) | |||||||||
Final edit
| Driver 1 | Time 1 | Car | Driver 2 | Time 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heikki Kovalainen
|
1:42.2602 | Peugeot 307 WRC | Sébastien Loeb
|
1:43.0579 |
| Heikki Kovalainen
|
1:47.4383 | Ferrari 360 Modena | Sébastien Loeb
|
1:55.5842 
|
World Champions Challenge edit
| Driver 1 | Time 1 | Car | Driver 2 | Time 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Schumacher
|
1:46.7832 | ROC Car | Sébastien Loeb
|
1:46.9166 |
| Michael Schumacher
|
1:43.6134 | ROC Car | Sébastien Loeb
|
1:43.3109 |
| Michael Schumacher
|
1:41.8246 | ROC Car | Sébastien Loeb
|
1:42.7484 |
The Nations Cup edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| France | 2 | |||||||||
| Team Playstation France | 0 | |||||||||
| France | 2 | |||||||||
| Brazil | 0 | |||||||||
| Brazil | 2 | |||||||||
| Germany | 0 | |||||||||
| France | 3 | |||||||||
| Finland | 2 | |||||||||
| Great Britain | 2 | |||||||||
| USA | 1 | |||||||||
| Great Britain | 0 | |||||||||
| Finland | 2 | |||||||||
| Finland | 2 | |||||||||
| Sweden | 0 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals edit
| Team 1 | Time 1 | Score | Team 2 | Time 2 | Car | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France
|
2-0 | Team PlayStation France
|
||||
| Jean Alesi | 1:50.3002 | Sébastien Bourdais | 1:51.2661 | Ferrari 360 Modena | ||
| Sébastien Loeb | 1:44.1263 | Stéphane Sarrazin | 1:47.5831 | Peugeot 307 WRC | ||
| Brazil
|
2-0 | Germany
|
||||
| Felipe Massa | 1:50.1074 | Michael Schumacher | 1:53.7634 | Ferrari 360 Modena | ||
| Tony Kanaan | 1:49.7582 | Armin Schwarz | 1:50.0430 | Citroën Xsara WRC | ||
| Great Britain
|
2-1 | USA
|
||||
| David Coulthard | 1:56.2226 | Casey Mears | 1:53.5186 | Ferrari 360 Modena | ||
| Colin McRae | 1:53.9080 | Jimmie Johnson | 2:15.4507 | Citroën Xsara WRC | ||
| David Coulthard | 1:44.7981 | Casey Mears | 1:45.0045 | Ferrari 360 Modena | ||
| Finland
|
2-0 | Sweden
|
||||
| Heikki Kovalainen | 1:46.6362 | Kenny Bräck | 1:51.3292 | Ferrari 360 Modena | ||
| Marcus Grönholm | 1:49.0011 | Mattias Ekström | 1:49.6333 | Citroën Xsara WRC | ||
Semifinals edit
| Team 1 | Time 1 | Score | Team 2 | Time 2 | Car | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France
|
2-0 | Brazil
|
||||
| Jean Alesi | 1:41.7459 | Felipe Massa | 1:42.1434 | ROC Car | ||
| Sébastien Loeb | 1:47.0386 | Tony Kanaan | 1:51.4750 | Citroën Xsara WRC | ||
| Great Britain
|
0-2 | Finland
|
||||
| David Coulthard | 1:43.6151 | Heikki Kovalainen | 1:41.6780 | ROC Car | ||
| Colin McRae | 1:46.7798 | Marcus Grönholm | 1:43.8857 | Peugeot 307 WRC | ||
Final edit
| Team 1 | Time 1 | Score | Team 2 | Time 2 | Car | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France
|
3-2 | Finland
|
||||
| Jean Alesi | 1:42.2688 | Heikki Kovalainen | 1:40.8116 | ROC Car | ||
| Sébastien Loeb | 1:44.8087 | Marcus Grönholm | 1:46.0491 | Citroën Xsara WRC | ||
| Jean Alesi | 1:57.9157 (penalty) | Heikki Kovalainen | 1:46.8295 | Ferrari 360 Modena | ||
| Sébastien Loeb | 1:43.1858 | Marcus Grönholm | 1:44.3120 | Peugeot 307 WRC | ||
| Jean Alesi | 2:22.4891 | Heikki Kovalainen | DNF | Ferrari 360 Modena | ||
References edit
External links edit
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