2004 Race of Champions

2004 Race of Champions

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File:Circuit RoC 2004 Paris Stade de France.svg

Layout of 2004 Race of Champions

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

Country	Driver 1	Driver 2
Brazil	Felipe Massa	Tony Kanaan
Finland	Heikki Kovalainen	Marcus Grönholm
France	Jean Alesi	Sébastien Loeb
France (Team PlayStation)	Sébastien Bourdais	Stéphane Sarrazin
Germany	Michael Schumacher	Armin Schwarz
Great Britain	David Coulthard	Colin McRae
Sweden	Kenny Bräck	Mattias Ekström
USA	Casey Mears*	Jimmie Johnson

* - 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

Racing Group

	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

	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

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 Yellow card

World Champions Challenge

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

	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

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

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

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

External links

• History 2004