Las Palmas, Nov 30: An All Stars team of racing drivers and bikers has won the ROC Nations Cup competition.
The All Stars team of Formula One driver Cristiano da Matta, world rally driver Gilles Panizzi and 250cc motorbike rider Fonsi Nieto beat a Spanish team of bike rider Emilio Alzamora, racing driver Oriol Servia and rally driver Flavio Alonso in the opening races of the Race of Champions meeting held on Gran Canaria island in Spain on Saturday (November 29). The ROC Nations Cup races featured 27 drivers, nine from each discipline, including Toyota formula one team mates Olivier Panis and da Matta. Teams from Germany, USA, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Sweden and Finland competed with the All Stars but da Matta and Panizzi were particularly impressing on the tarmac and loose track conditions. The drivers join others on Sunday to compete in the Race of Champions itself which selects the best driver from all disciplines. Among those competing will be last year's winner, the former world champion rally driver Marcus Gronholm of Finland. Final run-offs: Bike - EMILIO ALZAMORA: (winner) 01:58.15 FONSI NIETO: (loser) 02:02.42 Race - ORIOL SERVIA (loser) 01:59.30 DA MATTA: (winner) 01:58.45 Rally - FLAVIO ALONSO (loser) 01:53.37 GILLES PANIZZI (winner) 01:52.62 ALZAMORA (winner) 01:56.92 NIETO (loser) 01:59.26 SERVIA (loser) 01:59.73 DA MATTA (winner) 01:57.98


Bureau Report