Prologue - If any driver can truly suggest that they know exactly what domination feels like, then it would have to be either Michael Schumacher or Sebastian Vettel. The former dominated F1 to a frankly stupid extent between 2000 and 2004, while 'baby Schumie' is now threatening to do the same between 2010 and wheneverheretires in modern-day F1.
And it's not just F1 where this pair of mercurial Germans have enjoyed having things their own way. In the end-of-season jolly at the Race of Champions, the Vettel/Schumacher pairing have secured the last four Nations Cup trophies in a row. In a row. It doesn't matter whether its an F1 title, or a meaningless post-season jamboree, these two just can't help but dominate.
Today at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, they will try to make it five in a row. Standing in their way, a hideously convoluted series of round robin heats against the mightly likes of Jenson Button, Vitaly Petrov and, erm David Coulthard. On home turf for the second year in a row, can Germany's greatest pair of F1 kings do it? We'll find out over the next three hours.
Germany - Are taking this mighty seriously, because they've actually got two teams in the Nations Cup this year, the Vettel/Schumacher dream team, and a second squad, catchily titled 'SAT1 Team Germany 2' headed by the merciless power of Timo 'Glockdog' Glock. That team will be competing in the first of the groups about to take to the track.
Those groups - In full are listed below. Group B looks the stronger of the two, but Group A features three-time RoC winner Mattias Ekstrom in Team Nordic and sometime F1 driver Romain Grosjean in Team France.
Group A - Team France, Team Nordic, Team USA, Team Germany II.
Group B - Team Germany I, Team Slavic, Team GBR, Team All Stars.
A full list of all the drivers can be found on Patty's preview page for the event here.
The Format - Is fairly straightforward, so much so that even I should be able to work out what's going on. The two groups of four will see each team face the other in a head-to-head matchup of three heats. Winners get two points, losers nothing. At the end, the top two from each group go through to the semi finals, with the winners of those taking part in the final. The winners shall be the first team that wins.
And we're live - First match-up will be Team Nordic vs Team France. Here we go...
Team France v Team Nordic - Tom Kristensen v Romain Grosjean first up, and the Dane has the advantage as they reach the halfway stage. Grosjean fights back, but Kristensen takes the win to give Nordic a 1-0 lead. Second heat sees Sebastien Ogier take on Joha Hanninen, rallyer vs rallyer. Ogier gets a brilliant start, and leads by a fraction at the midway stage. Hanninen then gets a big tank-slapper on midway around the second lap, and Ogier takes the win. That's 1-1, and it'll be Ogier vs Kristensen in the decider.
Oh - But it looks like we'll have to wait for that decider, because the next pair of drivers on track will be Brian Deegan and Timo Glock, in the first heat of the USA vs Germany II race. Confused? I am.
Team USA v Team Germany II - Glock heads the first part of this match-up, and has a 0.77s lead midway through. Renowned stunt driver Deegan tries a few too many trichs, and loses time on the second lap, and Glock wins easily. The crowd go into rapture, and Germany II have a 1-0 lead. Travis Pastrana vs Timo Scheider in the second heat, the American needing a win to keep the heat alive. But Scheider gets a belting start to take an early lead. Pastrana fights back though, and lead by 0.6s at the midway point. He keeps it together, and takes the win! 1-1 in this one as well.
Right - Now we're onto France v Germany II. I'm assuming these match-ups are getting deciders at some point, by the way. I really could have done with doing some research before this, I guess. First head here will be Glock v Grosjean.
Team France v Team Germany II - Even getaway, but Glock gets a big slide on and loses some time. Oh, but then Grosjean evens things up with a half-spin of his own, and he's well down at the midway point. A scruffy second lap from Grosjean as well, and it's 1-0 to Germany II. Ogier v Scheider next up, and in Skoda rally cars to boot. Will that give Ogier the advantage? He's away strongly and has a good early lead of 1.4 seconds at the midway stage. This will tie up this match-up if he can keep it together, and he can, so 1-1 in this as well.
Next up - USA vs Nordic. Kristensen vs Deegan in the first heat, in KTM X-Bows, if you're keeping notes.
USA v Nordic - Even stevens off the start for TK and Deegan, but the American has another slide halfway around, and Kristensen has a second advantage midway through. He's got a passenger onboard, but it doesn't slow him down, and that's 1-0 to Nordic, with Hanninen and Pastrana next on track. Skoda rally cars for the pair of them, and Hanninen will be a big favourite. Pastrana's struggling early on, and then he clips a kerb and nearly rolls the car! That's ruined the race, and Hanninen coasts to the finish to take a genuine win for Team Nordic. 2-0 winners.
WTF - This is surreal. Some mid-session entertainment features Norbert Haug of all people absolutely ragging the life out of an old Mercedes rally car. Go Norb!
Nordic v Germany II - Kristensen v Scheider first up, with TK having the advantage after the first lap. Scheider can't do anything about him over the second lap, and TK wins easily.
Nordic v Germany II - Kristensen v Glock first up, with TK having the advantage after the first lap. Glock can't do anything about him over the second lap, and TK wins easily. Hanninen vs Scheider in the second race, in the VW Sciroccos, and the German gets the early jump, and leads by some 1.15s at the midway stage. Surely no chance of Hanninen pulling that back, and indeed Scheider keeps it together, so 1-1 in this one. France v USA next up.
France v USA - It'll be Deegan vs Grosjean first up, in the Audi R8s. Both away well, but Deegan is again sliding the car around, not having learned that going forward is the quickest way, and Grosjean is up by 0.6s at the midway point. Grosjean keeps it together over the second half of the race, and that's the win for France. 1-0. Pastrana vs Ogier next up, with USA still searching for their second heat win. Ogier should be the favourite, and he leads comfortably over the first lap. Will Pastrana crash again? No, but he can't claw the result back, and France take it 2-0.
Ah - Ok, scrap my comments about the whole best of three thing in the group stages. We just have two races apiece. I'm so glad I didn't bother researching that. The net result of that means that Team Nordic and Team France have qualified with four heat wins apiece. Team Germany II only won three heats and USA a single one.
Group B then - Team Germany I, Team GBR, Team Slavic and Team All-Stars. In theory, the first two of those teams should go through, but this could be a very tight group.
First up - Will be Germany I vs Slavic. Schumie vs Petrov. The drive for five in a row for Team Germany starts here.
Germany v Slavic - Schumie has a passenger onboard, and hares away in his KTM X-Bow. Round to complete lap one, and Petrov leads by 0.1s! Can the Russian keep this together? Schumacher really struggling as they go onto the final quarter of the lap, and...it's nack and neck...PETROV WINS! What a huge upset already! So Vettel now NEEDS to win against IRC driver Jan Kopecky. No idea what they're driving here, some mad little buggys, or something. Vettel is hacksawing at the wheel, and is DESTROYING Kopecky, 1.8s up at the end of lap one. Surely that's good enough, he steers through the final corner and takes a crucial win for Germany. 2.8 seconds ahead at the end.
Next up - Team GBR vs Team All-Stars, we'll have Jenson Button vs David Coulthard, and Andy Priaulx vs Filip Alberquerque.
GBR v All-Stars - Even off the start, as DC gets an early lead using the shorter inside line. Up to the midway point, though, and Button leads by 0.2 seconds. DC pegs him back a bit, this will be very close, and Button just holds on. Now Priaulx vs last year's RoC champion Alberquerque, and the Portuguese driver nails the start to take an early lead. Midway through, and Priaulx has - as Button did - recovered to nab a small lead. Can Team GBR take back-to-back wins? Yes they can, comfortable in the end for the GT star.
Early lead - For Team GBR in the group, with two wins, Germany and Slavic have a win apiece and the All-Stars have yet to score. Next on track will be Germany v the All Stars.
Two - Winless drivers paired together first up in this one. DC versus Schumie. Heaps of pressure on both of these guys, especilly DC because another defeat here, and the All-Stars are effectively out of proceedings already.
Germany v All-Stars - Schumie and DC back in the crazy buggy things that worked so well for Vettel. And ha ha ha ha, DC has jumped the start, and just gone haring off into the distance. Schumacher looks confused as to what is going on, before heading off himself five seconds later. DC will win, but the Scot will be disqualified, and Germany win. Vettel vs Alberquerque in the X-Bows now. Even stevens off the line. SebVet doesn't like these cars apparently, and it shows, he's only 0.7s up at the midway point. What a failure. Over the rest of the lap, Alberquerque does what he can, but Vettel wins by a good margin. The crowd goes bananas, and that is the All-Stars out.
Next up - Slavic vs GBR. The Russio-Czech duo need at least one win here to give themselves a chance to qualify for the quarter finals, while two wins for Button and Priaulx would put Britain through no matter how they go against Germany in the final pairing.
Slavic vs GBR - It'll be Button vs Petrov in the buggy things for heat one. Petrov appears to get the better start, but both British drivers have fought back from slow starts so hard, and Petrov has a little early effort, so Button leads comfortably midway through. Only a crash will thwart the 2009 F1 champion now, and he duly fails to crash, and takes a 1-0 lead for GBR. Priaulx v Kopecky next, and they're back in the the X-Bows, with Priaulx getting a flying start and he leads by 0.7s from the rally driver at the midway point. Can the Czech driver fight back? Nope, Priaulx takes a second win, and that is Team GBR into the semi finals.
Right then - GBR have 4 wins, Germany 3, Slavic 1 and All-Stars 0. If All-Stars win either heat against Slavic next up, then Germany will join GBR in the semis.
Slavic v All Stars - DC and Petrov up first, and it's nip and tuck, but Petrov makes an error and DC wins! So that's Germany through then. Way to be an anti-climax, Group B. Kopecky vs Alberquerque next up, and Kopecky in the Skoda rally car is right at home, and he's well up on the Portuguese driver at halfway. Surely this will be his first heat win, and it is. And that means Slavic take third in the group, ahead of All-Stars, with two wins to the one of the All-Stars.
A pre-amble - To the second semi-final next up. Germany v GBR in the final two heats of Group B. The pressure is off for now, but you can bet all four of these drivers still want to win. Button v Schumie and Vettel v Priaulx are the match-ups.
Here we go - Button and Schumie are going to race in what are termed 'World Touring Racecars'. No idea what they are, but they look good. Button does an extra warm-up lap, to warm his tyres up a bit more. Clever.
Germany v GBR - Close run start from both F1 starlets. Through to complete the first lap and Schumie has a 0.3s lead. Still very close though, as they sweep around their second lap. Schumie still looks ahead as they come to the final corner, and it's neck-and-neck...Schumie wins! Very very close, though. Can Priaulx defeat Vettel, then? This heat is for the right to top the group, not that such a thing really matters, as they're facing each other in the semis no matter what. Close start again, and Vettel leads by 0.1s at the end of lap one! So so very close, as Priaulx kicks the rear end of hsi Skoda out. Up to the line, and...PRIAULX WINS! Vettel has been beaten!
Wow - So both of the Team Germany line-up are beatable, as the group stages have proved. Can GBR perform when it matters in the semi final though? We'll find out a little bit later, but our first semi-final will be on track in a moment: Team Nordic vs Team France. Grosjean vs Kristensen in Heat 1, then Hanninen vs Ogier in heat two. The heat winners will then race each other in a decider if we're tied after the first two.
France v Nordic Heat 1 - Here we go, Grosjean v Tee Kay in the Audi R8s. Advantage to the sportscar man? Off they go, good start from both drivers. Kristensen has an early advantage, and Grosjean makes an error on his first lap. Midway through, and Kristensen leads by half a second. Grosjean struggling to fight back, up to the line and...Kristensen wins! 1-0 Nordic.
France v Nordic Heat II - Can Ogier force a decider? He's in the Scirocco against fellow rally driver Hanninen. He beat him earlier on, but Hanninen gets a good start. Midway point, though and the lead for Hanninen is just an odd tenth. Ogier makes a little error going over the crossover bridge, up to the finish...and Hanninen JUST takes it, to put Nordic into the final! 2-0 Nordic.
The big showdown now - GBR v Germany, for real. One win apiece in the groups, and the two pairings will be the same, Button vs Schumacher in the World Touring Racecars first up, then Vettel versus his nemesis from the group stage Andy Priaulx. They'll be in the X-Bows, that Vettel doesn't like. Interesting...
GBR v Germany Heat I - Schumie won a super-tight heat with Button in the groups, and a win for Button here would be massive. Off the line, very close between the two of them. Schumacher looking slightly up, but at halfway it is almost neck and neck, Schumie leading by 0.4s. Can Button close this back in, Schumie still looks slightly ahead, up to the line...so close....BUTTON WINS! 0.1 seconds ahead of Schumie! 1-0 GBR.
Germany on the brink - Vettel needs to beat Priaulx to keep the drive for five alive. Drama! Craziness! Alliteration!
GBR v Germany Heat II - Neat and tidy off the line, Vettel looks slightly ahead, around to the halfway point, and Vettel now leads by 0.6s. Priaulx looking ragged, and he nearly spins it! That could be it for Vettel, the crowd cheers, VETTEL WINS! 1-1 and a Button v Vettel decider!
Still - In the KTM X-Bows. So the 2011 F1 champion vs the 2011 F1 runner-up, for a place in the final of the Nations Cup. This is a nailbiter.
GBR v Germany Heat III - Are we ready? OFF WE GO! Even stevens off the line after a very long wait for the lights. Button ahead after half a lap, but he's going into the slower infield now. Up to midway....Vettel leads by 0.2s! And BUTTON SPINS! He's THROWN IT AWAY! Vettel will take an easy win, and Germany have pulled it back, and will go for a fifth consecutive Nations Cup versus Team Nordic. 2-1 Germany. Oh Jenson.
So, the final - Germany v Nordic. It'll be Tom Kristensen vs Schumie in the X-Bows, then Hanninen vs Vettel in the buggys.
Before - The final, we get Vitaly Petrov taking a couple of terrified people around the track in a three-seater F1 car. The two passengers are basically sitting in the sidepods. Don't crash it, Vitaly...
Tom Kristensen - Is the only unbeaten driver remaining in the field. Schumie's been beaten twice already.
Germany v Nordic Heat I - Schumie away quicker, and Schumacher is up halfway round the first lap. Into the tighter infield for the German, and at halfway, it is Schumie by 0.58s. Lots for TK to do, and Schumie is looking, if anything, even further ahead at three-quarters. The crowd is on their feet, and SCHUMACHER WINS! 1-0 Germany.
So then - Juha Hanninen must beat Vettel in the buggy to keep the Nations Cup alive, and deny Germany a fifth straight Nations Cuo. He's a huge underdog, but stranger things have happened.
Nordic v Germany Heat II - Vettel brilliant off the line. He has the advantage already, having done the slower half a lap and at midway, Vettel is MILES ahead. A 2.7 second lead. Bar a crash now, he's going to do it. Oh no, and Hanninen spins just before 3/4 distance, and VETTEL WINS! The crowd go wild! 2-0 Germany!
TEAM GERMANY I WINS THE 2011 ROC NATIONS CUP!
Schumie - Runs onto the track to celebrate with Vettel, they salute the rapturous home crowd, and that means that pairing at the Nations Cup winners for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Domination? These are your guys.
Schumie says - "It is fantastic teamwork. I failed a bit in the semi final, but we came back and we did it. Number five! Be proud of us!"
Vettel says - "Don't mention the donuts, they were horrible! But fortunately the race I did was good!"
Epilogue - So, Schumacher and Vettel secure the Nations Cup crown in the end, overcoming that slip-up by Schumie to Petrov in the heats, and an absolutey nailbiting semi-final against Team GBR. Simply too good, in the end.
For tomorrow, the main Race of Champions will take place from 13.00 GMT, and will see the individual drivers go for some individual glory. And Patty will be back with all the action from there tomorrow. Hope you've enjoyed this evening's heat-by-heat report. Cheerio!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
