Herta to join Johnson, Helio in the Race of Champions in Sweden
Another NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver from a balmy climate is on his way to the ice and snow in northern Sweden next month to compete against some of the best drivers in the world.
Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta will join NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers Jimmie Johnson and Helio Castroneves in the Race of Champions (ROC) Snow + Ice World Final in Pite Havsbad, Sweden, as they try to win the all-star event taking place the frozen Baltic Sea just 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. Herta replaces extreme sports and rally star Travis Pastrana, who recently suffered several injuries in a base shop accident in Florida.
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Herta, 21, will make his first appearance in the Race of Champions. He will compete for the individual title “Champion of Champions” and will join Chip Ganassi Racing Johnson – another Southern California native – in America’s bid for the coveted ROC Nations Cup on day 1 of the two-day competition weekend. Meyer Shank Racing’s Castroneves, from Brazil, will compete for the Latin American contingent.
“What a fantastic opportunity to be in the Race of Champions for the first time,” said Herta. “It comes with sadness when I fill in for Travis, and I wish him a speedy and complete recovery.”
Other global motorsport stars scheduled to compete include four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen, current F1 star and race winner Valtteri Bottas, rising F1 star Mick Schumacher, nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen nine-time world champion in rally championship Sebastien Loeb, two-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick and 2019 world champion in rallycross, Timmy Hansen.
Drivers from different motorsport disciplines will meet in intense head-to-head heats until the last individual driver is crowned “champion of champions” and the last of the two-driver teams claims the ROC Nations Cup.
This year’s ROC Nations Cup will include national teams from Sweden, Norway, Finland, USA, Germany, Great Britain and France, along with contingents from Latin America and the Nordic countries.
As part of ROC’s latest innovations, equipment presented at the 2022 event in Sweden will be powered by electric and 100 percent fossil-free biofuel engines. Cars announced so far include the 1,000-horsepower FC1-X Supercar that accelerates from 0-60 mph in less than 1.5 seconds; FIA RX2, an electric rallycross car that generates 335 horsepower and up to 510 Nm of torque; and the new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The RX2e accelerates from 0-60 mph in less than 3.3 seconds, while the GT4 produces 425 horsepower from fossil-free biofuels. SuperCar Lites will return to ROC, but this time powered by biofuel.
A unique winner-takes-all format that allows competitors to test their talents against competitors they would normally never encounter. ROC has been developing new racing formats for more than three decades, attracting many of the most successful drivers from all forms of global racing. motorsport. The event has been a competition for INDYCAR SERIES champions Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden, Indianapolis 500 winners Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya, global legends Michael Schumacher, Kristensen, Vettel, Loeb, Petter Solberg, Mattias Ekström, Colin McRae, David Coulthard , Marcus Grönholm and Jenson Button, and other international stars such as NASCAR champions Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kurt and Kyle Busch.