MOTORSPORT: Bad boy on top of the world

The 25-year-old Grosjean, who races as a Frenchman even though he has lived almost his entire life in Switzerland, won the title in Bangkok early today against 15 other racing aces, driving near faultlessly on a slippery short stadium track while others (particularly F1’s youngest triple world champion Sebastian Vettel) made the mistakes.

The field included Australia’s four-time V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup and five-times 500cc motorcycle world champion, Mick Doohan.

Whincup enjoyed his debut in the Race of Champions in which competitors raced seven different types of machinery but he had only one heat win in the final day’s individual competition. Doohan won two heats.

The previous day the Aussies were put out of the ROC Nations Cup by two Germans with 10 F1 world titles between them, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. Schumi and Vettel then beat the French team of Grosjean and last year’s champion of champions, world rallying’s rising superstar Sebastien Ogier, in the Nations final.

In the best-of-three individual final early today (Australian time), Grosjean beat Denmark’s Tom Kristensen, the most successful driver in the history of the Le Mans 24-Hour sports car classic, in 'straight sets'.

It was only Grosjean’s second year in the ROC (and he was a semi-finalist last year), while Kristensen, 20 years his senior, was competing for the 12th time.

The Dane has never won the ROC but, having now been beaten in the final two years in a row, had the consolation today of clocking the fastest lap of the tricky 360-metre course.

Neither Schumacher nor Vettel have won the champion of champions title either, although they have won the ROC Nations Cup six years in a row now.

The seven types of machinery in which the 16 competitors raced this year were the Audi R8 LMS, Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo, VW Scirocco, Toyota GT86, a special ROC buggy, a KTM X-bow and a NASCAR-style Euro Racecar.

While Whincup said he had mixed emotions about his results he “absolutely enjoyed” the ROC and hoped to be invited back next year.

“It’s a fabulously well-run event and has been a great experience,” Whincup said.

“You’ve really got to be on you’re A-game… Those F1 boys, in particular, are seriously fast.”

Whincup’s heat win today came in the Toyotas over Brazil’s production car world rally champion, Benito Guerra. He came close to beating Scottish 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard in the Audis and liked the R8 best of all the machinery.

Whincup said there had been electronics issues with the Lamborghinis (Doohan put one through a barrier in the Nations Cup) and said he wanted to get more experience of a buggy before next year’s ROC.

Of the Nations Cup, Whincup said: “We [he and Doohan] got through the first round but then came up against the Germans.

“I thought I might have been a chance against Schumacher in the stock car, but it wasn’t to be. They were all telling me I should be good in the stock car, but it’s nothing like a V8 Supercar.

“I thought I was going to have a good chance of getting close to Schumacher in that, but it was left-hand drive and I was smacking the barriers on the right and too far from the apex of corners on the left.”

A highlight of the individual competition for Doohan, who has become a regular ROC competitor, was beating Spain’s reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo in the buggies, but he was whipped by Schumacher in the stock cars.

Grosjean’s success came at the end of a tumultuous year in F1 in which he caused a string of incidents, most notably on the opening lap of the Belgian GP at Spa which may have cost Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso the world title and got Grosjean a one-race ban and hefty fine.

Soon after his return from the ban Grosjean hit and spun Australia’s Mark Webber early in the Japanese GP, after which the Australian dubbed him “the first-lap nutcase”.

The ROC final was “a crazy day” of a different sort for Grosjean.

“It was tough in the group stages [heats] but I got through, then I had to face Sebastian Vettel  - who’s very quick, always at the top - in the quarter-final, before Michael Schumacher in the semi-final,” he said.

“Then I had the final with Tom [Kristensen, who had beaten Coulthard in his semi-final after earlier defeating last year’s conqueror Ogier]. I got a bit of extra luck at the right time [to beat him].

“It’s been a tough F1 season, but I finally got back on the podium yesterday [in the Nations Cup] and now this [champion of champions].”

Grosjean still is not guaranteed another season with the Lotus-Renault team in which he finished eighth in the world championship while teammate Kimi Raikkonen was third behind Vettel and Alonso.

The ROC is gimmicky but a fun end-of-year event loved by those who compete in it, especially Michael Schumacher. While its champion of champions award does not have the prestige of a serious world title it is a huge feather in the cap of those who win it and might give Grosjean a boost in retaining his Lotus seat.

There has never been any doubt about his sheer speed and the ROC may have been a sign that he can keep it all together next year – although GPs are a lot longer than the ROCs sprints, and the grids much bigger than two!

Awaiting a new V8 Supercar contract
The year is almost over but at least one more major announcement is due – indeed overdue – from V8 Supercars Australia. It’s the announcement of a new television contract for the championship.

V8 Supercars Australia’s David Malone said months ago he had hoped a contract would be concluded mid-year but it is now well beyond that.

Malone told Auto Action magazine last week to expect an announcement before Christmas.

AA alluded to disquiet among teams at the delay in finalising a new deal – most likely to be an extension with the telecaster of the past six seasons, the Seven Network.

There is a sense that the next television deal will not mean a lot more money, if any, for the sport but that extra cash may be wrung out of other digital media rights – and that Telstra may have returned as a player in that “game” after announcing its departure some months ago.