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Only
six days remain before
Michael Schumacher makes his competitive racing return in The Race of
Champions this Sunday (16 December) and the motorsport legend has been
talking
about his reasons for coming back.
Partly tempted by his support
for The Race of Champion’s chosen charity, the Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders (ICM),
Schumacher cannot deny he is also looking forward to the camaraderie of the day and the unique event.
“I
remember having a
lot of fun,” said Schumacher, speaking of his first ROC appearance in
2004. “I thought it was a marvellous event, especially for the
spectators who really seemed to enjoy themselves and cheered us all up.
“But
it was also
extremely funny for us drivers, who got to know each other a bit
better, competing for fun. So I have only good memories on this last
event I was
participating.”
All
the world-class drivers
at Wembley this Sunday will be helping to raise money for ICM, which
carries out ground-breaking research into brain damage and head
trauma.
Fredrik
Johnsson, President
of The Race of Champions’ organisers IMP, is a long-time supporter and
is delighted that ICM will be The ROC’s official charity for the
fourth consecutive year.
Amongst
the fund-raising
activities, a portion of profits from tickets sales will be given to
ICM, whose representatives are expected to be at Wembley Stadium. They
will also
receive signed, exclusive racing gear to auction from the drivers, as
well as appeals on the official TV broadcasting.
“I
will race in London
because The Race of Champions is supporting ICM, an initiative which I
am extremely proud about being part of,” said Schumacher, who is an
avid
supporter. “To me, combining the racing and the charity is the perfect option.
“My
part in this
organisation is rather small, as the other founder members are
extraordinary people, but I am happy to at least support ICM with
trying to heighten
the awareness about it.”
For more information on ICM
visit the website at www.icm-institute.org.
To
book tickets for The Race of Champions, go to www.raceofchampions.com or call +44 161 385 69 25 for less than seven tickets, or +44 207 930 3000 for eight or
more.
Drivers confirmed for 2007 include:
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Seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael
Schumacher
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Formula One star Jenson Button
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Triple and reigning World Touring Car Champion,
Andy Priaulx
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Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard
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Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebastian
Vettel
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Four-time Champ Car Champion Sébastien
Bourdais
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Seven-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen
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Two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström
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Two-time and reigning NASCAR Champion Jimmie
Johnson
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Eight-time X-Games Champion Travis Pastrana
-
Double World Rally Champion, Marcus
Grönholm
-
Renault F1’s Heikki Kovalainen
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1995 British Rally Champion Alister McRae
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World Touring Car Championship star Yvan Muller
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2003 World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg
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Five-time Norwegian Rally Champion, Henning
Solberg
This
traditional
end-of-season showdown attracts spectators from across Europe. For
three years the event, held at the Stade de France in Paris, has
attracted well
over 50,000 spectators each year.
Action from The Race
of Champions 2006 was broadcast in over 200 countries and watched by more than 186 million viewers.
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