25/10/2005
NEWS STORY
Birthplace of some of motor racing's greatest champions, Brazil has confirmed its line-up for the 2005 Race of Champions – Nations Cup which takes place in Paris on Saturday December 3rd. The other national teams already announced for the annual clash of motor sport stars are Finland, France, Great Britain and the USA.
Sauber Formula 1 star Felipe Massa (24), who flew the Brazilian flag at the Stade de France in 2004, will pair up with the son of three-time Formula 1 World Champion Nelson Piquet, Nelson Piquet Jr (20), who won the first two rounds of the new A1 GP Series for Brazil.
Felipe Massa rounded off his strong season in F1 this year with 6th place in October's Chinese GP, his final race before switching in 2006 to Ferrari where he will join Michael Schumacher, the man he defeated on Brazil's way to the top four in last year's RoC – Nations Cup.
"I am very happy and proud to represent Brazil in the Race of Champions," said Felipe. "After having finished the F1 season on a high, I am looking forward to defending our colours alongside Nelsinho against some of the best drivers in the world and, above all, to providing the best show possible for the fans who deserve a great race."
"I am really looking forward to December's Race of Champions," added Nelson Piquet Jr., affectionately known as 'Nelsinho' and one of the leading names of this year's inaugural GP2 Series, widely seen as the ante-chamber to F1. "I will be making up a young Brazilian team together with Felipe Massa and I am really keen to do well. I have never driven any special cars like this before so it will be a new experience. There are a lot of great drivers who have taken part in the past, and it will be great to compete against some of them this year."
Confirmed national teams at this time:
Brazil: Felipe Massa (F1) + Nelson Piquet Jr. (GP2/A1GP).
Finland: Marcus Grönholm (WRC) + Heikki Kovalainen (GP2).
France: Jean Alesi (DTM) + Sébastien Loeb (WRC).
Britain: David Coulthard (F1) + Colin McRae (WRC).
USA: Jeff Gordon (NASCAR) + Travis Pastrana (X-GAMES).