# 2012 Race of Champions

The 2012 Race of Champions was the 25th running of the event, and took place over 14–16 December 2012 at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. During the first day, a ROC Thailand contest was held with four local drivers to decide the identity of the Thai representatives. The top two drivers (Nattavude Charoensukawattana and Tin Sritrai) advanced to the ROC Asia contest, where they faced teams from India, China and Japan. The Thai team was guaranteed a place in the main Nations Cup, whilst the second spot was taken by the victorious Indian team formed by F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan and WEC driver Karun Chandhok. During the second day, Germany took their sixth consecutive Nations Cup victory courtesy of Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, beating France (Sébastien Ogier and Romain Grosjean) in the final 2–0. During the final day, Romain Grosjean won the Race of Champions, beating Tom Kristensen 2–0 in a closely fought final. In the UK, the live broadcasts of the latter two days of the event on Motors TV attracted a peak of 44,000 television viewers, a respectable figure for a satellite-only channel.

## Participants

Champions from numerous series were invited, including Formula One (Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher and Romain Grosjean), MotoGP (Jorge Lorenzo and Mick Doohan), WTCC (Andy Priaulx), V8 Supercars (Jamie Whincup), PWRC (Benito Guerra) and IndyCar (Ryan Hunter-Reay). Also present was eight-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen. The 2012 edition marked the first time drivers from India, Thailand and Mexico have competed, whilst it was the first time since the inaugural Nations Cup event in 1999 that there were no Finnish drivers present. Reigning champion Sébastien Ogier was the only former 'Champion of Champions' in attendance.
| Team | Drivers | 2012 series |
| All-Stars | Tom Kristensen | WEC |
| All-Stars | Jorge Lorenzo | MotoGP |
| Americas | Benito Guerra | Production WRC |
| Americas | Ryan Hunter-Reay | IndyCar Series |
| Australia | Mick Doohan | none |
| Australia | Jamie Whincup | V8 Supercars |
| France | Romain Grosjean | Formula One |
| France | Sébastien Ogier | WRC |
| Germany | Michael Schumacher | Formula One |
| Germany | Sebastian Vettel | Formula One |
| Great Britain | David Coulthard | DTM |
| Great Britain | Andy Priaulx | DTM |
| India | Karun Chandhok | WEC |
| India | Narain Karthikeyan | Formula One |
| Thailand | Nattavude Charoensukawattana | Super Car Thailand |
| Thailand | Tin Sritrai | Super Car Thailand |

### ROC Asia

2012 marked the inaugural ROC Asia event, with drivers from a variety of championships (including Formula One, WEC and Super GT) taking part. The top two drivers from ROC Thailand would represent Thailand in the event.
| Country | Drivers | 2012 series |
| China | Han Han | China Rally and CTCC |
| China | Ho-Pin Tung | PCC Asia |
| India | Karun Chandhok | WEC |
| India | Narain Karthikeyan | Formula One |
| Japan | Takuto Iguchi | Super GT |
| Japan | Kazuya Oshima | Formula Nippon/Super GT |
| Thailand | Nattavude Charoensukawattana | Super Car Thailand |
| Thailand | Tin Sritrai | Super Car Thailand |

### ROC Thailand

The ROC Thailand contest was held to decide who would represent Thailand in ROC Asia, the Nations Cup and the Race of Champions. 2001 Asian Touring Car Series champion Charoensukawattana and 1999 Formula Asia champion Horthongkum battled out with drift driver Nana and touring car driver Sritrai to be among the top 2.
| Country | Drivers | 2012 series |
| Thailand | Nattavude Charoensukawattana | Super Car Thailand |
| Thailand | Nattapon Horthongkum | Super Car Thailand |
| Thailand | Sak Nana | |
| Thailand | Tin Sritrai | Super Car Thailand |

## Cars

Seven cars were used throughout the event. The Toyota GT86 and Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo made their debut in this year, while the Škoda Fabia was dropped.
* Audi R8 LMS
* KTM X-Bow
* Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo
* Euro Racecar
* ROC Car
* Toyota GT86
* Volkswagen Scirocco

## The track

A 697 metres tarmac track was constructed in the Rajamangala Stadium. The track had a bridge to connect the outer lane with the inner lane in an 8 shape track. All the races were run to 2 laps (1.394 km). In the first day a chicane was placed in the bridge area. The chicane was modified for the second and third day making the lap time longer.
Tom Kristensen made the fastest time (1:14.0680) on the second configuration in an Audi R8 at speed of 67.75 km/h.

## ROC Thailand
### Round Robin

| Pos. | Driver | Wins | Losses | Best Time |
| 1 | Nattavude Charoensukawattana | 3 | 0 | 1:21.087 |
| 2 | Tin Sritrai | 2 | 1 | 1:22.287 |
| 3 | Nattapon Horthongkum | 1 | 2 | 1:22.877 |
| 4 | Sak Nana | 0 | 3 | 1:24.309 |

### Final

| Winner | Time | Car | Loser | Time |
| Nattavude Charoensukawattana | 1:21.9160 | Toyota GT86 | Tin Sritrai | 1:22.8871 |

## ROC Asia
### Round Robin

| Pos. | Team | Wins | Losses | Drivers | Wins | Losses | Best Time |
| 1 | India | 4 | 2 | Karun Chandhok | 2 | 1 | 1:19.393 |
| 1 | India | 4 | 2 | Narain Karthikeyan | 2 | 1 | 1:19.460 |
| 2 | Japan | 3 | 3 | Kazuya Oshima | 2 | 1 | 1:18.470 |
| 2 | Japan | 3 | 3 | Takuto Iguchi | 1 | 2 | 1:19.853 |
| 3 | Thailand | 3 | 3 | Nattavude Charoensukawattana | 2 | 1 | 1:21.110 |
| 3 | Thailand | 3 | 3 | Tin Sritrai | 1 | 2 | 1:20.3364 |
| 4 | China | 2 | 4 | Han Han | 2 | 1 | 1:19.450 |
| 4 | China | 2 | 4 | Ho-Pin Tung | 0 | 3 | 1:18.2100 |

### Final

| Winner | Time | Car | Loser | Time |
| Narain Karthikeyan | 1:20.1777 | Volkswagen Scirocco | Kazuya Oshima | 1:20.6809 |
| Karun Chandhok | 1:21.4805 | Toyota GT86 | Takuto Iguchi | 1:22.4326 |

## Nations Cup

Drivers who made a false start are marked with a Yellow card in the tables, and a time penalty of 5 seconds was added to their original time.

### Group A

| Pos. | Team | Wins | Losses | Driver | Wins | Losses | Best Time |
| 1 | France | 4 | 2 | Romain Grosjean | 2 | 1 | 1:16.613 |
| 1 | France | 4 | 2 | Sébastien Ogier | 2 | 1 | 1:16.240 |
| 2 | All-Stars | 3 | 3 | Tom Kristensen | 2 | 1 | 1:14.708 |
| 2 | All-Stars | 3 | 3 | Jorge Lorenzo | 1 | 2 | 1:23.310 |
| 3 | Americas | 3 | 3 | Benito Guerra | 2 | 1 | 1:22.346 |
| 3 | Americas | 3 | 3 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 1 | 2 | 1:19.133 |
| 4 | Great Britain | 2 | 4 | David Coulthard | 1 | 2 | 1:15.798 |
| 4 | Great Britain | 2 | 4 | Andy Priaulx | 1 | 2 | 1:17.055 |
| Team 1 | Time 1 | Score | Team 2 | Time 2 |
| France | France | 1–1 | Great Britain | Great Britain |
| R. Grosjean | 1:23.6650 | Volkswagen Scirocco | D. Coulthard | 1:23.6169 |
| S. Ogier | 1:16.2420 | Audi R8 LMS | A. Priaulx | 1:17.0557 |
| Americas | Americas | 1–1 | All-Stars | All-Stars |
| R. Hunter-Reay | 1:24.5635 | Volkswagen Scirocco | T. Kristensen | 1:23.0759 |
| B. Guerra | 1:22.3469 | Audi R8 LMS | J. Lorenzo | DNF |
| France | France | 2–0 | All-Stars | All-Stars |
| R. Grosjean | 1:16.6132 | KTM X-Bow | T. Kristensen | 1:16.7225 |
| S. Ogier | 1:24.5176 | Toyota GT86 | J. Lorenzo | 1:26.7994 |
| Team 1 | Time 1 | Score | Team 2 | Time 2 |
| Great Britain | Great Britain | 1–1 | Americas | Americas |
| D. Coulthard | 1:16.2360 | KTM X-Bow | R. Hunter-Reay | 1:19.1336 |
| A. Priaulx | 1:24.4475 | Toyota GT86 | B. Guerra | 1:24.0601 |
| All-Stars | All-Stars | 2–0 | Great Britain | Great Britain |
| T. Kristensen | 1:14.7081 | Audi R8 LMS | D. Coulthard | 1:15.7987 |
| J. Lorenzo | 1:23.3108 | Volkswagen Scirocco | A. Priaulx | 1:23.1226 |
| Americas | Americas | 1–1 | France | France |
| R. Hunter-Reay | 1:18.5096 | Audi R8 LMS | Romain Grosjean | 1:16.5117 |
| B. Guerra | 1:22.7852 | Volkswagen Scirocco | Sébastien Ogier | 1:23.6944 |

### Group B

| Pos. | Team | Wins | Losses | Driver | Wins | Losses | Best Time |
| 1 | Germany | 6 | 0 | Michael Schumacher | 3 | 0 | 1:15.614 |
| 1 | Germany | 6 | 0 | Sebastian Vettel | 3 | 0 | 1:16.657 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 3 | Mick Doohan | 1 | 2 | 1:20.178 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 3 | Jamie Whincup | 2 | 1 | 1:19.385 |
| 3 | India | 2 | 4 | Karun Chandhok | 1 | 2 | 1:18.317 |
| 3 | India | 2 | 4 | Narain Karthikeyan | 1 | 2 | 1:23.169 |
| 4 | Thailand | 1 | 5 | Nattavude Charoensukawattana | 0 | 3 | 1:23.964 |
| 4 | Thailand | 1 | 5 | Tin Sritrai | 1 | 2 | 1:19.160 |
| Team 1 | Time 1 | Score | Team 2 | Time 2 |
| Germany | Germany | 2–0 | Thailand | Thailand |
| M. Schumacher | 1:15.6141 | KTM X-Bow | N. Charoensukawattana | 1:18.9635 |
| S. Vettel | 1:19.8275 | ROC car | T. Sritrai | 1:24.4221 |
| Australia | Australia | 2–0 | India | India |
| J. Whincup | 1:19.3849 | KTM X-Bow | N. Karthikeyan | 1:18.1692 |
| M. Doohan | 1:20.9261 | ROC car | K. Chandhok | 1:21.2589 |
| India | India | 0–2 | Germany | Germany |
| N. Karthikeyan | 1:25.8278 | ROC Car | M. Schumacher | 1:19.1891 |
| K. Chandhok | 1:18.3171 | KTM X-Bow | S. Vettel | 1:16.6574 |
| Team 1 | Time 1 | Score | Team 2 | Time 2 |
| Thailand | Thailand | 1–1 | Australia | Australia |
| N. Charoensukawattana | 1:22.5612 | ROC Car | J. Whincup | 1:22.0806 |
| T. Sritrai | 1:19.1595 | KTM X-Bow | M. Doohan | 1:20.1776 |
| Thailand | Thailand | 1–1 | India | India |
| N. Charoensukawattana | 1:22.7724 | Euro Racecar | N. Karthikeyan | 1:23.4550 |
| T. Sritrai | 1:21.2564 | L. Gallardo ST | K. Chandhok | 1:19.6611 |
| Australia | Australia | 0–2 | Germany | Germany |
| J. Whincup | 1:20.9684 | Euro Racecar | M. Schumacher | 1:18.3839 |
| M. Doohan | DNF | L. Gallardo ST | S. Vettel | 1:19.1646 |

### Finals

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| France | 2 |
| All-Stars | 0 | | |
| All-Stars | 0 | France | 0 |
| | | Germany | 2 |
| Germany | 2 | Germany | 2 |
| Australia | 0 | | |

#### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Time 1 | Car | Team 2 | Time 2 |
| France | France | 2-0 | All-Stars | All-Stars |
| Sébastien Ogier | 1:15.5143 | Audi R8 LMS | Tom Kristensen | 1:15.6365 |
| Romain Grosjean | 1:23.1327 | Toyota GT86 | Jorge Lorenzo | 1:24.7146 |
| Germany | Germany | 2-0 | Australia | Australia |
| Michael Schumacher | 1:17.2869 | Euro Racecar | Jamie Whincup | 1:22.1543 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1:17.6834 | Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo | Mick Doohan | 1:19.6904 |

#### Final

| Team 1 | Time 1 | Car | Team 2 | Time 2 |
| France | France | 0-2 | Germany | Germany |
| Romain Grosjean | 1:17.3946 | KTM X-Bow | Michael Schumacher | 1:15.3257 |
| Sébastien Ogier | 1:20.5839 | ROC Car | Sebastian Vettel | 1:18.6005 |

## Race of Champions

* Ho-Pin Tung and Kazuya Oshima qualified having achieved the best times (among non-Thai drivers) in ROC Asia.

### Knockout stage

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| Sébastien Ogier | Sébastien Ogier | 0 | | | | | | |
| Tom Kristensen | Tom Kristensen | 1 | | | | | | |
| Tom Kristensen | Tom Kristensen | 1 | Tom Kristensen | Tom Kristensen | 1 | | | |
| | | | David Coulthard | David Coulthard | 0 | | | |
| Ho-Pin Tung | Ho-Pin Tung | 0 | David Coulthard | David Coulthard | 0 | | | |
| David Coulthard | David Coulthard | 1 | | | | | | |
| David Coulthard | David Coulthard | 1 | | | | Tom Kristensen | Tom Kristensen | 0 |
| | | | | | | Romain Grosjean | Romain Grosjean | 2 |
| Sebastian Vettel | Sebastian Vettel | 0 | | | | | | | Romain Grosjean | Romain Grosjean | 2 |
| Romain Grosjean | Romain Grosjean | 1 | | | | | | |
| Romain Grosjean | Romain Grosjean | 1 | Romain Grosjean | Romain Grosjean | 1 | | | |
| | | | Michael Schumacher | Michael Schumacher | 0 | | | |
| Michael Schumacher | Michael Schumacher | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Michael Schumacher | 0 | | | |
| Mick Doohan | Mick Doohan | 0 | | | | | | |

#### Quarterfinals

| Driver 1 | Time 1 | Car | Driver 2 | Time 2 |
| Sébastien Ogier | 1:14.5605 | Audi R8 LMS | Tom Kristensen | 1:14.0680 |
| Ho-Pin Tung | 1:21.7089 | Volkswagen Scirocco | David Coulthard | 1:21.6364 |
| Sebastian Vettel | DNF | KTM X-Bow | Romain Grosjean | 1:15.5455 |
| Michael Schumacher | 1:17.0426 | Euro Racecar | Mick Doohan | 1:25.1853 |

#### Semifinals

| Driver 1 | Time 1 | Car | Driver 2 | Time 2 |
| Tom Kristensen | 1:14.3384 | Audi R8 LMS | David Coulthard | 1:15.8312 |
| Romain Grosjean | 1:14.8951 | KTM X-Bow | Michael Schumacher | 1:15.3823 |

#### Final

| Driver 1 | Time 1 | Car | Driver 2 | Time 2 |
| Tom Kristensen | 1:18.9348 | ROC Car | Romain Grosjean | 1:18.4775 |
| Romain Grosjean | 1:16.0779 | KTM X-Bow | Tom Kristensen | 1:16.4569 |