In three days, the 2012 Race of Champions will kick off in Bangkok, Thailand, with competitors including Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Romain Grosjean and David Coulthard from Formula One; Tom Kristensen and Andy Priaulx from sports car racing; Mick Doohan and Jorge Lorenzo from Moto GP and WRC’s Sebastien Ogier and Benito Guerra.
The sole America entry this year is IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter Reay, who also has a background in sports car racing and replaces last year's token American driver, Travis Pastrana. Jamie Whincup, from Australia’s V8 Supercar series, rounds out the 2012 list of competitors.
For 2012, the cars will include race-prepped versions of the Audi R8 LMS, the VW Scirocco, the Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo and the Toyota GT86 (sold here as the Scion FR-S). Drivers will also go head-to-head in the KTM X-Bow, the ROC Car buggy and the stock-car styled Euro Racecar.
If you can’t make it to Thailand for this weekend’s event, chances are good you can catch the Race of Champions on television - as long as you live outside the United States. While channels throughout Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia, South America, Russia and Asia will carry the event, U.S. television viewers are excluded.
Race fans in the United States aren’t entirely out of luck, however, as You Tube’s Drive channel will stream the event, with coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. on December 15.