Five-times Le Mans winner, Emanuele Pirro and A1GP star, Clivio Piccione proved too fast for both a strong Spanish and Portuguese pairing at the inaugural Euromilhoes ROC South Europe in Porto this evening, winning the contest to book Monaco’s place at the ROC Nations Cup in Beijing on November 3.
Endurance racer Pirro, a twenty-two year resident of Monaco, and Piccione, the twenty five year old Monegasque racer, created a formidable pairing which beat the Spanish WRC duo of Carlos Sainz and Daniel Sordo by three heats to one in the best-of-five final, with Sordo winning Spain’s only heat and Piccione presiding in both his head-to-heads.
After the victory, Piccione was thrilled : ‘It was very important to win here because we are representing our country, which I already do for Monaco in the A1 Grand Prix. I’m very proud of that, and as well as that, this time we will come back home with a trophy!…and we are going to Chinaaaaa!”
Piccione’s team-mate, Emanuele Pirro is a big fan of the Race of Champions concept : “ Ok we won with Clivio Piccione, but again the real winner of the weekend was the Race of Champions. It is so fantastic to be so close to the public, to be all weekend long with other drivers who compete during the season in other categories… I think it was a great pleasure for the thousands of people who came here to see us racing, but it is also the case for us drivers, because here in the Race of Champions there is a very particular ambiance and we really have a lot of fun. Also, winning ROC South Europe and being qualified for the International Race Of Champions in Beijing is such a big moment !”
Despite the comfortable margin of their victory in the final, it was by a hair’s breadth that Monaco had prevailed over the Portuguese pairing of Production WRC leader, Armindo Araujo and A1GP racer, Filipe Albuquerque in the semi-final. In the best of five heat contest, it was beautifully poised at 2-2 before Piccione beat his fellow A1GP racer, Albuquerque by one ten thousandth of a second, the narrowest margin of victory in Race of Champions history, in the deciding heat to see Monaco through.
The 2009 edition of the Race of Champions (ROC) will be held in Beijing in November. But first, it will be necessary for the emerging nations, to qualify at the first regional finals to be held in the stadium of FC Porto on 6 and 7 June. Teams announced for the final of Southeast Europe are Spain, Portugal, Italy and Monaco, represented by Clivio Piccione and Emanuele Pirro. As was the case in Paris and at Wembley earlier editions of the ROC, a tarmac runway will be drawn into the stadium of FC Porto to allow pilots to compete in duels against a one. Asked about the decision to choose Portugal to host the first qualifying of the 2009 ROC, Fredrik Johnsson, the organiser, said: “We had so many requests from countries and pilots to participate in the ROC that we decided to launch the concept of the Regional Finals of the ROC. We have chosen Portugal as the first step because the passion for motor sport is enormous and that the stadium in Porto met our expectations. ” The cars used in the regional final will be KTM X-Bow, the Solution F prototype, the RX150 buggy, and the famous ROC Car.
L’édition 2009 de la Course des Champions (Race of Champions – ROC) se déroulera à Pékin au mois de novembre. Mais avant, il faudra, pour les nations émergentes, se qualifier lors de la première finale régionale qui se déroulera dans le stade du FC Porto les 6 et 7 juin. Les équipes annoncées pour cette finale de l’Europe du Sud sont l’Espagne, le Portugal, l’Italie et Monaco, représentée par Clivio Piccione et Emanuele Pirro. Comme ce fut le cas à Paris et à Wembley lors des éditions précédentes de la ROC, une piste de goudron sera tracée dans le stade du FC Porto afin de permettre aux pilotes de s’affronter dans des duels à un contre un. Interrogé sur cette décision de choisir le Portugal pour accueillir la première épreuve de qualification de la ROC 2009, Fredrik Johnsson, l’organisateur, a déclaré : « Nous avions tellement de demande de pays et de pilotes pour participer à la ROC que nous avons décidé de lancer le concept des Finales Régionales de la ROC. Nous avons choisi le Portugal comme première étape parce que la passion du sport automobile y est énorme et que le stade de Porto répondait à nos attentes. » Les voitures utilisées pour cette finale régionales seront des KTM X-Bow, des Solution F Prototype, des RX150 buggy, et le célèbre ROC Car.
Monaco, 12 May 2009: At the end of its first season in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Team Monaco and driver Clivio Piccione finished in 9th place in the Championship with 35 points, just one point away from 7th place! The Monegasque squad kept improving from one race to the next and demonstrated the full extent of its potential, giving the more experienced teams and drivers a real run for their money. Clivio Piccione looks back on this exciting adventure; the official launch of the team took place in Monaco in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II on September 25th 2008, just ten days before the first A1GP event in Zandvoort (Netherlands). 
L’A1 Team Monaco dans la cour des grands !
