AN AMBITIOUS bid has been launched to bring a major international motor sport event to the Ricoh Arena.
Voting has opened for people across the globe to choose the location for the 2014 Race Of Champions – the only event where the best racing drivers from all disciplines compete against each other in identical cars.
The world’s best racing and rally drivers from Formula 1, the World Rally Championships, Le Mans, MotoGP, NASCAR, IndyCar, Touring Cars and the X Games will all compete against each other during the two-day event.
The Ricoh will go up against some of the most high profile venues in the world including the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, which hosted Sunday’s 2014 World Cup Final, the Stade de France in Paris and Circuit of The Americas in Austin, USA.
A “Fan Vote” has now been launched to find out where people want to see the Race Of Champions take place in 2014 to decide the winning venue.
“We need to convince the organisers to come here which is not going to be easy considering the high-profile stadiums from across the world that we are competing against.” said Jacky Isaac, CEO at the Ricoh.
“We know we have the facilities, the infrastructure, the partnerships and experience to deliver a great event not to mention the passion and enthusiasm that is so real that you can feel it from our staff at the venue and the City Council who have worked tirelessly to help get this far in the bidding process.
“The event has attracted drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button and the current leader of the World Rally Championship Sébastien Ogier to drive against each other.
“It would be a massive coup for the Midlands and the Ricoh to host the Race Of Champions.”
The venue has come under criticism in recent months following a bitter dispute with former tenants Coventry City Football Club.
But council leader, Ann Lucas, said the venue is more than capable of hosting major sporting events following the success of hosting Olympic football two years ago.
She added: “Thousands of visitors were impressed by the warm welcome we gave them, the facilities at the Ricoh and the festival atmosphere across the city.
“There’s no better place in the world to showcase the best in motoring than Coventry, with our unrivalled history of motor manufacturing and engineering – a heritage that everyone in the city is proud of.
“That tradition of design and manufacturing innovation lives on today in firms like Jaguar Land Rover, the growing automotive engineering sector and the world-class reputation in this area of our two universities. We may not be the biggest place bidding for this race, but we’re absolutely the best.”
To vote for the Ricoh visit raceofchampions.com/voteforvenue
