HDNet to Telecast 2004 Race Of Champions

[Gregg Lengling]

1080i HDTV broadcast to feature NASCAR stars in International Competition
(November 22,2004)
HDNet will give U.S. racing fans an exclusive opportunity to watch NASCAR stars Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson as they compete in the 2004 Race of Champions - Nations Cup, live from the famous Stade de France in Paris. The entire event will be available to U.S television viewers in the highest quality 1080i high-definition television ( HDTV ), only on HDNet, Saturday, December 4 at 10:30 a.m. ET, followed by a prime-time encore presentation at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The 17th annual Race of Champions – Nations Cup is an end-of-season international racing showdown featuring two unique individual and team competitions. First, in the Race of Champions, 16 of the world's best drivers compete in a series of head-to-head heats in identical cars to determine the individual "Champion of Champions." Then, in the Nations Cup the same drivers compete in national teams of two in a bid to determine "The World's Fastest Nation."

Representing Team U.S.A., four-time NASCAR Champ Gordon and 14-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Johnson will be looking to recapture the ROC Nations Cup, after claiming the first Cup ever for the U.S. in the 2002 competition. Team U.S.A. will be competing against the top European drivers including F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher for Germany, World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb for France, and F1 Grand Prix winner David Coulthard of Great Britain.

 

"HDNet is proud to be the exclusive broadcast home of the Race of Champions," said Mark Cuban, co-founder and chairman of HDNet. "This is the only event where the best drivers in the U.S. get to represent their country against the best of the rest of the world. It's going to be an intense competition and I'm excited to see Jeff and Jimmie take on Michael Shumacher and bring the championship home. Anyone who doesn't have HDNet and an HDTV should be on the phone right now calling their cable or satellite provider so they don't miss a minute of the fun!"

"As Jeff and I close out an exciting and emotional year competing against each other on the NASCAR circuit, it will be great to be on the same team representing our country at the Nations Cup against the best drivers in the world," said Johnson.

In addition to Gordon and Johnson, Tony Kanaan and Sebastien Bourdais, champions of America's open-wheel race series IRL and Champ Car World Series, have recently joined the line-up and will be representing the Brazilian and French national teams.

"We are very pleased that HDNet has agreed to bring the highly competitive, exciting action of the Race of Champions – Nations Cup to U.S. viewers live in glorious HDTV ," said Fredrik Johnsson, president of event organizers IMP and co-founder of the Race of Champions - Nations Cup. "Now the more than 75 million fans of NASCAR, Champ Car and IRL will have the opportunity to watch their favorite drivers compete against the best from the major international championships F1, WRC and DTM."

The HDNet racing broadcast team of Leigh Diffey and Pat Patterson will host the coverage, which includes views from 16 high-def cameras throughout the track, and special behind-the-scenes interviews and footage.


About Race of Champions – Nations Cup
Created by IMP (International Media Productions) President Fredrik Johnsson and the world's best female rally driver Michele Mouton in 1988, the Race of Champions- Nations Cup remains the only event to allow drivers to race head-to-head heats in exactly the same cars and on a parallel-track. The premise is simple: using identical equipment and track, drivers can prove themselves based on their talent alone. Sixteen rally drivers and racing drivers will compete in a series of knockout heats in their own division to determine their class champion. Then, in a shootout to determine who is the master of motorsport, the winners from the two divisions, rally and racing, will go head-to-head in a super final. The winner is rewarded with the title as "The Champion of Champions".