Jamie Whincup faces F1 stars in ROC draw

Jamie Whincup will face-off against Romain Grosjean and David Coulthard in the group stage of this weekend’s Race of Champions in Barbados.

Organisers have released the full draw for the event which marks Whincup’s second ROC appearance, having debuted in Thailand two years ago.

The ROC pits stars from the sport’s different disciplines against each other, running on parallel-lane stadium circuits in a variety of machinery.

The knock-out formula sees the 16 drivers split into four groups, with the top two from each eventually progressing to the semi-finals.

Whincup was knocked out of the competition in the group stage last time around, where his rivals had included Coulthard and World Rally star Sebastien Ogier.

Retired motorcycling legend Mick Doohan is again joining Whincup for the Nations Cup, held under a similar format on the night preceding the ROC.

The Australian duo made the semi finals in Thailand before losing to German superstars Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.

This year’s ROC line-up is devoid of F1 world champions, but still boasts Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay among its line-up.

A ROC Caribbean, pitting host nation Barbados against teams from Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, will also be held as part of the event.

See below for the full 2014 Race of Champions draw.

Race Of Champions (Sunday December 14)

Group A

Romain Grosjean, Lotus F1 Team driver, reigning ROC Champion of Champions

Jamie Whincup, V8 Supercar Champion 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008

David Coulthard, 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner

Mick Doohan, 500cc MotoGP World Champion 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994

Group B

Petter Solberg, FIA World Rallycross Champion 2014, World Rally Champion 2003

Kurt Busch, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion 2004

Susie Wolff, official test driver for the Williams F1 team

Fastest ROC Caribbean driver from Barbados

Group C

Robby Gordon, Seven-time Off-road Champion, three-time Baja 1000 winner

Fastest ROC Caribbean driver from the other teams

Esteban Ocon, FIA European F3 Champion 2014

Group D

Tom Kristensen, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner

Ryan Hunter-Reay, Indianapolis 500 winner 2014, IndyCar Champion 2012

Jolyon Palmer, FIA GP2 Series Champion 2014

Pascal Wehrlein, youngest ever DTM winner, Mercedes F1 testing in Abu Dhabi

ROC Nations Cup (Saturday December 13)

Group A

Team France (Esteban Ocon & Romain Gorsjean)

Team Nordic (Tom Kristensen & Petter Solberg)

Team Americas (José Maria Lopez & Robby Gordon)

Team Young Stars (Jolyon Palmer & Pascal Wehrlein)

Group B

Team Australia (Mick Doohan & Jamie Whincup)

Team Scotland (David Coulthard & Susie Wolff)

Team Barbados (Dane Skeete & Rhett Watson)

Team USA (Ryan Hunter-Rear & Kurt Busch)

ROC Caribbean (Saturday December 13)

Team Barbados (Dane Skeete & Rhett Watson)

Team Jamaica (Doug Gore & Jeffrey Panton)

Team Guyana (Kristian Jeffrey & Mark Vieira)

Team Trinidad & Tobago (Franklyn Boodram & David Coelho)