The world's finest on four wheels versus the planet's best on two wheels. That sounds like a pretty appetising match-up doesn't it? Well, that's what's on offer in Bangkok on Sunday when triple Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel takes on double MotoGP title winner Jorge Lorenzo at this year’s Race of Champions.
The Red Bull Racing star and the Yamaha rider will face-off in the opening round robin series of challenges in Sunday's individual Race of Champions in a four-man group that also features five-time 500cc MotoGP champ Mick Doohan and a local qualifier.
David Coulthard will also be competing at the 50,000-seat Rajamangal Stadium in the Thai capital and has an equally tough task ahead of him, as he’ll be racing in a group that also features four-time and current V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup, reigning Race of Champions title-holder and WRC star Sébastien Ogier and Benito Guerra, the 2012 Production WRC winner.
Before then, though, there's a load of other stuff happening across the weekend, which marks the 25th consecutive staging of the ROC. The event kicks off today with ROC Asia and ROC Thailand competitions, the first of which will feature Indian F1 stars Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok as well as Chinese GP2 and IndyCar racer Ho-Pin Tung.
The best finishers from the two local competitions will go forward to Saturday's Nations Cup competition, in which Seb and DC will also feature.
Sebastian will once again pair up with seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher and the duo will be bidding to land a sixth straight Nations Cup victory for Germany. Out to thwart them, however, will be the British pairing of DC and three-time World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx. They've got a tough draw however, being matched against the formidable French team of Sébastien Ogier and Lotus F1 driver Romain Grosjean. That duo reached the semi-finals of the Nations Cup last year and won’t be any easier to bypass this time around.
Still, it's Sunday's individual competition that's the big draw and it's there that the mouth-watering Vettel v Lorenzo encounter will take place. However, Seb against 'Gorgeous George' Lorenzo isn't the only big battle taking place in the opening round. In other groups Schumacher will take on Grosjean and 2012 IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, while eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen will go head-to-head with Priaulx.
With the drivers competing in machinery ranging from Audi R8 LMS and Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo cars to specially built ROC vehicles and the KTM X-Bow, it should be a great weekend. Naturally, we'll have updates on the action across our Twitter and Facebook feeds across the weekend, so you can keep up to date with how Seb and DC fare against rivals form a host other motorsport disciplines.
The Individual ROC title is one of a very few trophies to have eluded Sebastian so far. Will he be able to change that this weekend? Time will tell…
Seb And DC Get Ready To ROC in Bangkok