Sports | Thursday 8 February, 2018 10:00 am |

The first Race of Champions, held in Riyadh on 2nd and 3rd February 2018, witnessed unrivalled enthusiasm from the large audience of Audi fans in the King Fahd International Stadium as René Rast won the Nations Cup title. This inaugural global race for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was supported by Samaco, the exclusive dealer for Audi in Saudi Arabia, who proudly exhibited a fleet of Audi models as they supported the Audi racing champions.

 

The 2017 Audi DTM champion, René Rast from Germany competed at the first Race of Champions in Saudi Arabia against numerous racing legends. On Saturday he competed together with Timo Bernhard in the Nations Cup race where drivers from each country pair up to take on others in teams of two. René Rast and his German team mate succeeded in the finale against the team from Latin America, led by the legend Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves. Rast and Bernhard are posting a record 8th ROC title for the German Team.

 

Renowned racing champion Tom Kristensen was the captain of the Nordic Racing Team at the Race of Champions. Kristensen is the holder of the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine top podium finishes, six of which were consecutive. Mr ‘Le Mans’ narrowly missed a title as he competed against this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours winner Timo Bernhard and the Formula 1 great David Coulthard, who took the podium.

 

To celebrate this prestigious annual auto racing event, Samaco the official Audi dealer for Saudi Arabia showcased a fleet of Audi models, including the Audi S3, RS 3, RS 5 and R8 at the racetrack of King Fahd International Stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

 

On this occasion, Kerem Tas, the General Manager of the Audi brand at Samaco, stated that the participation of superstar drivers from across the world of motorsport constitutes a positive step to promote motorsports in the Middle East, as well as elevating the reputation of Saudi Arabia in this area of sport worldwide. Tas commented  " I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman of the General Sports Authority for giving Audi Samaco opportunity to be part of the success of the first edition of the Race of Champions in Saudi Arabia. It is a significant positive step towards strengthening Saudi Arabian name in global motorsport communities."