Review: Race of Champions 2011 DVD

Alright, right on,
It’s time to get a move on,
It’s time to get a move on,
Race, of Champions!

While the Race of Champions theme song could hardly be called a lyrical masterpiece, it’s simplicity – in a Europop kind of way – makes it infuriatingly catchy. To the point I often find myself humming it for no apparent reason, resulting in a futile attempt to try and eradicate it from my head.

Of course, there’s more to the annual Race of Champions event that just some catchy ditty, for it brings together some of the world’s greatest drivers who battle it out in a knockout tournament to see who is the best peddler out there.

If you missed last year’s event because you were too busy doing Christmas shopping at the time, you’re in luck, because highlights from it have now found their way onto DVD, courtesy of Duke Video.

Split into three sections, the first feature in the cunningly titled Race of Champions 2011 DVD covers the Nations’ Cup, where, as predictable as night following day, Team Germany scored their fifth consecutive victory.

But whatever you do, do not blink, because these group races go by at such a pace that it’s almost impossible to digest what has actually happened due to speed in which the teams are whittled down, football style, to the actual final.

It is only during the last few rounds in which any substantial racing footage makes an appearance. But then, to be honest, the Nations’ Cup has always played second fiddle to the main attraction, the Race of Champions itself.

So onto the second feature then, where the six-hour ‘individuals’ event is condensed into approximately 25 minutes and suffers massively because of it.

Again, it rattles through the knock-out stages at a relentless pace, but, thankfully, it does spend more time in showing some of the pivotal on track action, during which WRC star Sebastien Ogier beat Tom Kristensen for overall glory.

And then finally, we come on to the third and final feature which is in the form of a behind-the-scenes look at the event and gives us a chance to hear from some of the competitors.

Sounds great in principle, but be be warned that your tolerance levels will rapidly vanish as the same irritating montage makes an appearance between every interview, reminding you that, yes, “THIS IS THE RACE OF CHAMPIONS!” It’s more repetitive than a metronome.

As you can probably ascertain by now, I’m not overly enamoured with the Race of Champions 2011 DVD. There’s some action here to keep most entertained, but, at a whisker over an hour, perhaps not enough to warrant the full asking price.

Rating: ★★★★★ (2/5)