Stefan Rzadzinski made his way to the Race of Champions Nations Cup through an fan voting. The Canadian with Polish roots was paired with the Indianapolis 500 pole sitter James Hinchcliffe and had to face tough opposition from regular IndyCar, Rallycross and NASCAR drivers.
Rzadzinski barely lost to Kyle Busch in this first encounter but he followed that with wins over Indianapolis 500 Champion Alexander Rossi and two-time Global Rallycross Champion Scott Speed, which won him a lot of attention and respect from the racing community. Team Canada was only one race win short of making its way into semi-finals. After the event, Rzadzinski shared his thoughts with Roksana Ćwik od ŚwiatWyścigów.pl.
What was your first impression when you got to the stadium?
I was super impressed with the stadium, the track, and everything that the Race of Champions organizers put together. I didn’t know how driving in a baseball park would look – but it turned out to be an awesome layout.
You were invited to the drivers’ party. How was it to spend time with other racers away from the track?
It was incredible to be around those guys just throughout the weekend, not just the drivers’ party. I tried to stay out of the way early on, as I just wanted to observe and learn. But from my own experience, all the drivers were great and easy to get along with.
What does a driver do when is not competing on Saturday?
I was at the track the whole day on Saturday watching the event. I only had about 2 mins of practice time in each car that I was about to drive – so I didn’t have much opportunity to get comfortable. I kept watching the guys on track and trying to see what I could pick up on and use on Sunday. I stood in the pit lane almost the whole day.
James Hinchcliffe said he was impressed with you. How was he as a team-mate and did other drivers share his impression?
James has been awesome to me since we’ve met nearly 6 years ago. I can’t say enough good things about him on and off the track. I just wanted to represent Canada well with him and he was very supportive.
I can’t comment on the other drivers’ impression, but I hope I had a chance to at least earn some of their respect. I did not want to be the “social media guy”.
What were the expectations prior to Nations Cup?
Inside, I knew we had a chance to move on to the next round in the Nations Cup, but of course, it was going to be difficult. However, I don’t know if there were any real expectations! I would have loved to be in the finals against [Sebastian] Vettel, of course.
What did you feel after beating Scott Speed and Alexander Rossi?
I was elated; mostly just proving to myself that I could do it. I was also really proud to represent the 9300+ people who voted for me, I really didn’t want to let them down with poor performances. I didn’t know whether I would win, but I wanted to make sure I at least gave my best.
There is speculation that Race of Champions might stay in Miami. Would you be interested in coming back?
Of course, I would love to come back to the Race of Champions – just hopefully not on another Facebook vote! That is up to Frederik [Johnsson] and his Race of Champions team, however. But of course, I’d love to be back. I feel like there is still a lot to prove!
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