Get ready for an unprecedented weekend at Marlins Park, the lively home of the Miami Marlins! This iconic venue is swapping baseball bats for high-powered engines, as the prestigious Race of Champions (ROC) takes center stage. It's the first time the ROC touches down in North America, and you're in for a treat as a baseball diamond metamorphoses into a thrilling race track.
Claude Delorme, the Miami Marlins' Executive Vice President of Operations and Events, candidly shared his thoughts on the unique event with CNN. With a smirk, he admitted that transforming a baseball park into a race track was a challenging notion. However, the exhilaration among athletes to meet and race against elite racers was unparalleled.
Delorme, a seasoned pro, elaborated that they temporarily removed the middle field tor and marked the track, ensuring the safety of competitors. Next, they installed 50,000 square meters of sturdy metal plates to create a flawless racetrack surface. With a finishing touch, the asphalt was completed in a single night, allowing drivers to perfect their techniques beginning Friday.
The transformation wrought upon Marlins Park is a colossal undertaking. With only one entrance and exit, shifting 120 loads of gravel and 50 loads of asphalt within 48 hours was no mean feat. The design meticulously incorporated the mound's slope and the field's shape, compressing the event into a whirlwind of work that lasted just four days.
Boasting an area of 130,000 square feet, this DNA-mapped track whips around at a 613-meter length (670 yards), with a generous 7-meter expanse in the turns and a spacious 14-meter-wide straightaway at both ends.
The Miami Marlins are eager to provide fans with adrenaline-pumping action like never before. The fastest car in the series, the Radical SR3 RSX, boasts a mind-boggling top speed of 155 miles per hour. While impressive, it's just a drop in the mailbox compared to the rarest MLB pitchers. Delorme quipped that even the best hurlers can launch a ball over 100 miles per hour.
Swiss prodigy and four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, former F1 kingpin Jenson Button, and NASCAR's brothers, Kurt and Kyle Busch, are some of the 20 daring drivers set to compete in this once-in-a-lifetime event. The title race promises to be a nail-biter, as each competitor brings their unique strategies to the table.
Post-race, Marlins Park will need to be converted back into a baseball stadium. As Delorme put it, this transformation may outlast the demolition and paving process itself. He added that the vast majority of the materials would need to be replaced.
Signing off with a grin, Vettel shared his enthusiasm for the event, stating that it served as a reminder of why they all started racing. He emphasized that the competition was raw and pure, with each driver pushing the limits in front of their hometown fans.
When the ROC champions raise their trophies and the engines fade into silence, it's time to wipe the asphalt, roll in the grass, and level the ground. The ROC event at Marlins Park might outpace Beyoncé's concert tempo, but with Guns N' Roses in the lineup for this summer's shows, the Cars Stars are set to steal center stage and host the loudest and most exhilarating event Marlins Park has ever witnessed.
So buckle up, Miami! Hail to the champs!
(No mention was made in the article of Marlins Park becoming a race track for the Race of Champions. The article instead focuses on the development of the new Miami Live entertainment and dining complex.)
