 | |
| Category | Racing andRally |
|---|---|
| Country | International |
| Inaugural season | 1988 |
| Drivers | 20 (2025) |
| Teams | 10 (2025) |
| Drivers' champion |  Sébastien Loeb |
| Teams' champion | France |
| Official website | raceofchampions.com |
 Current season | |
TheRace of Champions (ROC) is an internationalmotorsport event held at the start or end of each year, featuring some of the world's bestracing andrally drivers fromFormula One,World Rally Championship,IndyCar,NASCAR,sports car racing,touring car racing, andmotorcycle racing, who compete against each other in identical cars.
The race was first organised in 1988 by former rally driverMichèle Mouton and Fredrik Johnsson, IMP (International Media Productions) President. Originally the event was a competition between the world's best rally drivers, but has since expanded to include top competitors from most other motorsport disciplines. The top individual overall in the Race of Champions is given the title "Champion of Champions" and receives theHenri Toivonen Memorial Trophy. The ROC Nations' Cup was added in 1999 and now features teams of two drivers who compete for their country.
The event has taken place in several venues, including 12 years onGran Canaria from 1992 to 2003. From 2004 to 2019, the event was held in major sporting stadiums, including theStade de France in Paris,Wembley Stadium in London, theBeijing National Stadium,Düsseldorf'sESPRIT arena, theRajamangala Stadium inBangkok,Olympic Stadium, theMarlins Park in Miami, theKing Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, and theForo Sol in Mexico City. However in 2014, the event was held at theBushy Park circuit inBarbados, and the 2022 edition was held on a frozen Baltic Sea in northern Sweden.
In the Race of Champions, the individual drivers compete head-to-head in one race around the track. The drivers are gradually eliminated using around-robin format, with the best eight entering a knockout tournament. Prior to the Race of Champions, eight teams of two drivers compete in the ROC Nations' Cup using a similar format.
In both the ROC Nations' Cup and the Race of Champions, the final consists of three runs, with the team or driver that achieves two victories first crowned champion.
The cars used in the Race Of Champions vary from year to year. Prior to each run, a type of car is assigned to both of the drivers, with each machine being mechanically identical. Over the course of the event, each driver will get to drive several different cars.
In 2012, the cars selected for the Race Of Champions included a ROC Car buggy, theKTM X-Bow, theAudi R8 LMS, theLamborghini Gallardo SuperTrofeo, theVW Scirocco R-Cup and theNASCAR European Stock Car.
In 2022, the cars selected included theFIA RX2e, thePorsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport and the off-roadPolaris RZR PRO XP.SuperCar Lites were also used and powered by 100% fossil-free biofuel.[1]
| Manufacturer | Model | Years Used | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abarth | Grande Punto S2000 | 2007 |  |
| 500 Assetto Corse | 2008 |  | |
| Ariel | Atom | 2014–2015 | .jpg) |
| Aston Martin | V8 Vantage Rally GT | 2006 | |
| Vantage N24 | 2007 |  | |
| Audi | R8 LMS | 2010–2012, 2014 |  |
| Chevrolet | Camaro EuroNASCAR | 2010–2012, 2014–2015 | .jpg) |
| Citroën | Xsara WRC | 2004–2006 |  |
| Ferrari | 360 Modena | 2004 | |
| Ford | Focus RS WRC | 2007–2009 |  |
| KTM | X-Bow | 2008–2012, 2014–2015 |  |
| X-Bow Comp R | 2025 | ||
| Lamborghini | Gallardo Super Trofeo | 2012 | .jpg) |
| Mercedes-AMG | GT | 2015 | .jpg) |
| Olsbergs MSE | Supercar Lites | 2022, 2025 | .jpg) |
| RX2e | 2022 | ||
| FC1-X | 2022 | ||
| FC2 | 2025 | ||
| Peugeot | 307 WRC | 2004–2005 | |
| Polaris | RZR | 2022 | |
| RZR Pro R | 2025 | ||
| Porsche | 911 GT3 | 2005 | |
| 911 GT3 RSR | 2006 | ||
| 911 GT3 Cup | 2010 | ||
| 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport | 2022 | ||
| Radical | SR3 RSX | 2015 | .jpg) |
| Renault | Megane Trophy | 2005–2006 |  |
| RGM | Stadium Super Truck | 2014 |  |
| ROC | ROC Car | 2004–2012, 2014–2015 | |
| Solution F Prototype | 2007–2010 |  | |
| RX Racing RX150 | 2008–2010, 2015 |  | |
| 2-Seater | 2010 | ||
| Skoda | Fabia S2000 | 2011 | |
| SRC | Rage Comet | 2015 | |
| Subaru | BRZ tS | 2025 | |
| Toyota | GT-86 | 2012 | |
| GR86 | 2025 | ||
| Volkswagen | Scirocco | 2009–2012 | |
| Polo WRX | 2014 | ||
| VUHL | 05 ROC | 2017-2021 | .jpg) |
The first-ever Race of Champions was held in 1988 at theAutodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near Paris, in memory ofHenri Toivonen, who died while leading the 1986Tour de Corse, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of theworld championship for rally drivers.[2]
The inaugural cast included all the eight world rally champions from 1979 to 1988;Björn Waldegård,Walter Röhrl,Ari Vatanen,Hannu Mikkola,Stig Blomqvist,Timo Salonen,Juha Kankkunen andMiki Biasion. The final was a battle between two "Flying Finns", in which Kankkunen beat Salonen to become the first "Champion of Champions". The cars used at the first event wereAudi Quattro S1,BMW M3,Ford Sierra RS Cosworth,Lancia Delta Integrale,Opel Manta 400 andPeugeot 205 Turbo 16.[3]
The following years saw new events in addition to the main race. TheInternational Rally Masters, started in 1990, was designed to offer the season's best drivers, who were yet to win a championship title, the chance to win a spot in the main Race of Champions. TheClassic Rally Masters, first contested in 1994, was a "historic" Race of Champions competed with pre-1965Porsche 911s. These two events have since been discontinued.
From 1989 until 1991, there were one-off appearances at theNürburgring,Barcelona andMadrid.
The event found a permanent home for the next 12 years at the Ciudad Deportiva Islas Canarias venue onGran Canaria starting from 1992. It was during this period that the emphasis on rally champions faded. The Nations' Cup was introduced in 1999, bringing in circuit racing drivers and motorcyclists to the event for the first time, with 2001 marking the first time that non-rally drivers were eligible to compete for the main title.
2003 was the last time the event would be held on Gran Canaria, the event switching to stadium-based tracks from 2004. The change from gravel to tarmac circuits saw rally drivers lose their dominance, and by 2007 only a handful of rally drivers were present, with the majority made up of circuit racing drivers from F1, touring cars and sportscars.
The 2004 Race of Champions took place on December 6 at theStade de France inSaint-Denis. The individual event was won byHeikki Kovalainen, the first non-rally driver to win the crown, and the Nations' Cup byJean Alesi andSébastien Loeb representing France. There was also a special "World Champions Challenge" race held between 2004 Formula One world championMichael Schumacher and 2004 World Rally championSébastien Loeb, which Schumacher won.
The 2005 event took place on December 3. The individual event was won bySébastien Loeb afterTom Kristensen crashed out of the final, and the Nations' Cup event was won byTom Kristensen andMattias Ekström representingScandinavia.
The 2006 event took place on December 16. The Nations' Cup was competed first and the event was won by Finland, withHeikki Kovalainen beating United States'Travis Pastrana on the final round. Kovalainen's teammate was the two-time World Rally ChampionMarcus Grönholm, whereas Pastrana drove all the rounds for the US team, after bothJimmie Johnson and his replacement,Scott Speed, had to withdraw from competing due to injuries.
The individual event and the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy was won byMattias Ekström of Sweden. He beat Kovalainen by 0.0002 seconds in the semi-finals, and then defending champion,Sébastien Loeb of France, in the finals.
The 2007 Race of Champions took place on December 16 atWembley Stadium in London, England. The Nations' Cup took place at the start of the afternoon and was won by Germany over Finland. The individual event followed and the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy was won byMattias Ekström of Sweden, beatingMichael Schumacher of Germany in the final.
The 2008 event took place on December 14. Germany retained their Nations' Cup title by beating the Scandinavian team in the final, while Sébastien Loeb overcame the recently retired F1 stalwartDavid Coulthard to win the individuals' event.
The 2009 Race of Champions took place inBeijing'sNational Stadium on November 3–4. For the first time, regional finals were held to help determine the competitors for the Nations' Cup, with Monaco earning the right to compete in the main event after beating teams from Italy, Spain and Portugal at an event held inPorto on June 6–7.
Germany beat Great Britain to win the Nations' Cup for the third successive time, with Mattias Ekström beating Michael Schumacher to claim the individual title in a re-run of the 2007 final.
The 2010 Race of Champions took place inDüsseldorf'sEsprit Arena on November 27–28.[4] Germany retained their Nations' Cup crown in front of their home crowd, once again beating Great Britain, while Portugal'sFilipe Albuquerque was a surprise winner of the individual event after beating newly crowned F1 championSebastian Vettel in the semi-final and Sébastien Loeb in the final.
The 2011 event was due to take place inFrankfurt'sCommerzbank-Arena on December 3–4,[5] but afterEintracht Frankfurt's relegation to German football'sSecond Division, the stadium could no longer host the event on those dates.[6] The Race of Champions was held in theEsprit Arena inDüsseldorf, just as in 2010.[7]
Germany secured their fifth successive Nations' Cup title, beating the Nordic team in the final, while up-and-coming rally starSébastien Ogier beat Le Mans legendTom Kristensen in the final to clinch the individual crown.
The 2012 Race of Champions took place on December 14–16 at theRajamangala Stadium inBangkok,Thailand.[8] The individual Race Of Champions was won byLotus F1 driverRomain Grosjean, who beat Tom Kristensen in the final. The Nations' Cup was won for the sixth consecutive time by Germany after overcoming France in the final.
The 2012 edition was the first to include a ROC Asia competition, with teams from host nationThailand,India,China andJapan battling for two spots in the ROC Nations Cup and individual seats in the actual Race Of Champions.
The 2013 event was due to take place on the December 14–15 at theRajamangala Stadium inBangkok,Thailand, but was canceled due to political unrest in Bangkok.[9]
The 2014 Race of Champions was held inBarbados at theBushy Park circuit on December 13–14.[10] This was the first time that the event was held in North America. The individual Race Of Champions was won by 13 times F1 race winnerDavid Coulthard, who beat Mercedes F1 test driver and youngest ever DTM race winnerPascal Wehrlein in the final. The Nations' Cup was won by Team Nordic'sTom Kristensen andPetter Solberg overcoming Team Great Britain'sDavid Coulthard andSusie Wolff in the final.
The 2014 included a ROC Caribbean competition, with teams from host nationBarbados,Jamaica,Guyana andTrinidad and Tobago battling for two spots in the ROC Nations Cup and individual seats in the actual Race Of Champions.
In 2015 Race of Champions returned to London and was staged atLondon Stadium inStratford. The ROC Nations Cup was held on Friday 20 November and the Race of Champions on Saturday 21 November.
Drivers included four timesFormula One World ChampionSebastian Vettel, nine times24 Hours of Le Mans winnerTom Kristensen andFIA World Rallycross Championship winnerPetter Solberg. The ROC Nations Cup was won by Team England 1 consisting ofJason Plato andAndy Priaulx, while Sebastian Vettel was crowned Champion of Champions.
The 2017 Race of Champions was held at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida, on January 21–22. This was the Second time that the event was held in North America. Fifteen drivers from six nations competed at the 2017 ROC. Drivers included 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup ChampionKyle Busch, and formerIndy 500 ChampionJuan Pablo Montoya, who each participated in their first ROC.[11]
Juan Pablo Montoya was crowned the Champion of Champions after defeatingTom Kristensen, whileSebastian Vettel won the Nations Cup for Team Germany after teammatePascal Wehrlein did not compete in the Nations Cup after suffering an accident during the Champion of Champions event the day prior. Team USA driversKurt Busch andKyle Busch were the runners up for the Nations Cup.
The 2018 Race of Champions was held at theKing Fahd International Stadium inRiyadh, becoming the first international motorsports event to be held inSaudi Arabia.[12]
This was the first edition to feature eROC, wheresim racers competed against each other both virtually and on the ROC track for the chance to compete in the main Race of Champions event.[13]
The 2019 Race of Champions was held at theForo Sol inMexico City, becoming the third Race of Champions to be held inNorth America.[14]
The 2020 Race of Champions was held virtually due to theCOVID-19 pandemic at recreations of the Gran Canaria track and the Riyadh and London stadium tracks that were all recreated inAssetto Corsa.[15]
The 2022 Race of Champions was held at Pite Havsbad inPiteå, northernSweden.[16] It was the first time the event had been held on a snow and ice track. The 2023 Race of Champions was held at the same venue.[17]
The 2025 Race of Champions was held on 7–8 March atStadium Australia inSydney. This was the first time the event was hosted in the Southern Hemisphere.[18]
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