driving an
Audi Quattro S1.
Early events (1988–1991) The first-ever Race of Champions was held in 1988 at the
Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near Paris, in memory of
Henri Toivonen, who died while leading the 1986
Tour de Corse, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the
world championship for rally drivers. 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 and
Miki 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 were
Audi Quattro S1,
BMW M3,
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth,
Lancia Delta Integrale,
Opel Manta 400 and
Peugeot 205 Turbo 16. The following years saw new events in addition to the main race. The
International 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. The
Classic Rally Masters, first contested in 1994, was a "historic" Race of Champions competed with pre-1965
Porsche 911s. These two events have since been discontinued. From 1989 until 1991, there were one-off appearances at the
Nürburgring,
Barcelona and
Madrid.
Gran Canaria (1992–2003) The event found a permanent home for the next 12 years at the Ciudad Deportiva Islas Canarias venue on
Gran 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.
Saint-Denis (2004–2006) driving a Solution F Prototype at the 2007 event. The 2004 Race of Champions took place on December 6 at the
Stade de France in
Saint-Denis. The individual event was won by
Heikki Kovalainen, the first non-rally driver to win the crown, and the Nations' Cup by
Jean Alesi and
Sébastien Loeb representing France. There was also a special "World Champions Challenge" race held between 2004 Formula One world champion
Michael Schumacher and 2004 World Rally champion
Sébastien Loeb, which Schumacher won. won his second title in 2005. The 2005 event took place on December 3. The individual event was won by
Sébastien Loeb after
Tom Kristensen crashed out of the final, and the Nations' Cup event was won by
Tom Kristensen and
Mattias Ekström representing
Scandinavia. demonstrating his DTM car at the 2007 event. The 2006 event took place on December 16. The Nations' Cup was competed first and the event was won by Finland, with
Heikki Kovalainen beating United States'
Travis Pastrana on the final round. Kovalainen's teammate was the two-time World Rally Champion
Marcus Grönholm, whereas Pastrana drove all the rounds for the US team, after both
Jimmie 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 by
Mattias 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.
London (2007–2008) The 2007 Race of Champions took place on December 16 at
Wembley 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 by
Mattias Ekström of Sweden, beating
Michael 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 stalwart
David Coulthard to win the individuals' event.
Beijing (2009) The 2009 Race of Champions took place in
Beijing's
National 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 in
Porto 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.
Düsseldorf (2010–2011) The 2010 Race of Champions took place in
Düsseldorf's
Esprit Arena on November 27–28. Germany retained their Nations' Cup crown in front of their home crowd, once again beating Great Britain, while Portugal's
Filipe Albuquerque was a surprise winner of the individual event after beating newly crowned F1 champion
Sebastian Vettel in the semi-final and Sébastien Loeb in the final. The 2011 event was due to take place in
Frankfurt's
Commerzbank-Arena on December 3–4, but after
Eintracht Frankfurt's relegation to German football's
Second Division, the stadium could no longer host the event on those dates. The Race of Champions was held in the
Esprit Arena in
Düsseldorf, just as in 2010. Germany secured their fifth successive Nations' Cup title, beating the Nordic team in the final, while up-and-coming rally star
Sébastien Ogier beat Le Mans legend
Tom Kristensen in the final to clinch the individual crown.
Bangkok (2012–2013) The 2012 Race of Champions took place on December 14–16 at the
Rajamangala Stadium in
Bangkok,
Thailand. The individual Race Of Champions was won by
Lotus F1 driver
Romain 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 nation
Thailand,
India,
China and
Japan 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 the
Rajamangala Stadium in
Bangkok,
Thailand, but was canceled due to political unrest in Bangkok.
Barbados (2014) The 2014 Race of Champions was held in
Barbados at the
Bushy Park circuit on December 13–14. 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 winner
David Coulthard, who beat Mercedes F1 test driver and youngest ever DTM race winner
Pascal Wehrlein in the final. The Nations' Cup was won by Team Nordic's
Tom Kristensen and
Petter Solberg overcoming Team Great Britain's
David Coulthard and
Susie Wolff in the final. The 2014 included a ROC Caribbean competition, with teams from host nation
Barbados,
Jamaica,
Guyana and
Trinidad and Tobago battling for two spots in the ROC Nations Cup and individual seats in the actual Race Of Champions.
London (2015) In 2015 Race of Champions returned to London and was staged at
London Stadium in
Stratford. The ROC Nations Cup was held on Friday 20 November and the Race of Champions on Saturday 21 November. Drivers included four times
Formula One World Champion
Sebastian Vettel, nine times
24 Hours of Le Mans winner
Tom Kristensen and
FIA World Rallycross Championship winner
Petter Solberg. The ROC Nations Cup was won by Team England 1 consisting of
Jason Plato and
Andy Priaulx, while Sebastian Vettel was crowned Champion of Champions.
Miami (2017) 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 Champion
Kyle Busch, and former
Indy 500 Champion
Juan Pablo Montoya, who each participated in their first ROC. Juan Pablo Montoya was crowned the Champion of Champions after defeating
Tom Kristensen, while
Sebastian Vettel won the Nations Cup for Team Germany after teammate
Pascal Wehrlein did not compete in the Nations Cup after suffering an accident during the Champion of Champions event the day prior. Team USA drivers
Kurt Busch and
Kyle Busch were the runners up for the Nations Cup.
Riyadh (2018) The 2018 Race of Champions was held at the
King Fahd International Stadium in
Riyadh, becoming the first international motorsports event to be held in
Saudi Arabia. This was the first edition to feature eROC, where
sim racers competed against each other both virtually and on the ROC track for the chance to compete in the main Race of Champions event.
Mexico City (2019) The 2019 Race of Champions was held at the
Foro Sol in
Mexico City, becoming the third Race of Champions to be held in
North America.
Virtual (2020) The 2020 Race of Champions was held virtually due to the
COVID-19 pandemic at recreations of the Gran Canaria track and the Riyadh and London stadium tracks that were all recreated in
Assetto Corsa.
Sweden (2022–2023) The 2022 Race of Champions was held at Pite Havsbad in
Piteå, northern
Sweden. 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.
Sydney (2025) The 2025 Race of Champions was held on 7–8 March at
Stadium Australia in
Sydney. This was the first time the event was hosted in the Southern Hemisphere. ==Winners==