Sydney will host the event which brings together the best talent from various motorsport disciplines in head-to-head nation-against-nation and individual battles.
The former Olympic stadium in the New South Wales capital will host the Race of Champions from March 7 to 8, a week before the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Drivers will battle on a purpose-built asphalt track inside the Accor Stadium, with the ROC Nations Cup – where drivers pair up in teams based on nationality – scheduled for Friday. The Race of Champions individual competition will be held on Saturday.
The decision to bring the Race of Champions to Australia follows two years of Pite Havsbad snow and ice racing in Sweden, in 2022 and 2023. Plans for a further edition there were halted this year due to uncertainties about the use of land area near the beach and sea.
The Race of Champions, founded in 1988, was based in Gran Canaria from 1992 to 2003, before the event toured to Paris, London, Beijing, Dusseldorf, Bangkok, Babados, Miami, Riyadh and Mexico City, and then arrive in Sweden in 2022.
Race of Champions logo
Photo credit: Race of Champions
“We are incredibly excited to bring the Race Of Champions to Australia for the first time ever. The RoC has always been about pushing drivers to the limit in unique conditions,” said Race Of Champions president and co-founder Fredrik Johnsson .
“Australia has a rich motorsport heritage and we can’t wait to celebrate it by pitting some of Australia’s best drivers against some of the world of racing’s most legendary stars in a spectacular showdown at the heart of Accor Stadium.”
The event will not only celebrate the world’s motorsport elite, but will also give Australian drivers an opportunity, featuring seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup, who retired from full-time driving in 2021 and previously attended in Bangkok (2012-2013) and Barbados (2014).
“I had a great time attending the Race Of Champions World Finals in Bangkok and Barbados,” said Whincup.
“I am thrilled to be part of the ROC driver roster again in 2025, especially as the event will be hosted in Sydney. Competing alongside some of the best drivers in the world from so many different series is always an incredible challenge and representing motorsport Australian on home soil, now that the RoC is coming to Australia for the first time, it makes it even more special. I can’t wait to get out on track and give my all for the Australian fans.”
World rally champions Didier Auriol and Sebastien Loeb and two-time DTM champion and world Rallycross title winner Mattias Ekstrom are tied for the most Race of Champions victories with four each. Germany holds the record for most successes in the Nations Cup with eight wins.
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