The home of the NRL Grand Final will be transformed into a racetrack in March when the iconic Race of Champions (ROC) event is held on Aussie soil for the very first time.
After a spectacular run on the snow and ice, 60 miles from the Arctic Circle in Sweden in 2022 and 2023, ROC will now travel over 15,000km across the globe to Sydney for a brand-new high-octane challenge on the field at Accor Stadium.
With history dating back to 1988, the Race of Champions has been held at some of the world’s greatest venues including Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium, Stade de France in Paris, London’s Olympic Stadium and Wembley Stadium, Mexico City’s Foro Sol plus a wide range of exotic locations all over the globe from Bangkok, Barbados, Miami, Riyadh and the Arctic Circle.
The ROC racing format is a unique, winner-takes-all contest that gives drivers from various disciplines of motorsport the opportunity to test their talents against competitors they would never typically encounter.
The Race of Champions will run over two nights with the purpose-built track taking centre stage at Accor Stadium, seeing the ROC Nations Cup take place on Friday, March 7, with drivers paired up in teams based on nationality to bid for the title of ‘World’s Fastest Nation’.
Saturday night, March 8, will see the individual Race of Champions, when all teamwork goes out the window and it will be a flat-out battle for individual glory and the ‘Champion of Champions’ title.
“We are incredibly excited to bring the Race of Champions to Australia for the time ever,” Race of Champions President and Co-Founder, Fredrik Johnsson said.
“ROC has always been about pushing drivers to their limits in unique conditions. Australia has a rich motorsport heritage, and we’re looking forward to celebrating that by pitting some of the best Australian drivers against some of the world’s most legendary racing stars in a spectacular showdown in the middle of Accor Stadium.”
ROC is renowned for gathering some of the best drivers in the world, including superstars from Formula 1, Le Mans, Indy Car, NASCAR, World Rally and Rally-X. Drivers will race head-to-head in identical cars on ROC’s iconic parallel track, where the winner is decided by driver skill alone.
Seven-time Supercars Champion, Jamie Whincup, said he can’t wait to compete on his home turf early next year.
“Competing against some of the best drivers in the world from so many different racing series is always an incredible challenge and representing Australian motorsport on home soil now that ROC comes to Australia for the first time makes it even more special,” he said.
“I can’t wait to go out there and give it everything for the Aussie fans.”
Nathan Taylor is Parra News' sports journalist. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked in western Sydney media for more than a decade.