Every year The Race of Champions brings together the world’s best racers from rallying and racing, on two wheels and four, to answer the question: Who is the world’s fastest racer? The concept is simple: using identical equipment, drivers compete head-to-head in heats on a parallel track, to prove they’re the greatest. They start alongside each other, race on exactly the same track, and finish side-by-side. Cars are swapped between heats so the racers have to prove themselves in a variety of vehicles in order to win.
In 2009, The Race of Champions began with Round 1, where the two winners of ROC South Europe earlier in the year fought against the winner of ROC China and one of the competition's unseeded drivers to earn themselves a place in the groups stages of the event. In this stage, each driver raced against the others in their group and the two with the most wins moved on to the next stage – the quarter finals. Here the event followed its traditional head-to-head, no second chances, knockout format as drivers fought to get to the semi-finals and then the final, where the two finalists took part in a best-of-three fight to claim the title “The Champion of Champions”.
In 2009, Mattias Ekstrom met Michael Schumacher in the final, repeating their battle from 2007. It was Ekstrom who came out on top to claim his third Champion of Champions title, winning as he did in the Stade de Frace in 2006 and Wembley in 2007.
In 1999 The ROC Nations Cup was added to The Race of Champions, as a battle to decide the world’s fastest motorsport nation. Drivers team up in pairs based on their nationality and, as in The Race of Champions, they compete head-to-head to determine who is the best.
The 2009 ROC Nations Cup featured a group stage for the first time, allowing more nations than ever before to take part. Every nation in a group raced against every other nation in their group, with the most successful progressing to the next round. The four teams that got through to the semi-finals competed in a best-of-three fight to decide, who would get through to the final, which was also decided in a best-of-three battle.
Seven time F1 World Champion, Michael Schumacher, and his Team Germany team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, claimed their third consecutive ROC Nations Cup title. The pair beat the Autosport Team GB pairing of new F1 World Champion, Jenson Button, and three time World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx, in a tie break race in the final to become the first winners of three Nations Cup crowns.
The Rosbacher mineral water was for the first time official sponsor and supplier for the Race of Champions in China. On the big screens in the Bird’s Nest Stadium the audience has watched the new Rosbacher TV spot with Michael Schumacher, brand ambassador of Rosbacher, showing the effectiveness of the unique 2:1 Calcium-Magnesium formula for his body. Rosbacher was handed out to all drivers, media representatives and VIPs during this event. Spectators had the chance to buy the bottle of water with the Schumacher image on the label and took this as a nice souvenir. Due to the fact that there was snow falling on the day before the races and temperature fell below zero, visitors of the Race of Champions could get Rosbacher mineral water heated in a cup, which has highly appreciated. Rosbacher has the option to be again the official water in the event in 2010.
