RoC News: Pirelli to supply tires for Race Of Champions in Sydney
Pirelli will be the Official Tire Supplier for the 2025 edition of the Race Of Champions, which will take place on 7 and 8 March at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
This will be the 33rd edition of what is a unique event in the world of motorsport, given that it pits drivers that excel in various disciplines, from Formula 1 to rallying, as well as other four and two wheeled competitions on both road and track, against one another. Since 1988, the Race of Champions has been held in 11 countries, featuring prestigious locations, such as the Olympic stadia in Peking and London, and the latter city’s Wembley Stadium, the Stade de France in Paris, the Foro Sol in Mexico City, as well as other cities including Bangkok, Miami, Riad and the islands of Gran Canaria and Barbados. It has even been staged near the Arctic Circle in the Swedish city of Pitea. This year it makes its debut in Oceania, specifically, the beautiful city of Sydney.
In the past, the Race Of Champions has featured legendary names including, from Germany, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, France’s Sebastien Loeb and Finland’s Marcus Gronholm, with American racing represented by Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Josef Newgarden. This year’s entry list is equally impressive, with the return of the 2015 winner, Vettel, as well as Loeb who actually beat the four time Formula 1 world champion to clinch the win in 2022. Also taking part, from Germany, a 2023 finalist, Mick Schumacher, the Finn Valtteri Bottas, Australia’s Will Brown, the reigning Supercars champion, Sweden’s Johan Kristofferson, a seven time WRX world champion, the American 2004 NASCAR champion Kurt Busch and another Swede Mattias Ekström, a two time DTM champion and the most successful ROC competitor with four previous wins to his name.
All competitors will go head-to-head in a variety of cars, four-wheel drive ones for rallycross and rear-wheel drive for the on and offroad events, with drivers racing in a type of against-the-clock challenge on two parallel tracks created within the Accor Stadium, a venue that has hosted many great events, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Rugby World Cup final in 2003 and the women’s football World Cup in 2023. Pirelli will supply all the cars, using the most suitable tires from the range used in the FIA World Rally Championship up to the end of last year, as well as those used on track in GT races, in a variety of sizes from 15” to 18”, selected with the aim of allowing the drivers to put on the best possible show.
On Friday 7 March, the drivers will be paired up according to their nationality as they compete in the Nations Cup. The individual competition takes place the next day, with preliminary heats followed by knockout rounds to decide who can claim the title of Champion of Champions.
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director:
“The Race Of Champions is a unique event, because it sees drivers from very different disciplines compete on equal terms, highlighting their talent and providing a very exciting show. For Pirelli this partnership is a great opportunity to be associated with an event which is now a traditional fixture on the motorsport calendar and which, this year, is taking place for the first time in Australia, a country known for its great love of motorsport.”
Fredrik Johnsson, President and Owner of the Race Of Champions:
“We are very pleased to welcome Pirelli as the Official Tire Supplier to the Race Of Champions World Final in Sydney. We spoke at length with Mario (Isola) about how well Pirelli and the Race Of Champions go together and of the many activation opportunities we will be able to develop together to celebrate two iconic elements of motorsport, the brand and Pirelli tires. We hope that the ROC Sydney will be the start of a long and mutually successful partnership.”