
Fresh off a third-place finish at the grueling Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, Mattias Ekström will be chasing a record fifth Champions of Champions title at the 2025 Race Of Champions, at Accor Stadium in Sydney, March 7-8.
At the 2025 Race Of Champions Ekström will compete against no less than:
4-time Formula 1 World Champion - Sebastian Vettel
Formula 1 Ace - Valtteri Bottas
9-time FIA World Rally Champion - Sebastien Loeb
7-time Supercar Champion - Jamie Whincup
Reigning Supercars champion - Will Brown
Extreme E champion - Molly Taylor
11-time X-Games Gold medalist - Travis Pastrana
Former F1 driver and current WEC driver - Mick Schumacher
7-time FIA World Rallycross Champion - Johan Kristoffersson
2-time European Rally Champion - Hayden Paddon
Father and son rally champions Petter and Oliver Solberg
2-time Dakar winner - Toby Price
Nascar Champion Kurt Busch
Accor Stadium to be turned into a spectacular 1km asphalt race track when this unique event is hosted for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere
More superstars from Formula 1, Supercars, Le Mans, Nascar, World Rally & Rally X to be announced in coming weeks.
Tickets from $49 now on sale through Ticketek.
Swedish star Mattias Ekström will defend his Race Of Champions title at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on March 7-8, while also chasing a record fifth winner’s trophy at the globally recognised event.
Fresh from a third place finish in this month’s grueling Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, Ekström has been confirmed as a teammate to seven-time FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson, forming the equivalent of a Swedish “super team” for the ROC’s Nations Cup.
Ekström won his inaugural Race Of Champions trophy at Stade de France in Paris in 2006 and backed that up a year later with a win in the final against Michael Schumacher at Wembley Stadium in London.
He won again at Beijing’s Birds Nest Olympic Stadium in 2009 and will arrive in Australia as the reigning champion after beating Mick Schumacher in the final of the 2023 event on the ice in Sweden.
Ekström currently shares the “most wins” record at the Race Of Champions with France’s Didier Auriol and his countryman and nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, who will also be chasing a record fifth outright win in Sydney.

Ekström started his career in karts and progressed through the ranks before arriving in the Swedish Touring Car Championship which he won in 1999.
He joined the ABT Sportsline Audi team in the German DTM championship in 2001 and remained in the championship until 2018 - winning the title in 2004 and 2007 and never finishing outside the championship’s top eight in all those years.
Regarded as one of the world’s most versatile drivers, Ekström won the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2016, has had starts in the World Rally Championship and NASCAR and currently competes in Dakar program with M-Sport Ford Performance.
Ekström is no stranger to Australia, having successfully competed in a Supercar at the Bathurst 1000 in 2013.
He teamed with Andy Priaulx in a Triple Eight Racing X-Box “wildcard” entry, which qualified 19th and finished an impressive 10th in a performance many rated as the one of the best ever rookie drives seen at the event.
What Mattias Ekström said:
“I have some of my absolutely best racing memories from the Race Of Champions, Beating Michael Schumacher in the ROC Final in Wembley and the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing and then his son Mick in Sweden. I hope to be able to continue winning now that the event comes to Sydney,” said Ekström.
"I am looking forward to teaming up with Johan Kristoffersson and trying to win Sweden’s frist ROC Nations Cup title on the Friday night and then having a serious attempt at my fifth Champion of Champions title on the Saturday.”
"I have great memories of Australia after my Bathurst 1000 drive there and I could not think of a better place for the Race Of Champions to make its Southern Hemisphere debut than in Sydney.”
"There are some great competitors already confirmed and it will be fun to pick up some of those ROC rivalries we have developed over the years.”
"One thing I do know, it is going to be a lot warmer than it is in Sweden right now.”
Fredrik Johnsson, Race Of Champions President and Co-Founder said:
“With his third place finish in this year’s Dakar Rally, Mattias (Ekström) once again showed that he is one of the world’s fastest and most versatile drivers. Mattias has been an amazing competitor at the Race Of Champions and he and Sebastien Loeb will both do everything they can to become the first to clinch a record fifth Champions of Champions title in Sydney,” said Johnsson.
“The team of Mattias and Johan (Kristofferson) will be incredibly strong and as a fellow Swede it would be nice if they could secure Sweden’s first ROC Nations Cup title on the Friday night, although the field for the teams’ event is shaping up as one of our strongest ever."
“We were delighted when Mattias accepted our invitation to return to defend his title and the fact that he has the chance to win a record fifth Champions of Champions crown might see him on the edge more than usual - although there will be many other drivers out there trying to ensure that doesn’t happen."

ROC SYDNEY 2025
The ROC Nations Cup takes place on Friday March 7, with drivers paired in teams based on nationality to bid for the title of ‘World’s Fastest Nation’.
The Saturday night will see the individual Race Of Champions, when all teamwork goes out of the window and it will be a battle for individual glory and the ‘Champion of Champions’ title.
Next year’s Race Of Champions comes two weeks after the 2025 Supercars opener at Sydney Motorsport Park (Feb 21-23) and one week before the opening round of the F1 World Championship in Melbourne (March 13-16).
ROC is renowned for gathering some of the best drivers in the world, including superstars from Formula 1, Le Mans, Nascar, Supercars, World Rally and Rallycross.
Hospitality and Track side packages and General Admission Tickets starting from $49.00 for children and $69.00 for adults. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketek.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Friday 7th March - ROC Nations Cup – to crown the world's fastest NationAccor Stadium, Sydney
Doors Open 5:30pm
Show Starts 6:30pm*
Race Starts 7:30pm
Saturday 8th March – Race Of Champions – to crown the "Champion of Champions"Accor Stadium, Sydney
Doors open 5:30pm
Show Starts 6:30pm*
Race Starts 7.30pm