The event was first organised in 1988 by former rally driver Michèle Mouton and Fredrik Johnsson, IMP President. Originally a competition between the world’s best rally drivers, it has since expanded to include competitors from most other disciplines.
The first Race of Champions was held in 1988 at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry near Paris, in memory of Henri Toivonen, who died while leading the 1986 Tour de Corse, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the world championship for rally drivers. The inaugural cast included all eight world rally champions from 1979 to 1988: Björn Waldegård, Walter Röhrl, Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Timo Salonen, Juha Kankkunen, and Miki Biasion. The final was a battle between two “Flying Finns”: Kankkunen beat Salonen to become the first Champion of Champions. Cars at the first event included the Audi Quattro S1, BMW M3, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, Lancia Delta Integrale, Opel Manta 400, and Peugeot 205 Turbo 16.
From 1989 to 1991, one-off events were held at the Nürburgring, Barcelona, and Madrid.
Starting in 1992, the event found a permanent home for twelve years at the Ciudad Deportiva Islas Canarias on Gran Canaria. The ROC Nations’ Cup was introduced in 1999, bringing in circuit racing drivers and motorcyclists for the first time; 2001 marked the first year that non-rally drivers were eligible to compete for the main title. As the event moved to tarmac stadium tracks from 2004, rally drivers lost their dominance; by 2007 only a handful of rally drivers remained, with the majority drawn from F1, touring cars, and sportscars.
The 2004 event, held on 6 December at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, saw Heikki Kovalainen become the first non-rally driver to win the individual crown. France — represented by Jean Alesi and Sébastien Loeb — won the Nations’ Cup. A special “World Champions Challenge” between 2004 F1 world champion Michael Schumacher and 2004 World Rally champion Sébastien Loeb was held; Schumacher won.
The 2005 individual event was won by Sébastien Loeb after Tom Kristensen crashed out of the final; Scandinavia, represented by Tom Kristensen and Mattias Ekström, won the Nations’ Cup. In 2006, Mattias Ekström won the individual title, beating Kovalainen by 0.0002 seconds in the semi-finals and then Loeb in the final; Finland, with Kovalainen and Marcus Grönholm, won the Nations’ Cup.
The 2007 event at Wembley Stadium saw Germany win the Nations’ Cup over Finland, and Mattias Ekström win the individual title by beating Michael Schumacher in the final. In 2008, Germany retained the Nations’ Cup, while Sébastien Loeb won the individual event, overcoming the recently retired David Coulthard.
Held at Beijing’s National Stadium on 3–4 November 2009, Germany won the Nations’ Cup for the third successive time. Mattias Ekström claimed the individual title in a re-run of the 2007 final, again defeating Michael Schumacher.
At Düsseldorf’s Esprit Arena in 2010, Germany retained the Nations’ Cup in front of their home crowd, while Filipe Albuquerque was a surprise winner, beating Sebastian Vettel in the semi-final and Sébastien Loeb in the final. In 2011, after the originally planned Frankfurt venue was unavailable, the event returned to the Esprit Arena. Germany secured their fifth successive Nations’ Cup title; up-and-coming rally star Sébastien Ogier beat Tom Kristensen in the final to clinch the individual crown.
At the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok in 2012, Germany won the Nations’ Cup for the sixth consecutive time, and Lotus F1 driver Romain Grosjean won the individual event, beating Tom Kristensen in the final. The 2012 edition was the first to include a ROC Asia competition. The 2013 event was cancelled due to political unrest in Bangkok.
The 2014 event was held at Bushy Park circuit in Barbados — the first time the event was held in North America. David Coulthard won the individual event, beating Pascal Wehrlein in the final. Team Nordic, represented by Tom Kristensen and Petter Solberg, won the Nations’ Cup, overcoming Team Great Britain’s David Coulthard and Susie Wolff.
The 2015 event returned to London at London Stadium. Team England 1, consisting of Jason Plato and Andy Priaulx, won the Nations’ Cup. Sebastian Vettel was crowned Champion of Champions.
At Marlins Park on 21–22 January 2017, Juan Pablo Montoya was crowned Champion of Champions after defeating Tom Kristensen. Team Germany won the Nations’ Cup; Pascal Wehrlein did not compete in the Nations’ Cup after suffering an accident during the Champion of Champions event.
The 2018 event was held at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, the first international motorsports event to be held in Saudi Arabia. It was also the first edition to feature eROC, where sim racers competed against each other both virtually and on the ROC track.
The 2019 event was held at the Foro Sol in Mexico City, the third Race of Champions held in North America.
The 2020 event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, using recreations of the Gran Canaria track and the Riyadh and London stadium tracks, all recreated in Assetto Corsa.
The 2022 and 2023 events were held at Pite Havsbad in Piteå, northern Sweden, on a snow and ice track — the first time the event had been held on such a surface.
The 2025 Race of Champions was held on 7–8 March at Stadium Australia in Sydney, the first time the event was hosted in the Southern Hemisphere.
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