2009 Race of Champions
Driver 1 Time 1 Car Driver 2 Time 2
Sebastian Vettel 2:00.363 Mikko Hirvonen 2:02.567
Chad Reed 2:02.391 ROC Car Giniel de Villiers 2:04.247
Giniel de Villiers 1:53.626 Ford Focus RS WRC Sebastian Vettel 1:51.442
Mikko Hirvonen 1:51.094 Ford Focus RS WRC Chad Reed 1:54.247
Chad Reed DNF Sebastian Vettel 1:58.583
Giniel de Villiers 2:04.437 Mikko Hirvonen 2:01.859
Group C
Pos Team Races W L Best Time 1 Sebastian Vettel 3 3 0 1:51.442 2 Mikko Hirvonen 3 2 1 1:51.094 3 Chad Reed 3 1 2 1:54.247 4 Giniel de Villiers 3 0 3 1:53.626
The 2009 Race of Champions was the 22nd running of the event, and took place on November 3-4, 2009 at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China. It was the first time that the event took place outside of Europe and Africa. It was also the first international sports event to be held in the Bird's Nest stadium since the 2008 Summer Olympics. The event also moved from a weekend to a midweek slot for the first time. The RoC Nations Cup took place on Tuesday, November 3, just two days after the climax of the 2009 Formula One season in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit, with the Driver's Cup being contested on Wednesday 4, November. The new dates affected the United States and Australia the worst, since it meant drivers from those countries' popular saloon-car series (V8 Supercar and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) could not participate in the event. Jamie Whincup of Team Vodafone was originally selected to participate but could not because of the schedule, so two motorcyclists were used on the team. In the past, the United States team has used Nationwide Series champion Carl Edwards, and four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Two X Games stars and Rally America drivers were chosen. Mattias Ekström won the World Final for Team Scandinavia, while Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher won the Nations Cup for Team Germany.