Still think of the Race of Champions as an elitist European event? Think again. Organizers have announced that that the annual face-off is scheduled to head to China this year.

The Race of Champions, for those unfamiliar, is a year-end event in which the top drivers from various motorsport disciplines – including F1, rally, touring cars, Le Mans...even motorbikes, drifting or the occasional NASCAR pretty-boy – compete against each other in a series of heats on varied machinery around a dedicated track built inside a major sports arena. The event crowns two winners: the solo Champion of Champions, and the Nations Cup in which drivers pair up to represent their home countries. After a decade in the Canary Islands, the race was held for three consecutive seasons at the Stade de France before moving to Wembley Stadium for the past two years, but a new arrangement will see this year's race held in Beijing at the Bird's Nest stadium built for last year's Olympic games. Previous champions have been predominantly rally drivers (including three titles for Sebastien Loeb and two for Mattias Ekstrom), while Germany's contingent of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have taken the national honors. Who will be crowned champion this year? Tune in on November 3-4, only two days after the Formula One season wraps up in Abu Dhabi (assuming they can get the Yas Island circuit ready in time) to find out.

[Source: F1-Live]

Yesterday marked the running of the 2008 Race of Champions, an annual event that hosts the world's best drivers from NASCAR, F1, WRCC, LeMans racing and every other legitimate form of four-wheeled competition in the world. The purpose is to race these pilots against each other on an identical track in identical vehicles to find out both which country produces the fastest drivers and which driver is the fastest them of all. This year's arsenal of autos included the KTM X-Bow, Abarth 500 Assetto Corso, 2008 Ford WRC Focus, RX 150 and purpose-built RoC buggy.

Follow the jump for a rundown of the winners and losers as well as video highlights, and check out some great pics of yesterday's action in the gallery below.

Waiting for your Sunday to take shape? Well, while you're figuring out your schedule, know that the Race of Champions is streaming live on the web right now. You can tune in to the action from Wembley at Freecaster.tv or over at Autofiends, which is actually at the race and also carrying the Freecaster.tv stream. Go and enjoy.

UPDATE: The Nations Cup has been decided (that's what was running earlier), and the individual championship is what's on deck for 12:30 PM Eastern. We've added the embed code for the stream to this post. Click above to watch it live right here.

[Source: Autofiends]

After a report surfaced yesterday that Travis Pastrana sustained injuries to his hip and ankle during an unknown accident, rumors began to circulate that Tanner Foust would replace the X Games alumni and three-time RoC finalist in this weekend's Race of Champions. The rumors have been confirmed and Foust is currently prepping with teammate and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards to represent Team USA at the RoC Nations Cup.

The X-Games rally competitor, Speed TV presenter and one of the trio set to lead the U.S. version of Top Gear will join Mattias Ekstrom, Sebastian Loeb and Michael Schumacher at Wembley Stadium behind the wheel of KTM X-Bows, Ford Focus WRC cars and Abarth Assetto Corsas. Fifty-thousand spectators are expect to pack the arena and the RoC will air on Discover HD sometime early next year. If you want to catch Foust and the rest of the drivers in action this weekend, Freecaster.tv will begin airing the RoC live at 5:30 GMT (12:30 PM EST, 9:30 AM PST) this Sunday.

[Image: Jonathan Moore/Getty]

This may come as a shock (or, actually... not at all), but Travis Pastrana is rumored to have injured himself, which may render the oft-maimed X Games star unable to compete in the upcoming Race of Champions. The RoC pits the world's greatest drivers from various motorsport (and other sports) against each other piloting identical vehicles, including the new KTM X-Bow. Pastrana has already raced in the RoC back in 2003, 2006 and 2007 – always making at least the quarter finals and managing to reach the finals in '06. He was most recently in the news for winning a Gold medal in the Rally competition at this past summer's X Games 14 (shown above during competition at X Games 13, in which he also earned Gold).

This time, Pastrana is rumored to have broken a hip and an ankle, though we're not sure how the injuries were sustained. If Travis isn't able to make it, Top Gear USA co-host and rally racer extraordinaire Tanner Faust may join NASCAR driver Carl Edwards to represent Team USA for the event. Of course, we send our best wishes to Pastrana for a speedy recovery.

[Source: Auto Fiends, Photo by Harry How/Getty]

British racing fans had lots of reason to celebrate this year. Not only did their golden boy Lewis Hamilton win the Formula One World Championship, but their star cyclist Chris Hoy took home three Olympic gold medals from the Beijing Olympics. But the ultimate face-off between man and machine is just gearing up as organizers of the annual Race of Champions have announced the two will face off next month at Wembley.

The race will pit Hamilton in a Mercedes road car against Hoy on his bike on parallel winding tracks. Although Lewis won't be driving his championship winning McLaren, he'll be running a few demonstration laps around the stadium for the fans in his first major public appearance after securing the championship. Since both Hoy and Hamilton will have to rush off to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, scheduled at the same time as the race, the showdown will take place as an opening act. And that's one heck of an opening act. Press release after the jump.

[Source: Race of Champions]

Click above to view the KTM X-Bow at Wembley in high resolution

One look at the KTM X-Bow should tell you it's about as close to a race car for the road as you're ever likely to see. Add to that the European GT4 Sports Light championship and it pretty much seals the deal. But if that still isn't enough, here comes the news that the 2008 Race of Champions has chosen the super-light Austrian track car to compete in this year's event.

For the uninitiated, the Race of Champions takes place every year, fielding a roster including some of the best racers from various motor sport disciplines on two wheels and four against each other on identical machinery. Each year the list of vehicles is changed, and has in the past included Ferrari, Aston Martins, Porsches, Renaults, Abarths, various rally cars and a specially-made sprint car. Last month, RoC officials took a look at the X-Bow, alongside a 4WD racer powered by a pair of Suzuki Hyabusa motorcycle engines, but the final decision just came down. You'll be able to watch the X-Bow, along with the rest of the motor-pool, being man-handled by some of the world's greatest, including F1's Sebastian Vettel, WRC's Sebastien Loeb, DTM's Mattias Ekstrom and WTCC's Andy Priaulx along with recently retired legends Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard at Wembley in London on December 14. More info in the press release after the jump, and images in the gallery below.

[Source: Race of Champions]

Americans may be more familiar with the International Race of Champions, IROC for short, due to that race's popularity in the '80s and '90s and for the Chevy Camaros and Dodge Daytonas affixed with the badge. In the rest of the world, though, the more popular series is called the Race of Champions, but the idea is the same. Take top drivers from various racing leagues and pit them in similar cars against each other on a number of different race tracks. This year, the ROC's organizers are testing a bunch of cars to be used for the next event, including the track-ready KTM X-Bow and a wild-sounding contraption that uses twin Suzuki Hayabusa engines driving all four wheels. The actual race will take place in London at Wembley Stadium on December 14 and will feature Tom Kristensen (Team Scandinavia), Michael Schumacher (Team Germany), Sébastien Loeb (Team France), Andy Priaulx (Team Autosport Great Britain), Troy Bayliss (Team Australia), Mattias Ekström (Team Scandinavia), Jenson Button (Team Autosport Great Britain), Mark Webber (Team Australia) and Sebastian Vettel (Team Germany).


[Source: Race of Champions]

The Race of Champions is scheduled to return to its new home at London's Wembley Stadium on December 14th. For those unfamiliar, the annual event pits a host of the best racing drivers in the world against each other on carefully-calibrated equal terms. The event is split between the solo competition and the nations' cup, the latter in which countries send their two best drivers to claim the honors for their homeland.

Last year's event saw DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom defeat Schumacher in the final rounds, after the two (pictured at right) made minced meat out of the rest of the field in a variety of vehicles including the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24, Ford Focus RS WRC, Fiat Grande Punto S2000 Abarth, an Opel/Vauxhall-based Solution F touring car and a purpose-built sprint car. This year retired seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher is set to return, teaming up with rookie driver Sebastian Vettel again for Team Germany. So far only Schumacher and Vettel have confirmed their participation for 2008 – last year Travis Pastrana valiantly held down the fort for Team USA on his own – but more are sure to join as the date approaches. Stay tuned.

[Source: Auto Express]

click on any image to view high-res gallery

The premise of the Race of Champions is simple: take the best drivers in the world and have them compete on equal terms. Drivers from Formula 1, DTM, WRC and more go head-to-head in the same cars on the same track with personal and national pride at stake. Drivers face off in a trio of different vehicles per round, with the best-of-three winner moving on to the next round. Recent winners include 2004 DTM champion Mattias Ekström, 2004-2006 WRC champ Sebastien Loeb, and Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen. Results from this year's Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium in England can be found after the jump, and plenty of action photos can be viewed in the gallery below.

[Source: Race of Champions]