Mattias Ekström to defend Race Of Champions crown in Sydney

Mattias Ekström to defend Race Of Champions crown in Sydney

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: Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, Sébastien Loeb, Jamie Whincup, Will Brown, Molly Taylor, Travis Pastrana, Mick Schumacher, Johan Kristoffersson, Hayden Paddon, Petter and Oliver Solber and Kurt Busch


 
Accor Stadium to be turned into a spectacular 1 kilometer 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 on sale now 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 Sébastien 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; he won the title in 2004 and 2007 and never finished 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 the 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.

The 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), creating a massive month of motorsport in Australia.

In Sydney, Ekström will be going head to head with no less than:

 

4-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel
F1 ace, Valtteri Bottas
9-time FIA World Rally Champion, Sébastien Loeb
7-time Supercars Champion, Jamie Whincup
Reigning Supercars champion, Will Brown
Extreme E champion, Molly Taylor
11-time X-Games Gold medalist, Travis Pastrana
7-time FIA World Rallycross Champion, Johan Kristoffersson
Former F1 driver, FIA F2 champion and current WEC driver, Mick Schumacher
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
The Race Of Champions will run over two nights with a purpose-built 1km tarmac track taking centre stage at Accor Stadium, Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.

 

What Mattias Ekström, said:

“I have some of my absolute best racing memories from the Race Of Champions,” said Ekström.

“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.

“I am looking forward to teaming up with Johan Kristoffersson and trying to win Sweden’s first 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.”

What 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,” said Johnsson.

“Mattias has been an amazing competitor at the Race Of Champions and he and Sébastien Loeb will both do everything they can to become the first to clinch a record fifth Champions of Champions title in Sydney.

“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 talented drivers out there trying to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Hospitality and Trackside packages and General Admission Tickets start from $49.00 for children and $69.00 for adults. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketek.com.au.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Friday 7th March - ROC Nations Cup – to Crown the ‘World's Fastest Nation’

Accor 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
Keep up with all the latest news at www.raceofchampions.com, Race Of Champions on Facebook and @raceofchampions on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. The official hashtag for the event is #ROCSydney

For ticketing and event information www.tegsport.com.au

Pictured: Mattias Ekström in 2006


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