The Race of Champions, is, well… a race of champions. The one-day event, which took place in Paris on Saturday, pits the world’s top racers against each other in identical vehicles, this way it all comes down to the driver—not the pit team or machine. The arena format consists of both a tarmac-rally style course and a road course. Not only do the drivers compete for the coveted Champion of Champions title, but they also partner-up with their fellow countrymen to try and bring home the gold in the Nations Cup. >>

This year, the Fins took the Nations Cup win, but the US finished second thanks to a one-man team. Yup, our Golden Boy, Travis Pastrana, took on duel driving responsibilities since Jimmie Johnson and his last minute replacement Scott Speed could not make the event due to injuries. Pastrana even beat Gronholm but was then defeated by the other Fin, Heikki Kovalainen. >>

As for the Champions crown, DTM-racer Mattias Ekström beat out Sebastian Loeb (last year’s Champ) in what the French are calling a “surprise win…” Guess they didn’t expect a Swede to win? Ekström proved to be fast not only on the road circuit but the rally section as well. Oh, and did we mention that he even won against Loeb while driving identical Citroen Xsara WRCs (you know, the car that took SebLo to rally victory). ||

VIDEOS: As soon as we find quality coverage of the ROC, we will have it posted in the Video section. Until then peep this clip!