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
2009 Formula One season in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit, with the Driver's Cup being contested on Wednesday 4, November.[1]
The new dates affected the United States and Australia the worst, since it meant drivers from those countries' popular saloon-car series (
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
and rally driver Sergio Vallejo in the ROC Iberia. Albuquerque beat Sordo by two heats to nil in the Iberian final.
ROC South Europe Finals
The Spanish pairing of Sainz and Sordo faced the Italian pairing of former World Rally champion
Le Mans 24 Hours winner Emanuele Pirro, who although born in Italy, has been a resident of Monaco for over 22 years. After four of five heats the score was balanced at 2–2, before Piccione beat Albuquerque by one ten thousandth of a second, the narrowest margin of victory in Race of Champions history. The Monegasque pairing beat the Spanish pair by three heats to one in the final to send Monaco through to the main event in November.[2]