The 2006 Race of Champions took place on 16 December at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
The Nations' Cup was competed first and the event was won by Finland, with Heikki Kovalainen winning over United States' Travis Pastrana on the final round. Kovalainen's team mate was the two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm, whereas Pastrana drove all the rounds for the US team, after both Jimmie Johnson and his replacement, Scott Speed, had to withdraw from competing due to injuries.
The individual event and the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy was won by Mattias Ekström of Sweden. He won over Kovalainen by 0.0002 seconds in the semi-finals, and then over defending champion, Sébastien Loeb of France, in the finals.
The cars used were the Citroen Xsara WRC Car, the Renault Mégane, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car, the Aston Martin Vantage Rally GT and the ubiquitous ROC Car.
Read more about 2006 Race Of Champions: Participants, The Nations Cup
Famous quotes containing the words race and/or champions:
“Ah, little road, brown as my race is brown,
Your trodden beauty like our trodden pride,
Dust of the dust, they must not bruise you down.
Rise to one brimming golden, spilling cry!”
—Helene Johnson (b. 1907)
“Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men’s reality. Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of “the rat race” is not yet final.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)