2009 Race of Champions heading to Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium

Undoubtedly one of the most unique motorsports events out there, the annual Race of Champions (ROC) event sees drivers from usually incompatible forms of motorsport take each other on in a single race format - last year we got to see rallying legend Sebastien Loeb beat out champion F1 drivers Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard for a memorable victory.

This year, the ROC will be moving to a new location - China's famous Bird's Nest stadium, which played host to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is now China's national stadium. Taking place over the course of two days in November, the ROC will be the first major event to take place at the stadium since the Olympics.

According to International Media Productions, the company behind the spectacle, five other venues were in consideration but Beijing won out in the end due to its work with the Olympics. The news is significant in that it will be the first time ever that the ROC is being taken out of Europe - for the last two years it has been held at Wembley, England, and at Paris for three years before that.

Which drivers will be returning for the race this year remain uncertain, but expect to see a good mix of F1 and rally drivers in there to make things more lively. Last year, KTM's formidable X-Bow was the feature car, but this year could see something new in place for the drivers - the new 1,130bhp/ton Caparo T1, anyone?