Race Of Champions to give ROC Factor winner the chance to drive against some of the world's best racers

Two ROC Factor finalists to compete in drive-off for coveted opportunity following a public vote and jury decision

Winning driver to compete against the likes of Vettel, Ricciardo, Button and Solberg in the ROC Skills Challenge presented by TAG Heuer

The Race Of Champions is to give one relatively unknown driver the chance to compete against some of the world's best racers on the Friday night of this year's event on 20-21 November.

The ROC Factor competition sought championship winning drivers from any motorsport discipline to enter for the chance to drive in the ROC Skills Challenge presented by TAG Heuer, with the crowds at the former Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London cheering them on.

Of all the entries, ten drivers were selected to be put in front of a public vote and special ROC jury that included reigning Champion of Champions, David Coulthard.

In the public vote, a Facebook poll saw over 30,000 users cast their vote based on a specially created compilation video showing footage of each driver.

ROC president Fredrik Johnsson said “The ROC Factor jury has come to the unanimous decision that we should respect the people’s choice and give the participants with the most votes the chance to compare themselves with some of the world’s greatest drivers on the ROC Skills Challenge course in London’s former Olympic Stadium.”

After one week of public voting 27-year old Bradley Philpot, a Toyota MR2 Challenge UK: 2007, Red Bull UK Kart Fight: 2011 champion, and 27-year old Des Foley, an Irish Formula Vee ‘Finol Star of Tomorrow’ Champion 2015, were the most popular choices.

The two drivers will now compete in a ROC Skills Challenge drive-off on Thursday 19 November inside the former Olympic Stadium in London, with the winner returning on the Friday evening to take on stars of F1, rallying and circuit racing.

With Race Of Champions featuring on Sky Sports and televised around the world, this competition promises some impressive and much needed exposure for a young driver hoping to go even further with their motorsport career.

The Race Of Champions is an annual end-of-season contest which has been running for over 25 years. It brings together some of the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s major disciplines – including F1, Le Mans, Rallycross, Touring Cars, IndyCar and MotoGP – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.

The event is run over two days: first comes the ROC Nations Cup (on the evening of Friday November 20) when drivers pair up in teams based on nationality to bid for the title of ‘World’s Fastest Nation’. Then on the afternoon of Saturday November 21 it’s time for the Race Of Champions itself, when teamwork goes out of the window and it’s a flat-out battle for individual glory as ‘Champion of Champions’.

In recent years ROC has visited the Stade de France in Paris (2004-2006), London’s Wembley Stadium (2007-2008), the ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium in Beijing (2009), Düsseldorf’s Esprit Arena (2010-2011), the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok (2012) and Bushy Park Barbados (2014). Now the contest is returning to its European roots at the iconic home of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Tickets for ROC 2015 in London are now available via www.raceofchampions.com. For access to rights-free high-resolution imagery and to keep up with all the latest news ahead of this year’s event please visit www.raceofchampions.com, Race Of Champions on Facebook plus @raceofchampions and #ROCLondon on Twitter.

Drivers confirmed for the 2015 Race Of Champions:

Sebastian VETTEL, four-time Formula 1 World Champion

Nico HÜLKENBERG, F1 star and 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner

Tom KRISTENSEN, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner

Petter SOLBERG, reigning FIA World Rallycross Champion

Daniel RICCIARDO, three-time Formula 1 grand prix winner

Mick DOOHAN, five-time 500cc MotoGP World Champion

Felipe MASSA, 11-time Formula 1 grand prix winner

Nelson PIQUET Jr, reigning FIA Formula E Champion

David COULTHARD, reigning ROC Champion of Champions

Susie WOLFF, Williams Martini Racing Official Test Driver

Jason PLATO, double British Touring Car Champion

Jorge LORENZO, double MotoGP World Champion

Romain GROSJEAN, ten F1 podiums, 2012 ROC Champion of Champions

Ryan HUNTER-REAY, 2014 Indy 500 winner, 2012 IndyCar Champion

Pascal WEHRLEIN, 2015 DTM Champion

Jolyon PALMER, 2014 GP2 Champion

Alex BUNCOMBE, 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series Champion

Jenson BUTTON, 2009 Formula 1 World Champion

Drivers confirmed for ROC Celebrity Skills Challenge presented by TAG Heuer: