The biggest names from the world of motorsport, including Volkswagen factory driver and Dakar Rally winner Giniel de Villiers and Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, lined up on the grid in motorsport prepared versions of the Volkswagen Scirocco at this year’s Race of Champions in Beijing, to battle it out for the title of Champion of Champions.

The grid of 16 top-class drivers competed against each other in a series of vehicles, including identical Scirocco Cup racers, battling in teams for the ‘Nations Cup’, and individually for the coveted overall title.

For the first time, the racing version of the Scirocco sports coupé was part of the action, with Volkswagen providing the Race of Champions with vehicles from the one-make Cup series. Fitted with a 2.0-litre TSI engine producing 200 PS, four Scirocco Cup racers thrilled spectators as they raced around the ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium in Beijing.

The pairing of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher and current F1 driver Sebastian Vettel successfully defended the ‘Nations Cup’ for Germany, while former DTM champion Mattias Ekström claimed the overall title win for the third time.

Making his debut at the annual event was Giniel de Villiers, who claimed overall victory in the Dakar Rally earlier this year with the Volkswagen Race Touareg. In addition to racing for individual victory, de Villiers contested the ‘Nations Cup’ alongside former-F1 driver David Coulthard.

The Scirocco Cup racers will be in action in China again next weekend in the season finale of the Scirocco Cup China in Shanghai.