Mattias Ekstrom and Max McRae have withdrawn from the upcoming Race of Champions event in Sydney, Australia. Ekstrom, a four-time ROC winner, is out due to illness, while McRae is sidelined with a wrist injury.

Following these withdrawals, the Nations Cup lineups have been revised:

• Chaz Mostert replaces Ekstrom alongside Johan Kristoffersson in Team Sweden (now Team All-Stars)
• Alister McRae steps in for Max McRae to join David Coulthard in Team GB

The complete Nations Cup field includes:

• Team USA: Travis Pastrana and Kurt Busch
• Team Germany: Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher
• Team Norway: Petter and Oliver Solberg
• Team New Zealand: Hayden Paddon and Louis Sharp
• Team France: Sebastien Loeb and Victor Martins
• Team Finland: Valtteri Bottas and Heikki Kovalainen
• Team Australia Supercars: Jamie Whincup and Will Brown
• Team Australia Off-Road: Molly Taylor and Toby Price

Six vehicles will feature in this year's event:

• SuperCar Lites rallycross car
• KTM X-Bow
• Polaris RZR
• Subaru BRZ tS (new)
• Toyota GR86 Cup (new)
• FC2 rallycross car (new)

Race of Champions president Fredrik Johnsson notes that each car requires unique skills, with success depending on consistency across all vehicles. The event has backup vehicles and an experienced technical crew ready to handle any potential damage during the two nights of racing.

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