Well let's face it - England certainly won't be needing it to play football for a while.

But as the hallowed turf disappears under Tarmac, at least one Englishman has the chance of success at Wembley. F1's Jenson Button races against retired race legend Michael Schumacher in the 20th Race of Champions on 16 December.

They think it's all Tarmacked over: Wembley pitch is transformed into a track for motorsport extravaganza

The competition, held at the Stade de France in Paris for the past three years, features a variety of vehicles plus daredevil exhibitions. But the main event will be the Nations Cup, where teams of two drivers race to decide the fastest motorsport-country. Button partners Andy Priaulx, Britain's world touring car champion in Team England. Rally driver Alister McRae joins David Coulthard for Scotland. McRae, the younger brother of ex-world rally champ Colin, who died in a helicopter crash in September, said: "Colin was the reason I first did Race of Champions."

After losing the Euro 2008 race, Wembley is now turfed out for motorsport

Last year's event was watched by more than 186 million viewers in more than 200 countries.

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