The 1990 Race of Champions took place on December 8-9 in the Spanish city of Barcelona. It was the third running of the event, and the first year that the International Masters contest was run, allowing up-and-coming rally drivers a chance to mix it with the champions in the main event. Stig Blomqvist retained his title won the previous year, defeating Tommi Makinen in the final.
| Driver | Reason for Qualification | |
|---|---|---|
 Carlos Sainz | World Rally champion in 1990 | |
 Timo Salonen | World Rally champion in 1985 | |
 Stig Blomqvist | World Rally champion in 1984 | |
| Hannu Mikkola | World Rally champion in 1983 | |
| Ari Vatanen | World Rally champion in 1981 | |
| Björn Waldegård | World Rally champion in 1979 | |
| Markku Alén | FIA Cup for Drivers winner in 1978 | |
| Kenneth Eriksson | Winner in the International Masters | |
 Alain Oreille | Finalist in the International Masters | |
| François Chatriot | Semi-finalists in the International Masters | |
 Dario Cerrato | ||
| Tommi Makinen | Replacement for the absent Walter Röhrl |
Preliminary stages
The 12 participants were split into three groups for the round robin first stage of the contest, with the best three from each progressing along with the driver with the fastest time among the losers. The drivers were split as follows:
Shinozuka, Llewellin, Bardolet and Bassas were then eliminated in the knockout second round.
Quarter-finals
| Winner | Loser | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dario Cerrato | Alain Oreille | ||
| Kenneth Eriksson | Tommi Makinen | ||
| François Chatriot |  Marc Duez |
The main event followed the same format as the International Masters. The drivers were split into groups as follows:
Second round
| Winner | Loser | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tommi Makinen | François Chatriot | ||
| Dario Cerrato | Alain Oreille | ||
| Kenneth Eriksson | Carlos Sainz | ||
| Stig Blomqvist | Björn Waldegård | ||
| Timo Salonen | Hannu Mikkola |
Quarter-finals
| Winner | Loser | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dario Cerrato | Tommi Makinen | ||
| Stig Blomqvist | Kenneth Eriksson | ||
| Carlos Sainz | Timo Salonen |