Racing News Digest

Sebastien Loeb has won The Race Of Champions at Wembley Stadium today.

Now I missed quite a bit of the first part of the events today. But from the time I got home until the time it ended I was pretty glued to my computer watching this event via freecaster.tv. just a quick plug for freecaster.tv…..this is a great service. And while I had the Race of Champions streaming to computer all day, the video quality was fantastic. Of course over the course of 3 or 4 hours it hiccuped only a couple of times. At that time my 3 year old son would usually start yelling ‘FIX IT DADDY!”.

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE

Loeb, the five times World Rally (WRC) champion, kept his composure despite fierce pressure from fellow finalist, Britain’s David Coulthard, to become the champion of champions.

The unique, annual event pitches the world’s best motorsport stars head-to-head in equal machinery on a tight and twisty, temporary tarmac track constructed atop of Wembley’s famous pitch.

With a best-of-three format for the final, Frenchman Loeb took the honours in the first race to put the pressure on the newly retired F1 driver. Coulthard responded in spectacular fashion, giving the massive British crowd hope of a home victory by piloting to victory in the second heat, driving the KTM X-Bow.

With a best-of-three format for the final, Frenchman Loeb took the honours in the first race to put the pressure on the newly retired F1 driver. Coulthard responded in spectacular fashion, giving the massive British crowd hope of a home victory by piloting to victory in the second heat, driving the KTM X-Bow.

With the stage set for a thrilling finale, the two driving greats turned the famous football stadium into a adrenalin-fuelled amphitheater; slipping and sliding the purpose-built ROC Cars to a nail-biting finish with Loeb taking the honors by just 0.3 seconds.

Fresh from sealing his third ROC crown, Loeb said: “For sure, when you are on the start line, you want to win, but with this event there is not too much pressure. It’s a very tight track and you have to give everything you can. I didn’t get as much experience as some of the others, as I only did one ROC Nations Cup race, but it was a good weekend for me.”

Despite finishing runner-up, Scotland’s Coulthard was still smiling:

“The ROC is a totally unique event, and it’s always a pleasure to take part, even if you don’t win. I think there were some very exciting racing, and there’s nothing quite like being able to see the whole track.
“It was a very entertaining afternoon for the British race fans, and I did my best to keep KTM busy by crashing a couple of their cars.”

This year’s ROC attracted 46,312 spectators despite the chilly December evening.

Carl Edwards and Tanner Foust went representing the United States Of America. Foust got beat out in the quarter finals by David Coulthard. They were driving the KTM X-Bow. Foust made it into the quarter finals by beating Jenson Button in the first round.

David Coulthard ended up beating both American’s before the day was over. He took Carl Edwards out in the semi-finals and ended up taking second to Sebastien Loeb in the finals.

Carl Edwards beat out Jaime Alguersuari in a KTM X-Bow to make it into the quarter finals and then beat Michael Schumacher in a Fiat Abarth 500 to make it to the semi-finals.

EDWARDS RECEIVES AWARD AT ROC
Carl Edwards was selected as the best driver in the world from a panel of eight judges that analyzed the weekly performance of more than 150 drivers from Formula One, GP2, NASCAR and the World Rally Championship.

He was awarded that award today in the UK.

“It’s a real honor to receive this award,” said Edwards, who is competing in the Race of Champions for Team USA with Formula Drift racer Tanner Foust.

The Race Of Champions – Heat 1
Race1: Michael Schumacher v Tom Kristensen
Car: ROC car
Winner: Michael Schumacher

Race 2: Carl Edwards v Jaime Alguersuari
Car: KTM X-Bow
Winner: Carl Edwards

Race 3: Jenson Button v Tanner Foust
Car: ROC car
Winner: Tanner Foust

Race 4: David Coulthard v Gareth MacHale
Car: Fiat 500 Abarth
Winner: David Coulthard

Race 5: Andy Priaulx v Jason Plato
Car: Ford Focus WRC
Winner: Andy Priaulx

Race 6: Mattias Ekstrom v Adam Carroll
Car: ROC car
Winner: Mattias Ekstrom

Race 7: Sebastien Loeb v Yvan Muller
Car: KTM X-Bow
Winner: Sebastien Loeb

Race 8: Sebastian Vettel v Troy Bayliss
Car: RX150
Winner: Sebastian Vettel

The Race Of Champions – Quarter Finals

Race 1: Michael Schumacher v Carl Edwards
Car: Fiat Abarth 500
Winner: Carl Edwards

Race 2: Tanner Foust v David Coulthard
Car: KTM X-Bow
Winner: David Coulthard

Race 3: Andy Priaulx v Mattias Ekstrom
Car: Ford Focus WRC
Winner: Andy Priaulx

Race 4: Sebastien Loeb v Sebastian Vettel
Car: RX 150
Winner: Sebastien Loeb

The Race Of Champions – Semi Finals

Race 1: Carl Edwards v David Coulthard
Car: KTM X-Bow
Winner: David Coulthard (despite crashing in the final turn!)

Race 2: Andy Priaulx v Sebastien Loeb
Car: Fiat 500 Abarth
Winner: Sebastien Loeb

Final:
David Coulthard v Sebastien Loeb

WINNER