Loeb Wins Race of Champions
Light rain made the kilometre purpose built circuit within Stade de France slippery but if anyone could cope with such conditions it was World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb who took away Heikki Kovalainen's crown of Champion of Champions this evening (Saturday) in Paris.
Kovalainen, now confirmed as test driver with the Renault F1 squad in 2006, put on a great show as he attempted to defend his crown The Finn took on and beat new Ferrari signing Felipe Massa before being eliminated by this year's Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, who in turn eliminated many big names in the competition including the likes of David Coulthard and Nelson Piquet Jr. only to lose out at the final hurdle.
The finale came down to a shoot out between Loeb and Kristensen with the WRC Champion taking the win in the super-powerful Renault Megane Trophy car and then sealing the victory as Kristensen went off track in the Citroen Xsara WRC. Sebastien Bourdais, the double winner in the Champ Car World Series put in a great show eliminating his US open wheel rival and IRL IndyCar Champion Dan Wheldon with ease only to lose out against NASCAR star Jeff Gordon. Gordon himself could have and perhaps should have challenged for the ultimate win by a gearbox gremlin saw him stranded on the line in the semi-finals against Kristensen.
New MF1 Racing signing Christijan Albers had a short run as he went off early on after a gearbox problem in the RoC machine resulted in the Dutch driver nosing the car heavily into the barriers. Once again the annual Race of Champions event drew a huge crowd and provided plant of entertainment with the big names in motorsport. In a dream season for Sebastien Loeb, he can add the Race of Champions 2005 to his ever impressive resume.(f1.racing)
Light rain made the kilometre purpose built circuit within Stade de France slippery but if anyone could cope with such conditions it was World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb who took away Heikki Kovalainen's crown of Champion of Champions this evening (Saturday) in Paris.
Kovalainen, now confirmed as test driver with the Renault F1 squad in 2006, put on a great show as he attempted to defend his crown The Finn took on and beat new Ferrari signing Felipe Massa before being eliminated by this year's Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, who in turn eliminated many big names in the competition including the likes of David Coulthard and Nelson Piquet Jr. only to lose out at the final hurdle.
The finale came down to a shoot out between Loeb and Kristensen with the WRC Champion taking the win in the super-powerful Renault Megane Trophy car and then sealing the victory as Kristensen went off track in the Citroen Xsara WRC. Sebastien Bourdais, the double winner in the Champ Car World Series put in a great show eliminating his US open wheel rival and IRL IndyCar Champion Dan Wheldon with ease only to lose out against NASCAR star Jeff Gordon. Gordon himself could have and perhaps should have challenged for the ultimate win by a gearbox gremlin saw him stranded on the line in the semi-finals against Kristensen.
New MF1 Racing signing Christijan Albers had a short run as he went off early on after a gearbox problem in the RoC machine resulted in the Dutch driver nosing the car heavily into the barriers. Once again the annual Race of Champions event drew a huge crowd and provided plant of entertainment with the big names in motorsport. In a dream season for Sebastien Loeb, he can add the Race of Champions 2005 to his ever impressive resume.(f1.racing)
