Sebastien Loeb has been crowned 'Champion of Champions' after beating David Coulthard in the final of the Race of Champions.
WRC Champion takes main event for third time
Sebastien Loeb has been crowned 'Champion of Champions' after beating David Coulthard in the final of the Race of Champions, held at Wembley Stadium.
The Frenchman, who recently claimed his fifth consecutive World Rally Championship, defeated the newly-retired F1 driver after Coulthard forced a decider in their best-of-three face-off.
The Scot had beaten Irish Tarmac Rally driver Gareth MacHale, Drift champion Tanner Foust and NASCAR runner-up Carl Edwards en route to the final.
Loeb, meanwhile, was victorious over World Touring Car champion and fellow Frenchman Yvan Muller, F1 ace Sebastian Vettel and three-time WTC title-holder Andy Priaulx.
The result also means that Loeb has now won the main event at the Race of Champions three times in the past six years.
Favour
After taking victory, Loeb, who recently tested Coulthard's F1 car, said he would like to return the favour and let Coulthard try his Citroen rally car.
"If he wants, then for me it is no problem. I could easily organise that," he said.
To which Coulthard, who had a number of early retirements in his final season, replied: "I would love to... but not in a forest because at the rate I've been crashing, it would make me clearly uncomfortable.
"I don't know if there is a tarmac test track or something because that would be better for me."
Coulthard insisted he had given his all in his attempt to become Britain's first winner of an event that has now been running for 21 years.
Joking again, he said: "Well, I had a little bit of energy left over because I only managed two corners in Brazil (the final race of the F1 season)!
"But I used it all up here, and I've even bruises on my hands.... I thought grand prix racing was difficult.
"I've never gone that far in the Race of Champions before, so I was surprised to see how much I was sweating at the end.
"But I came up against a multiple world champion, and to be out on the same race track as him and to be not so far behind, obviously I'm very happy with that."
