Loeb, champion of champions

Back on the big version of the icy slope of Pite Havsbad in Sweden, it's Sébastien Loeb who wins and becomes champion of champions for the fourth time. After participating in the Dakar, Rally of Monte Carlo and Andros Trophy, the Frenchman continues and wears a new crown this season. 

First on the ice, the drivers accustomed to asphalt meet in the first part of qualifying. Colton Herta wins as well as Jamie Chadwick against Helio Castoneves then Mick Schumacher. For the round of XNUMX, Sebastian Vettel easily wins against Kimiläinen, Jamie Chadwick hits a wall and despite a good performance, his error qualifies Colton Herta. Jimmie Johnson beats Mika Häkkinen by more than 3 seconds and Tom Kristensen dominates thanks to a big acceleration on the final straight and eliminates David Coulthard. The first drivers selected are therefore Colton Herta, Sebastian Vettel, Jimmie Johnson and Tom Kristensen. 

@SchumacherMick and @JamieChadwick are fighting for survival in the early stages. Find out who takes the W and advances!#ROCSweden pic.twitter.com/CDauoiDQL0

- Race Of Champions (@RaceOfChampions) February 6, 2022

Loeb reunites with Solberg

As for the rally drivers, Oliver Solberg is the first to qualify, in the same vein as yesterday with the Nations Cup against the Mexican Benito Guerra. Kristoffersson finds himself facing Hansen. The latter hit the wall and found himself on the wrong side of the track, while his opponent broke the lap record. 

Pour les Français, Sébastien Loeb rencontre Petter Solberg, c’est l’un des duels les plus attendus de la journée. Le nonuple champion de rallye s’impose avec quatre dixièmes d’avance sur le Norvégien. Didier Auriol s’est très bien envolé avec la Porsche qu’il redoute mais c’est Mattias Esktröm qui se qualifie. 

In the quarter-final, the Herta-Vettel duel begins this qualifying phase, in two stages as for the Nations Cup. The German makes very clean passages in the winding parts of the circuit. Despite his defeat in the second round, the driver of Formula 1 wins thanks to his time. He is therefore the first to qualify for the final four. 

If you need to explain to your friends what ROC is, just show them this.#ROCSweden pic.twitter.com/dsnKAAQnzR

- Race Of Champions (@RaceOfChampions) February 6, 2022

Mr. Le Mans face Superman

Tom Kristensen meets Jimmie Johnson on the Polaris, tying the score by winning a heat each. Monsieur Le Mans manages to beat Superman to advance to the semi-final with a few tenths of a second ahead in the cumulative time. 

For the last Frenchman in the running, he starts on the Porsche with confidence and makes the most of the first portion of the track. He takes the advantage for these quarter-finals. Oliver Solberg and Sébastien Loeb achieve exactly the same time on the second event, the Alsatian therefore qualifies for the semi-final with Vettel and Kristensen. 

The last 100% Swedish duo between Mattias Ekström and Johan Kristoffersson ended with only 10 tenths of a difference. The latter wins the first run. His rival won in the second performance with a greater time gap. He also qualifies in the semi-final. 

Sebastian Vettel reached the final of the Race of Champions (Photo: Race of Champions)

The challenge of the last rounds

For the last test before reaching the grand finale, Vettel meets Kristensen. Unfortunately, before the end of the first lap, the Swede's car suddenly stopped and the German won this first part of the semi-final. The drivers launch the Polaris through a snowstorm that begins to intensify. The four-time F1 champion is the first to qualify for the final. 

Sébastien Loeb becomes Mattias Ekström's rival for this final qualifying phase. On the Porsches, the Frenchman had a lot of difficulty dominating his car, yet he finished the race with more than two seconds in advance. His rival wins the second round, but they decide in a final round. Ekström made two errors which allowed Sébastien Loeb to reach the final. 

13 world champions play the final. For the first round of the final, the two drivers set off in Polaris. The Frenchman won with a lead of more than two seconds, the German having made several mistakes. Sébastien Loeb repeats his performance and wins a second victory. He is missing one to win the precious title. First match point for the Frenchman, both drivers hit, the rallyman had to stop and lost this round. As a reminder, you need three victories to be crowned. On the fourth attempt, Loeb was the first to cross the finish line for the third time. He thus won his fourth title of champion of champions. 

It's @SebastienLoeb who becomes the 2022 ROC Champion of Champions!

Loeb equals Didier Auriol with a record four wins after holding off a hard-charging Sebastian Vettel at #ROCSweden. 🔥🔥🔥

Hats off to both legends! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hXvQ5zrx3F

- Race Of Champions (@RaceOfChampions) February 6, 2022