Sébastien Loeb praises Victor Martins' driving: "He did a huge job"

Although the Australian weather is mild at this time of year, it suddenly cooled down a few degrees in Sydney during the evening as spectators attending the Race of Champions Nations Cup were hoping to see one of the two Australian duos triumph on home soil. Despite the early elimination of Team Australia Off-Road, comprising Australian champion Rally and Extreme E's Molly Taylor and two-time Dakar Rally winner Toby Price, the Australians reached the final through their other team.

The duo Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown, Supercars champions in 2023 and 2024 respectively, made the Accor Stadium in Sydney vibrate, especially after Brown's victory against Sébastien Loeb during the first run of the final. But Victor Martins aired the arena by dominating Brodie Kostecki, then Will Brown, whose two-second lead at mid-race was not enough to contain the comeback of the champion of Formula 3 2022

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Sébastien Loeb praises Victor Martins' driving

Thanks to Martins, France won their first victory (2-1) in the Nations Cup since 2004, when Sébastien Loeb was already part of the winning duo alongside Jean Alesi. The nine-time world rally champion did not fail to praise his younger brother's performance after the finish. “It’s incredible. Victor did a tremendous job.” smiles Sébastien Loeb. "He beat all the fastest guys even though it's only his first time. Winning the Nations Cup is a really great moment."

The two men will now try to do as well on Saturday in the individual event, where they can decently dream of the highest step of the podium. For Sébastien Loeb, a fifth victory in the Race of Champions would be an absolute record: the Alsatian has four successes, as many as Didier Auriol and Mattias Ekström. Note that no driver has managed to win the Race of Champions and the Nations Cup together since the latter was introduced in 1999. Sébastien Loeb came very close in 2004, but he had to settle for second place in the individual event, behind Heikki Kovalainen, winner at the Stade de France.

Before looking ahead to Saturday, where they will become opponents, Victor Martins and Sébastien Loeb celebrated their victory by both performing a back flip in front of the podium, a legacy from their youth as gymnasts.

🏆 Victory at the Nations Cup 🇫🇷

Great job with @VictorMartinsFR and a lot of fun at the @RaceOfChampions as usual 🤩 #AllezlesBleus #dacia #TheDaciaSandriders #Redbull #RichardMille #Bardahl #Sadev #Bell pic.twitter.com/TtU3J78OkA

- Sébastien Loeb (@SebastienLoeb) March 7, 2025