Sébastien Loeb wins the Race of Champions and achieves an unprecedented double

Already at the top of the charts rally worldwide, Sebastian Loeb has also made a place for himself at the top of the Race of Champions. The nine-time world champion WRC won his fifth edition of the race bringing together the biggest names in world motorsport by crushing the competition.

Having qualified for the quarter-finals by default, Loeb did not have to go through the group stages, where his compatriot Victor Martins' adventure came to an abrupt end. Winner with his elder of the Nations Cup on Friday, the ART GP driver in F2  was beaten by Will Brown, who took revenge after being defeated by Martins in the Team Trophy final. Despite a win over David Coulthard, the former protégé ofAlpine had to abandon his dreams of a double in the first round. Like him, several big names failed to get out of the six groups of three drivers, of which only the first qualified for the quarter-finals. Valtteri Bottas, Travis Pastrana, Heikki Kovalainen, Petter Solberg, David Coulthard and Johan Kristoffersson stopped there.

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Loeb crushing, Australians surprising

On the other hand, the Australians rocked the Accor Stadium in Sydney: Molly Taylor, Toby Price, Will Brown and Chaz Mostert earned their place in the quarter-finals. The latter had a mountain in front of him with Sebastian Vettel, four-time world champion Formula 1 and seven-time Nations Cup winner. The Australian produced a major performance by taking out the German to find his compatriot Will Brown, who himself disposed of Mick Schumacher, in the semi-final.

In the other half of the table, Sébastien Loeb and Oliver Solberg refreshed the atmosphere a little by sweeping aside Australians Molly Taylor and Toby Price. Accustomed to challenging Petter Solberg during his years in the WRC, the Dacia driver faced the Norwegian's son in the semi-final, whom he soundly beat in two rounds. In the final, Sébastien Loeb did not give Chaz Mostert any more hope. Despite his fine second round, the double winner of the Bathurst 1000 could not prevent the Tricolore from securing a fifth victory in the event, without losing a single round. Already joint record holder with Didier Auriol and Mattias Ekström (four wins each), the Alsatian now stands alone at the top of the list. He also became the first driver to win the Nations Cup and the Race of Champions in the same year, which he celebrated by doing a few donuts as soon as he crossed the finish line. This beautiful Australian weekend is a welcome bright spot in a difficult start to the season for Loeb, who was disqualified from the Dakar and retired from the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. At 51, the Haguenau native showed, for those who needed a reminder, that he is still an exceptional driver.

Hear from the 2025 Champion of Champions Sebastien Loeb as the WRC legend becomes the most successful driver in the history of the Race Of Champions. 👑@SebastienLoeb pic.twitter.com/czLQ3R6Gln

— #ROCSydney (@RaceOfChampions) March 8, 2025