Loeb beats Vettel to secure fourth Race of Champions victory
Baku, February 7, AZERTAC
Sebastien Loeb claimed his fourth Race of Champions victory on the event’s first visit to Sweden, beating Sebastian Vettel in the best of four final, according to Motorsport.com.
Loeb came through a thrilling semi-final encounter with Ekstrom to make the final, winning a tightly-fought third race to join Vettel, who defeated nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in the other semi, in the winner-takes-all bout.
The nine-time World Rally champion, who secured his 80th WRC victory on last month’s Monte Carlo Rally, edged Vettel in a competitive opening heat in the final aboard the Polaris RZR after the four-time Formula 1 world champion hit the wall exiting the final turn on lap one.
Loeb then made it 2-0 with victory in the second heat, a closer affair in which Vettel held a narrow first-lap advantage before dropping time on the second lap.
Vettel then forced a decider after a rare mistake from Loeb in the third heat; the Frenchman backed his RX2e electric rallycross car into the snowbank at the start of the second lap, allowing Vettel - who earlier clipped the wall under the bridge - an easy run to the flag.
The final duel, back in the Polaris, went the way of Loeb to the tune of just over eight-tenths of a second.
Loeb's victory puts him level with Didier Auriol's record of four ROC victories.
For the first time in ROC history, the event was held in the norther territory of Pitea on the shores of the Baltic Sea, offering a myriad of challenges to the 18 drivers taking part, many of whom had limited-to-zero experience of racing on snow and ice.
