Mattias Ekstrom beat three-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb on Saturday to win the Race of Champions at Stade de France.
Loeb raced for the first time since breaking his arm in September and reached the final for the third straight year. The Frenchman won last year and lost to Finland's Heikki Kovalainen in 2004.
"It's great to beat the best driver in the world," DTM racer Ekstrom said.
PHOTO: AFP
The Swede downed Citroen driver Loeb 2-0 in a best-of-three legs final after overcoming Formula One's Kovalainen and three-time ChampCar winner Sebastien Bourdais in earlier heats.
Loeb said he felt no lingering pain from his injury.
"It feels fine, no problems," Loeb said. "I had not raced for three months, so it's nice to come back."
Ekstrom, who also competes in some rally driving, edged the first leg by a car-length after a poor start, and dominated the second by nearly 3 seconds.
The Race of Champions, a yearly event since 1988, featured 16 drivers from various motor racing disciplines, and was held on a custom built 1.2km figure-of-eight asphalt track with a crossover bridge.
In elimination rounds under heavy rain, competitors were split into two groups of eight -- the Rally Group and the Racing Group -- and drove cars ranging from an Aston Martin V8 GT Rally, a Porsche RSR GT3 and a Renault Megane Trophy.
Loeb beat X-Games racer Travis Pastrana of the US in the quarter-finals and Britain's Colin McRae in the semis.
Pastrana was the only American competing after F1 driver Scott Speed's withdrawal on Friday followed by that of NASCAR stock-car champion Jimmie Johnson -- who broke his wrist last weekend in a fall from a golf cart.
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher is to join 15-a-side club Bristol next month in a bid to play in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday. Maher, 28, helped the US to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and is the seven-a-side sport’s most popular player on social media. “This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said. “She is one of the biggest names in women’s sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
HISTORIC VICTORY: Botafogo are the last of the four big Rio clubs to win the Copa Libertadores and they earned a spot in next year’s FIFA Club World Cup Botafogo on Saturday overcame playing with 10 men to win their first Copa Libertadores title after beating fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro 3-1 in the final at Estadio Monumental. After just 30 seconds, midfielder Gregore, one of Botafogo’s best players, hit the head of Fausto Vera with his foot and was given a straight red card. “It was so hard to have one less so early in a final. It was an unfortunate move,” Botafogo defender Alexander Barboza said. “But Gregore deserves this title as much as we do. We made history and that won’t ever be erased.” Winger Luiz
RSS