Sebastien Loeb Makes ROC History with Double Victory in Sydney

The French motorsport legend Sebastien Loeb has etched his name even deeper into the history books by becoming the first driver to win both the Nations Cup and the individual Champion of Champions title at the same Race Of Champions event. The 51-year-old rally icon claimed his record fifth ROC championship by defeating Australian Supercars star Chaz Mostert in the final held at the Accor Stadium in Sydney.

Historic Double Crown for the Rally Master

The nine-time World Rally Champion was superior throughout the weekend, first teaming up with young French single-seater talent Victor Martins to secure Team France's victory in the Nations Cup on Friday, before winning the individual title on Saturday night.

"Winning the fifth ROC Champion of Champions is great for me," said Loeb. "It's also special to become the first driver to win both the ROC Nations Cup and the Champion of Champions at the same event. It really couldn't have been a better weekend for us."

The victory further reinforces Loeb's status among the best in ROC history, having previously won the Champion of Champions titles in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2022. His five titles now place him ahead of four-time winners Didier Auriol and Mattias Ekström in the all-time standings.

Surprise Australian Shines in the Final

Chaz Mostert, who entered as a last-minute replacement, gave the local crowd plenty to cheer about, advancing to the final after defeating Formula 1 star Valtteri Bottas and NASCAR champion Kurt Busch in the group stage, before overcoming four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel in the knockout rounds.

The two-time Bathurst 1000 winner then faced his fellow Australian and reigning Supercars champion, Will Brown, in the semifinals, ensuring local representation in the final. Mostert prevailed by narrow margins of 0.14 and 0.24 seconds to set up the showdown with Loeb.

"Just making it to the final as the first Australian was a real honor," said Mostert. "It was always going to be tough to beat a seasoned nine-time World Rally Champion in the final, especially in a couple of rally/off-road vehicles, but we gave it our best shot."

In the final, Loeb demonstrated his dominance by winning the first heat in a Polaris RZR by 0.27 seconds before sealing the championship with a 0.16-second victory in the FC2 Rallycross cars.

Team France Wins the Nations Cup

The weekend started with the Nations Cup on Friday, where Loeb and Martins secured France's third title in the team event. They defeated the surprise Team Australia Supercars, represented by Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki, in a final that required a decisive tiebreaker.

After Brown defeated Loeb in the first heat, Martins kept French hopes alive by beating Kostecki by 1.1 seconds. The decisive race saw Martins edge out Brown by just 0.2 seconds in the Supercar Lite Rallycross car, using the jump created by the removal of a temporary chicane on the bridge section.

"It was a lot of fun winning here on my debut," said Martins, who will compete in the F2 World Championship at Albert Park, Melbourne, next weekend. "Winning the ROC Nations Cup is very important and gives another opportunity to show what I can do."

Sydney Hosts the First Edition in the Southern Hemisphere

The thirty-third edition of the Race Of Champions marked the event's debut in the Southern Hemisphere, with Sydney's Accor Stadium transformed into a 1-kilometer asphalt track. Competitors faced off head-to-head in identical vehicles, including FC2 Rallycross cars, Supercar Lite Rallycross machines, KTM X-Bow Comp R, Polaris RZR Pro R, Subaru BRZ tS, and Toyota GR86 Cup cars.

Fredrik Johnsson, co-founder and president of Race Of Champions, highlighted the event and mentioned Loeb's achievement: "This weekend was special in the history of Race Of Champions. Sebastien Loeb truly is one of the greatest of all time and continues to show his level again and again."

The event brought together 20 drivers from various motorsport disciplines, including Formula 1, World Rally Championship, Supercars, Rallycross, NASCAR, and Dakar Rally, continuing ROC's tradition of bringing elite drivers from different specialties for this unique interdisciplinary test.