David Coulthard has been crowned 'Champion of Champions' in the Race of Champions final on Saturday at the Riyadh’s King Fahad International Stadium.
The 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner put in a stunning performance to eclipse 19 fellow superstars of motorsport and win the RoC for the second time.
Following Team Germany’s triumph in Friday night’s RoC Nations Cup, all cooperation went out of the window on Saturday. The individual Race Of Champions pitted some of the world’s best drivers in a range of identical cars to find the Champion of Champions.
The best-of-three Grand Final boiled down to a battle between two legends of motorsport. But in the end Coulthard saw off double World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg in two straight heats to take the crown.
%20celebrates%20in%20the%20VUHL%2005%20ROC%20Edition%20during%20the%20Race%20of%20Champions%20on%20Saturday%203%20February%202018%20at%20King%20Fahad%20Stadium%2C%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia__666.JPG)
Solberg had never been in the Race Of Champions Grand Final before. Coulthard, by contrast, won the Champion of Champions crown in 2014 in Barbados and reached the Grand Final at Wembley in 2008 when he was pipped by Sébastien Loeb. This time it was the Scotsman’s turn for more glory again.
Afterwards a delighted Coulthard said: "I had to work hard out there and my heart is beating hard now! So thanks to Petter for a great race. He’s a great sport and a great champion.
"When I went out of the ROC Nations Cup yesterday after winning just one race out of three my son switched off the TV because he thought ‘Daddy’s too old’ so I’m delighted to show him experience can be a good thing too…
"Today I pushed hard but it’s also about being clean. I touched the wall once over the course of the day but other than that I kept it on the track."
Solberg added: “First of all, congratulations to David. I was doing everything I could to win it, but it wasn’t quite enough today. David drove very well and he has the right mentality so this was very well deserved. He’s a better circuit driver than me, that’s for sure. I still like to be a bit more sideways! But I’m proud and happy to make it to the final against such a strong field.
“I’ve been coming to the Race Of Champions for many years. It’s incredible to get all these great drivers together and it was a great atmosphere again this time. So thank you to everyone watching in the stadium and around the world. We’ve been made to feel really welcome and the passion from everyone involved has been clear. Fredrik and his team have done a fantastic job. I always enjoy this event and I’ll be back…"
%20and%20Juan-Pablo%20Montoya%20(COL)%20driving%20the%20ROC%20Car%20during%20the%20Race%20of%20Champions%20on%20Saturday%203%20February%202018%20at%20King%20Fahad%20Stadium%2C%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia__655.JPG)
In the semi-finals, Coulthard beat ‘Mr Le Mans’ Tom Kristensen, who has been the Race Of Champions runner-up six times and still awaits his first RoC Champion of Champions crown. The other race saw the end of a spirited run by 2017 FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson, who was beaten by his rallycross team-mate Solberg.
Kristensen earlier avenged last year’s Grand Final defeat by putting out the reigning champion Juan-Pablo Montoya in the quarter-finals. Coulthard defeated 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay to join him in the next round.
The quarter-finals proved an unhappy round for the American open-wheel specialists as 2017 IndyCar Champion Josef Newgarden crashed out to allow Kristoffersson an easy run through. Finally Solberg defeated Sweden’s FIA European F3 runner-up Joel Eriksson to complete the semi-final line-up.
Earlier in the day the drivers took part in the RoC Skills Challenge, a special course set up near the King Fahad International Stadium featuring chicanes, slaloms, 360° turns and parallel parking. There was an early triumph for Kristoffersson who came out on top, beating Montoya into second place.
