The stars of the rally scene as soon as once more dominated this yr’s Snow and Ice Race of Champions. The largest prize went to Matthias Ekström from Piet Havsbad, Sweden. The German Formula 1 ace additionally marked the highlights.
For Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher, the journey to the Arctic Circle was very worthwhile. In the Nations Cup, the German duo needed to undergo the preliminary phases, however confronted the duty in opposition to the British workforce of W-series champions Jamie Chadwick and David Coulthard, however convincingly.
In the quarterfinals, the 2 buddies prevailed with relative ease in opposition to the Opmeer/Blakeley eSports duo. It ended solely within the semi-finals. Rally ace Thierry Neuville and Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovic misplaced one-to-three in a battle in opposition to an all-star workforce. In the race in opposition to Drugovic, Vettel’s false begin resulted in a preliminary resolution with a five-second time penalty.
Then the Norwegian workforce was ready for Brazil-Belgium within the last. After a straightforward win in opposition to France (Loeb/Tambey), father-son mixture Petter and Oliver Solberg narrowly beat Sweden in a tricky semi-final. Petter misplaced each of his fights in opposition to Johan Kristoffersson and Matthias Ekström. The reigning champions are by way of to the ultimate thanks to 2 wins from Great Oliver.
ROC/Jean-Francois Galeron
The Solbergs managed to defend their title within the Cup of Nations.
Solberg’s victory within the Cup of Nations
Father Petter suffered his subsequent defeat proper right here in opposition to Neuville. But the second “Allstar” Drugovic had nothing in opposition to the Solbergs. In the decider, Oliver Solberg handed Neuville its first loss of the day. “Oliver received all of it by himself at this time. I believe I’ll must pay him dinner,” the proud father laughed.
A day later within the particular person competitors, there was nothing to have fun for the Solbergs. After defeating Father Petter within the first spherical, Solberg Jr. and Neuville met once more within the quarterfinals. With over 1,000 hp within the FC1-X electrical rallycross mannequin, Solberg misplaced management and crashed right into a concrete barrier as he approached the bridge.
The enjoyable for Neuville ended after one lap. The Russian newcomer misplaced twice within the semi-finals to veteran Matthias Ekström, who had beforehand crushed his compatriot Kristoffersson in two thrilling fights.
ROC/Jerry Andre
During the take a look at drives, Mick Schumacher put his mom Corinna within the passenger seat.
German battle within the semi-finals
At the underside of the match tree, the place the drivers have been designated, the German drivers have been profitable within the subject. Mick Schumacher received over Felix Rosenqvist, Adrien Tambay and Felipe Drugovic. Buddy Vettel went undefeated in his fights in opposition to Jamie Chadwick and Tom Christensen. Thus, the semi-final grew to become a Germany-Germany affair. Here Shumi made brief work of two wins.
In the ultimate, {the teenager} had a tricky battle in opposition to the skilled Ekström, however misplaced twice. In the ultimate run, issues obtained powerful – actually – for the native hero within the 330bhp Fiesta Rally. After solely half a lap, a small fireplace broke out within the middle console. When Ekström touched the flames along with his proper glove, he went across the automotive along with his left aspect.
“My co-driver needed me to park the automotive. But of course it wasn’t doable,” laughed the Audi works driver after his fourth RoC success. “Racing with Mick was particular as a result of I knew his father very properly. He could be very gifted. There is a brand new era coming to beat us. We needed to give all the pieces to not be thus far at this time.”
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