Vettel crowned Champion of Champions

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel put in a stunning performance to eclipse 19 fellow stars of motor sport and win the Race Of Champions for the first time on a thrilling afternoon of action at London’s former Olympic Stadium.

Vettel beat nine-time Le Mans victor Tom Kristensen in the last race, consigning the Dane to his fourth Race of Champions final defeat.

Having been part of the runner-up Team Germany in the Nations Cup on Friday, Vettel also beat countryman Nico Hulkenberg in one of his heats as well as Petter Solberg & David Coulthard.

The Nations Cup sees drivers race an eclectic mix of cars that include a Mercedes AMG GT S, Ariel Atom Cup, Radical SR3, KTM X-Bow, ROC vehicle, Euro NASCAR, RX200 and RX150.

“I’m very happy and honoured to win”, said Vettel afterwards.

F1 driver Romain Grosjean (who won the event in 2012) partnered with six-time Olympic cycling gold-medalist Chris Hoy in the All-Stars team, and newcomers Joylon Palmer and Pascal Wehrlein paired as Young Stars.

This was Vettel’s first participation in the final of RoC and he competed against Tom Kristensen, who kept his negative score of losing three previous RoC finals. Vettel had a clean run to win the Race of Champions in London. “I’ve tried to win this many times and failed many times but finally I’ve succeeded!” When we were kids starting to race, we did it for pure joy and this sort of event is a good reminder of that.

Another incredibly close finish saw Priaulx win, giving Team BTCC the early lead, while a slight mistake from Plato on the final corner allowed Hulkenberg to take the second victory. “I was able to find it today and end up in the final. Apart from Seb, the main achievement today was by the people who have been here supporting this great event”. The semi-finals were action packed and drew the crowds in with the breathtakingly close game between Vettel and Coulthard as the victor was decided after three attempts.

“We know that he (Michael) keeps fighting, we know that he’s not well, so we wish him all the best”, the Ferrari driver added.