Seb Loeb beats Seb Vettel at 2022 Race of Champions

There are two great “Sebs” in motorsport. The first is Sebastian Vettel – a four-time Formula 1 world champion, which he won consecutively from 2010 to 2013 under Red Bull Racing. The other is Sebastien Loeb. Similarly, Loeb won the World Rally Championship (WRC) a record nine times in a row, and he is widely considered as the most successful WRC driver in history.

While the two Sebs might be competing in different motorsport series, they recently went head to head during the finals of the 2022 Race of Champions. The final match between Loeb and Vettel wasn’t an easy race for either driver, and it was a close match. In the best of four finals, Loeb won the first two heats, but Vettel managed to claim the third one. In the final duel, the race went to Loeb once more, but the gap between the two champions was just 0.8 seconds.

With Loeb beating Vettel in the finals, the 9-time WRC Champion secures his fourth Race of Champions victory. He now equals Didier Auriol's record of four ROC victories.

This year’s Race of Champion was a unique one as the event was held in the northern territory of Pitea on the shores of the Baltic Sea in Sweden. Unlike the previous events, the race was held in snow conditions, making it a challenge for the 18 drivers participating in the race. Most of them had limited or no experience racing on snow and ice. They also drove various vehicles ranging from the Polaris RZR to the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

Some of the other drivers that participated in the 2022 Race of Champions include Mick Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Jimmie Johnson, 9-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, Petter Solberg, and David Coulthard.