Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Thirteen-time Formula One grand prix winner David Coulthard beat 19 other world famous racing drivers to win the prestigious Race of Champions in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The Scot beat rally superstar Petter Solberg in the Grand Final held at the King Fahad International Stadium in the capital city of Riyadh, but also knocked out racing greats like Timo Bernhard, Ryan Hunter Reay and Tom Kristensen along the way. The win was Coulthard's second at the event, after also taking the crown at the 2014 edition held in Barbados.
The Race of Champions event is held annually at various locations around the world, and this year's running in Saudi Arabia, as always, featured two mirror image courses where drivers race each other head-to-head in a variety of cars two at a time. Other competitors at this year's running included Juan Pablo Montoya, Rene Rast, Lando Norris and Helio Castroneves among others.
“I had to work hard out there and my heart is beating hard now! So thanks to Petter for a great race," said Coulthard after the finale.
"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.
On Saturday night Team Germany scooped the Nations Cup race where drivers from each nation or region pair up to take on others in teams of two. Porsche's World Endurance Champion Timo Bernhard and Audi's DTM Champion René Rast prevailed in the finale against Team Latin America’s IndyCar legends Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves.
Afterwards Bernhard said: “It was a great team effort today. We made it through to the final, then René put together two good heats. I was not so happy with my heat because I did a small mistake against Helio, but René pulled it off. We know Team Germany have a big history here at the Race Of Champions. In Germany we call the team ethic ‘Mannschaft’ and there’s something about it that also seems to correlate with motor sport."
For a full list of results and photos go to
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