Father-and-son pairing Petter and Oliver Solberg gave Norway its maiden Nations Cup victory after defeating surprise finalists USA at the Race of Champions Snow and Ice in Sweden.
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson and IndyCar ace Colton Herta proved to be the surprise package for USA in the snow as they upstaged several other nations, including eight-time winners Germany, to reach the final.
But the Solbergs used their off-road experience to prevail by three heats to one against the Californian pair to take the title.
Preliminary round
USA faced a tough challenge to even make into the quarter-finals, with Benito Guerra – Champion of Champions at the last ROC event in Mexico in 2019 – and Helio Castroneves facing them for Latin America. Guerra defeated Johnson in the opening duel of the day in the Polaris PRO XP buggy, but a win each for Herta and Johnson in the remaining three heats ensured the Californian pair progressed on combined times after the two nations tied on two victories each.
ROC giants Germany progressed against Esports stars Jarno Opmeer and Lucas Blakeley, who were first and second respectively in Thursday’s eROC event. There was an early scare for Germany, however, when four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel was beaten by Blakeley by a slender 0.080 seconds in the first heat in an RX2e electric rallycross machine. But Vettel and fellow F1 driver Mick Schumacher triumphed in the remaining three heats to send Germany into the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals
The two preliminary round winners faced each other in the quarter-finals, but the contest did not go to form. Despite Schumacher continuing his unbeaten run by winning both of his heats, it was USA who progressed on combined times after 2015 ROC Champion of Champions Vettel was upstaged. A bad start cost the Aston Martin F1 driver against Johnson in the RX Supercar Lite, and he was pipped by just 0.266s against Herta in the deciding heat at the wheel of the RX2e.
Great Britain faced Finand in a fascinating duel, with two-time ROC Champion of Champions David Coulthard defeating W Series race-winner Emma Kimilainen – who was drafted in at the last minute to replace F1 driver Valtteri Bottas – in the opening bout. Jamie Chadwick then used her Extreme E experience to upstage double F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen in the buggy and put Britain two-nil up. But, after switching to a Porsche Cayman GT4 for third heat, the two-time W Series champion slid into a snowbank, allowing her W Series rival Kimilainen to claim an easy win. In a nostalgic decider, ROC debutant Hakkinen defeated former McLaren F1 team-mate Coulthard in the Porsche to put Finland into the semi-finals on combined times.
Despite seven ROC titles between them, the French pairing of Sebastian Loeb and Didier Auriol were eliminated at the first hurdle. Four-time FIA World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson and nine-time 24 Hour of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen triumphed in the first three heats to put Team Nordic in the semi-finals, before Loeb took a consolation win against Kristensen in the final heat.
In an all-Scandinavian affair, Norway defeated home nation Sweden by three heats to one to progress. Solberg Snr beat fellow FIA World Rallycross champion and rival Mattias Ekstrom in the opening encounter, before his son got the better of 2019 World Rallycross champion Timmy Hansen. Three-time ROC winner Ekstrom kept Sweden’s hopes alive by beating Solberg Jnr in the third heat, but Solberg Snr got the better of Hansen – who spun in the Porsche Cayman at the finish line – to triumph in the deciding heat.
Semi-finals
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson got USA’s semi-final against Finland off to a good start by beating Kimilainen by almost 5.5s in the Rallycross car. A delighted Hakkinen responded for Finland by edging in-form Herta by 0.687s in the Buggy to level things up. But, he hit a snowbank in the third heat to gift Johnson the win in the RX2e. Herta defeated Kimilainen by 2.294s in the deciding encounter to progress USA to the final.
Kristofersson upstaged the in-form Solberg Snr in the buggy to give Team Nordic an early advantage over Norway in the second semi-final. Solberg Jnr put Norway on level terms by beating Kristensen by over 3s in the Rallycross car. He then won again against Kristofferson in the Porsche Cayman. His father made a costly error in the deciding heat that allowed Kristensen to win. But the Dane’s 0.410s advantage was not enough, with Norway qualifying for the final on combined times.
Final
Things got off to a disastrous start for USA, with Johnson’s buggy grinding to halt in the first heat, as Solberg Snr cruised to victory. His son put Norway two-up by beating Herta by 1.753s in the electric rallycross machine. But Johnson gave USA renewed hope with some heroics in the Porsche Cayman to defeat Solberg Jnr.
But, in a rallycross car with which he is so familiar, Solberg Snr used his experience to see-off Herta, who lost time by sliding into a snowbank – and give Norway the crown.
The individual event to decide who will be the 2022 Champion of Champions takes place on Sunday.
Featured image credit: www.raceofchampions.com
