Supercars champion Will Brown defeated nine-time WRC winner Sebastien Loeb in the first leg of the final before Brodie Kostecki lost to Formula 2 star Victor Martins in the second leg.
That set up a decider in the best-of-three showdown between Brown and Martins.
The pair were neck-and-neck coming through the final corner before Brown made a small mistake to give Martins the win.
It’s the first time since 2004 that France has won the Nations Cup. Loeb was also part of that team alongside Jean Alesi.
Speaking on the title decider, Brown said he tried as best as he could to make up lost time in the final turn.
“I was just trying to make it all up in the last corner,” said Brown.
“It’s like when you make a mistake on your qualifying lap and you try to make it all up and you just run off, but that was pretty much what I was doing on the last corner.”
Although Brown didn’t hear the crowd, the noise from the stadium grew over the sound of the cars as he and Martins came to the finish line.
“I couldn’t hear it. I was cheering myself,” Brown laughed.
“I was like ‘Come on!’ I was thinking ‘Do I cut through the barrier and just turn him like Supercars?’
“But no, I knew it was going to be tough to get that one. It was cool. That’s cool to hear the crowd was going off.
“Hopefully tomorrow night even more people come out. After watching tonight how amazing it was, it was an awesome night being part of it.
“I’m sure it was great watching it. So hopefully, if you’re in Sydney, you come and check it out.”
France or Australia? Watch the deciding race at the 2025 ROC Nations Cup!#ROCSydney pic.twitter.com/DHa2KaxzQF
— #ROCSydney (@RaceOfChampions) March 7, 2025
There were plenty of thrills and spills in the group phase. In Group B, Team Australia Supercars won four from four heats leaving Team Australia Off-Road and Team New Zealand to duke it out over second and third in the pool. In the end, it was a head-to-head battle between Dakar winner Toby Price and New Zealand’s aspiring F1 star Louis Sharp. In an incredible battle, the pair were split by just 0.2s at the finish line, with Price snagging the scalp in a thriller.
Your first photo finish of the night between the Aussies and the Kiwis! 🤯
No spoilers, just watch #ROCSydney at its finest. pic.twitter.com/4MJxHJhjg4
— #ROCSydney (@RaceOfChampions) March 7, 2025
In the first Group C battle between Germany and the USA, four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel defeated rallycross star and X-Games legend Travis Pastrana at his own game after the American spun at the penultimate turn and nudged the inside barrier.
The first major upset of the night came when Team All-Stars defeated Team Norway. The father-son duo of Petter Solberg and Oliver Solberg were automatic entries to the quarter-finals as the last Race of Champions winners from 2023. However, they were beaten soundly by Chaz Mostert and Johann Kristofferson in the best-of-three battle.
Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher are up and running at #ROCSydney, but drama for Travis Pastrana and Team USA! pic.twitter.com/xz9O1CT65j
— #ROCSydney (@RaceOfChampions) March 7, 2025
The quarter-finals were punctuated by an incident in the Team New Zealand vs Team France match-up. GB3 champion Louis Sharp hit the chicane over the bridge on his first lap, and then on the second lap ex-Alpine junior Victor Martins whacked the dividing wall and compromised Sharp. Martins crossed the line first but Sharp was gifted the win after penalties were applied.
At one win apiece, that set up a decider between Sharp and WRC legend Sebastien Loeb. In the end, it was the wily veteran who pipped the up-and-comer in a win that ultimately paid dividends.
The spills continued for Pastrana in the quarter-finals when he lost control and completed a full 360-degree spin in a spectacular smoke show. At the same time, Team Australia Supercars star Brown hit the outside wall. Despite the scare, last year’s Supercars champion held on for the win.
One of the best battles of the night came during the quarter-finals when NASCAR champion Kurt Busch and Supercars Brodie Kostecki went head-to-head. Kostecki fluffed the start, giving Busch a massive lead into the first turn. Kostecki trailed at the start-finish line but by the chequered flag had drawn ahead, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Sebastian Vettel’s win over Molly Taylor and Toby Price’s win over Mick Schumacher in the quarter-final set up a shootout between Vettel and Price in the Team Germany vs Team Australia Off-Road face-off. In the pressure cooker decider, Price hit the divider on the second lap to gift Vettel victory and the semi-final spot against Team Australia Supercars.
Sebastien Loeb and Victor Martins take Les Bleus to the semi-finals. 🇫🇷
But what an effort by young Louis Sharp! 💪#ROCSydney pic.twitter.com/cI0leuaTYf
— #ROCSydney (@RaceOfChampions) March 7, 2025
The first semi-final pitted Mostert against Martins, which was won by the young Frenchman. Kristofferson returned serve against Loeb to set up a best-of-three decider between Kristofferson and Martins. The Swede looked like he might have the edge over Martins until the final hairpin when he got loose and got pipped at the line by the ex-Alpine junior.
In the second semi-final, Kostecki came from behind to beat Schumacher in the first leg before Brown came up against Vettel in the second leg. Rain began to fall midway through the run, just dampening the track enough to make the second half of the second lap tricky to navigate. In the end, Vettel pipped Brown to set up another decider.
In an epic battle, Kostecki and Vettel slid their way around the circuit and could barely be split at the first time past the start-finish line. However, the second lap was slower for Vettel and he finished 2.3 seconds in arrears.
With the semi-final complete, that set up a battle between Brown and Loeb while Kostecki took on Martins. Brown beat Loeb and Martins beat Kostecki – both in tightly contested battles before the decider, which went the way of Martins over Brown.
The Sydney Race of Champions will continue at Accor Stadium on March 8 to decide the Champion of Champions where every driver will compete as individuals.
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