Ekstrom wins the Race of Champions

Ekstrom pipped Loeb in the opening heat of their best-of-three final shoot-out despite the contest taking place in Loeb's regular mount - the Citroen Xsara WRC.

Ekstrom went on to beat Loeb when they met for the second time behind the wheel of Renault Meganes.

Colin McRae was the best of the British contingent, knocking out two times World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm and factory Citroen driver Daniel Sordo on his way to the rally driver final showdown with Loeb.

The Scotsman lost out by just one second in an ultra-tight encounter, which could have gone either way.

Also in the rally drivers' competition, Nations Cup star Travis Pastrana lost out to Loeb in the semi-final, while Spanish Rally Raider Nani Roma threatened to upset Loeb in the quarter-final, leading at the halfway point but ultimately losing to the home hero.

Double British Touring Car Champion James Thompson fell to five-times DTM champ Bernd Schneider in a rally buggy showdown in the preliminary round, while Thompson's fellow Autosport Team England driver Andy Priaulx narrowly lost out to Sebastien Bourdais in a battle between Aston Martins.

David Coulthard was edged out by 2003 British Touring Car Champion Yvan Muller in another Aston scrap.

Bourdais made it to the final of the circuit drivers' contest and was neck-and-neck with Ekstrom as the pair battled it out in Meganes.

The Frenchman's chances vanished on the final lap of the race when he collected the barrier.

Earlier, Ekstrom had shaded Heikki Kovalainen in the semi-finals after knocking out Schneider.