Autoblog UK

Mattias Ekström reigns supreme. In the final of the Race of Champions tournament at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing, the Swedish DTM driver defeated seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher 2-0. After finishing behind him in 2007, Schumacher lost for the second time in the final against Ekström. The 31-year-old Swede had his first win in 2006 at the Stade de France in Paris and then won again the following year at London's Wembley Stadium. In the semi-final scrap between the two German drivers, Schumacher came home ahead of Sebastian Vettel, with whom he had clinched the Nations Cup on the previous day. In the second semi-final, Ekström defeated reigning Formula One World Champion Jenson Button.

The grand finale to the 2009 Formula One series did great credit to the organisers in Abu Dhabi and to the victorious Red Bull team. In the futuristic setting of the Yas Marina Circuit, Sebastian Vettel claimed his fourth win of the year and finished runner-up in the drivers' championship. Following the retirement of pole-sitter and race favourite Lewis Hamilton, Vettel's victory was never in any doubt. Team-mate Mark Webber held off a determined attack by Jenson Button over the last couple of laps to make it the second one-two victory for Red Bull of the season. Button had to settle for the third spot on the podium but was at least able to celebrate in style the title that he had already secured in the penultimate race in Brazil.

Sebastien Loeb sped to a muddy victory on the Rally of Great Britain on Sunday to claim his sixth successive World Rally Championship. Not bad but is it healthy?

The Citroen driver's 54th career WRC win further extended his record-breaking achievements in the sport and once again left fans and pundits alike wondering what his rivals need to do to beat him. For some time there has been criticism that Loeb has turned WRC into nothing more than a showcase for his talents as Michael Schumacher did with F1 - and fans have consequently turned off.

Fortunately, as evident by his comments after winnning in Wales, Loeb faced a serious threat in the shape of Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen, who only missed out on his first WRC title by a single point. The Finn is a serious contender gave Loeb a real run for his money but his challenge only really materialised once another of his countrymen, Marcus Gronholm, retired in 2007.

As early as the seventh race out of 17 inked in on the 2009 F1 calendar, all the experts had concluded that Jenson Button had the title in the bag. The Brawn GP driver had already accumulated 61 out of a possible 70 points and established an apparently unassailable lead in the standings. In the eight races that followed, though, the Englishman's points haul was a meagre 24; in fact, his performance during this period was measurably inferior to no fewer than five other drivers: Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen and Mark Webber. But in the Brazilian GP at Interlagos, Button finally snuffed out the hopes of the chasing pack by picking up the decisive few points to clinch not only the drivers' championship for himself but also wrap up the constructors' title for Team Principal Ross Brawn. As F1 champion elect, he can now enjoy the grand finale to the season at the new circuit in Abu Dhabi. Recipe for success for the 29-year-old was the reliability of his car and consistently finishing amongst the points: the Belgian Grand Prix was the only one from which he went home empty-handed. Congratulations from autoblog, Jenson!

In the finale of the IndyCar Series in Miami, Scotsman Dario Franchitti not only won the race but also wrapped up the championship. Living up to the national reputation for thrift, the ex-Formula One driver nursed his fuel tank through to the finish line in the Indy 300 in Miami to clinch his second championship title in the IndyCar series since 2007. Franchitti took the final chequered flag of the season 4.78 seconds ahead of reigning champion Ryan Briscoe from Australia and New Zealander Scott Dixon.

Ten laps from the end, Briscoe had built up a lead of 0.6 seconds on Dixon and an even bigger one of 24.2 seconds on Franchitti. The Scotsman eased back on the throttle and hoped that his strategy would pay off. And his prayers were answered because, for the first time in the whole season, the race finished without a single yellow flag period. A situation unheard of since 1997. Dixon had to refuel on lap 191, with Briscoe pitting two laps later. This opened the way for Franchitti who cruised to victory over the last few laps with a comfortable 6-second margin. After emptying the remainder of his tank by performing a few donuts, the new champion was pushed into Victory Lane by his jubilant pit crew. "I remember the final race of the 2007 when I also won the title by eking out my fuel towards the end," said Franchitti with a huge grin as he revealed the secret of his success.

How time flies. The new Beetle has been around since 1998. In 2012, some fourteen years after its introduction, Volkswagen will build a mark two version of the modern Beetle. Rumour has it that this new Beetle has grown just a little. Rear, back seat and boot will afford more room. Furthermore, it will be marketed at a competitive price, which should help VW to return to its roots, building cars which almost everyone can afford.

Earlier this year, Brawn GP were the surprise team of the new Formula One season. They now need only half a point to take the constructors' championship title and Jenson Button has to score just another six points from two races to clinch the drivers' world championship for the first time. Titles and cups are not yet in the bag, but Brawn GP have now brought out their very own series of watches. At the Silverstone Grand Prix, Ross Brawn's team announced that they would be working with luxury watch maker, Graham-London, who claims to have developed the very first chronograph movement. Graham-London has now launched the first timepieces to be made exclusively for Team Brawn GP. Of course, all Chronofighter and Silverstone watches are individually numbered. The team's official logo and racing colours too figure in the design.

Because of the traditionally high number of arrests for public order offences at the legendary Bathurst 1000 event, the local authorities in this part of New South Wales (Australia) have imposed an alcohol limit. Each adult visitor is permitted to consume no more than 24 'stubbies' of full-strength beer or 36 of Lite. Alternatively, they can down four litres of wine. Drinking beer or wine in combination is strictly prohibited. 500 officials will be on hand to ensure a peaceful weekend at the Mount Panorama venue. When you look at these figures, though, you wonder what the average consumption has been in previous years.

In the wake of the Crashgate Affair, the Brazilian media are claiming that former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Junior is weighing up a switch to NASCAR racing. He thinks it unlikely that his involvement in the race-fixing scandal will permit him to get back into Formula One. "I did the sport a service but I ended up as the fall guy," said the Brazilian in a TV interview in his home country. "My career is finished. No-one was punished more harshly than me." He offered his apologies to all F1 racing fans but regretted that he couldn't undo what had been done.

Shunned by the F1 paddock, he now fancies his chances with Team Red Horse in the Camping World Truck Series. Apparently, he has already had a trial run, and his first public outing will come on 12th October at the Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. Incidentally, Jacques Villeneuve pursued a similar course of action to obtain the necessary licences to launch his NASCAR career and compete in the Sprint Cup series – albeit without much success.

Abarth's new rally car is coming out soon. The 500 R3T is set to make its debut at the 51st Rally di Sanremo. This latest Abarth is powered by a 180bhp 1.4L turbocharged petrol engine with a sequential six-speed gearbox. We are told it will weigh in at just 1.080 kilos, i.e. the minimum permissible in the R3T class. The rally version of the Abarth 500 will be competing next year in this category for turbocharged vehicles with a capacity of up to 1.6 litres.