2004 Champion of Champions Heikki Kovalainen and former World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm clinch the ROC-Nations Cup for Finland together at third attempt.

The heroic one-man effort for Team USA of defeated finalist Travis Pastrana gets the Stade de France crowd onto its feet.

France (Bourdais/Loeb) – which failed to get a team into the final for the first time since the event's move to Paris in 2004 – and Scotland (Coulthard/McRae) bow out in the semi-finals.

The stars of the Stade for this afternoon's Race of Champions – Nations Cup were without doubt Heikki Kovalainen and Marcus Grönholm, who will take the trophy back to Finland for the second time in the event's history. But defeated finalist Travis Pastrana, who carried the Stars and Stripes all the way to the final, also produced a giant killing performance despite not having a team-mate following injuries to his initially-planned team-mate Jimmie Johnson and then to his last-minute replacement Scott Speed (see previous release).

Renault F1's latest recruit Heikki Kovalainen, who sprung to international acclaim by winning the Race of Champions title outright in Paris two years ago, was beaming on the podium after beating X-Games phenomenon Pastrana twice in the best-from-three final. "Marcus and I have been trying to win the ROC-Nations Cup since we first formed a team together in Paris in 2004. We were determined to do it this year and now we've succeeded. All credit to Travis though. He drove really well and I had to push as hard as I could to beat him in our two heats together in the final."

Two-time World Champion Marcus Grönholm was also smiling as he took his prize, but readily admitted that he wasn't on best form this afternoon. "It's really Team Heikki – not Team Finland – that has won this," he recognised after failing to win a single duel in the team's run-up to the finale. "It's the first time I've been awarded a cup after not winning anything! But hey, maybe this means my luck is turning and I will start winning from here…"

Pastrana's bid to clinch ROC-Nations Cup honours single-handedly for the United States following the pre-race withdrawal of his two initially planned team-mates – Jimmie Johnson and Scott Speed – certainly had the crowd behind him. But after thwarting Germany and Scotland against such experienced campaigners as F1's David Coulthard, former WRC champ Colin McRae, 2006 DTM Bernd Schneider and German veteran Armin Schwarz, to get one over the 2004 Champion of Champions Kovalainen was really asking too much, although the American had the privilege of winning his contest in the final with Grönholm.

Some of those he knocked out on his way to the last leg shootout may be tempted to suggest that driving alone this afternoon he benefited from more running time on the new track, but the recently-crowned American Rally Champion was quick to brush that off. "Hey, the way I'm feeling, you could come up with a million reasons why I've had such a good run. I don't care. I mean in what world do you beat guys like David Coulthard? I love this world; I want to stay in it," he beamed after his triumphant semi-final clash with Scotland. "I had to come off it in the end," he accepted after the podium ceremony. "But I just loved it. I can't believe it happened to me!"

As well as Scotland, the other defeated semi-finalists were the French line-up 2006 Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais and 2006 WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb who fell to the Finnish steam-roller. It is the first time the local squad – which won the ROC-Nations Cup in 2004 - hasn't reached the last two since the event's switch from the Canary Islands to the Stade de France.

What the drivers said...

France (defeated in semi-finals against Finland)

Sébastien Bourdais: After quarter-final: "There was a huge patch of water through the long first left-hander. It was quite hairy on intermediate tyres because there was very little grip with all this rain." After the semi-final: "I lost a lot of time on the first lap with the Buggy; I really didn't have much grip at all. During my race with the Renault Mégane Trophy, the gearbox jammed at one point as I was selecting 1st gear. Sure I'm disappointed but that's the way it is. It's an event where you really have to adapt very quickly to new cars."

Sébastien Loeb: After the quarter-final: "The rain means it's not much fun for the spectators at the moment but it's still fun. And I'm pleased to say my shoulder feels better, so that's a good sign."

Scotland (defeated in semi-finals against Team USA)

David Coulthard: after quarter-final: "There's no grip and the spray is making it very difficult to see. It's impossible not to slide into the barriers. I feel sorry for the fans; it's far more spectacular in the dry." After semi-final: "I touched the barrier once but that was enough to lose me time. But I'm not too bothered because Travis has been doing a lot of running. But he's the sort of guy who could enter a roller disco competition and win it. I'm cool and happy for him."