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BEIJING: Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden again laid claim to the title of world's best all-around driver on Wednesday by defeating racing legend Michael Schumacher of Germany in the Race of Champions in Beijing.
The Swedish former DTM champion beat the seven-time F1 world champ in the final to log his third win in the Race of Champions, which pits the world's best drivers from different disciplines against each other in identical cars.
The winner earns the title of "Champion of Champions".
Ekstrom called the win at Beijing's "Bird's Nest" National Stadium a bright spot in a disappointing year with no other victories on the track.
"It's a very special day for me, because I had a year without much luck. So to end it by beating Michael Schumacher is really, really nice," he said.
Ekstrom was dominant throughout the day's races, in which drivers go head to head in a range of cars.
He defeated Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen in the quarter-finals and current F1 champion Jenson Button in the semis before beating Schumacher.
Ekstrom had previously won the Race of Champions in 2006 and 2007.
"You have to accept that there was one who was better today and that was Mattias," said Schumacher, who retired in 2006 and flirted briefly with an F1 comeback this year.
Schumacher drove well in early races and glided into the final when his countryman Sebastian Vettel clipped a barrier during their semi-final clash, damaging a wheel and failing to finish.
On Tuesday, Schumacher and Vettel teamed up to secure Germany its third straight win in the Race of Champions Nations' Cup, edging out the British team of Button and three-time world touring car champ Andy Priaulx in the final.
The Schumacher-Vettel pairing had won the previous two years' Nations' Cup for Germany.
This year's event marked the first time in the Race of Champions' 21-year history that it was held outside Europe.
Other top drivers included legendary repeat Moto GP champion Mick Doohan and 2009 Dakar Rally winner Giniel de Villiers. - AFP/de
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