Summarize

South African race fans were kept rapt by stunning Gumtree World Rallycross action over the weekend as Johan Kristoffersson put the finishing touches to an incredible year of domination with his eleventh win in twelve 2018 races at the Killarney finale. Already crowned as 2019 champion, Kristofferson lined up alongside Volkswagen Polo teammate Petter Solberg on the front row for the finale.

The Volkswagens ran side-by-side into turn 1 of the finale with Kristoffersson on the inside,as Solberg came under attack from quick-starting Mattias Ekstrom’s Audi, which had already dealt with Peugeot pair Sebastien Loeb and Timmy Hansen in another wild first corner fight. Ekstrom dived up the inside of Solberg into tight turn 4, before he exited wide to force Hansen to take his longer joker lap in the opening lap, accompanied by Loeb.

But Solberg had hurt his car over the ragged Killarney kerbs and spun into the Turn 3 into the wall, where the Volkswagen became stranded after further contact with Timmy Hansen’s Peugeot, leaving Ekstrom and Kevin Hansen's third Peugeot in pursuit of Kristofferson. Hansen then took his Joker to see Loeb up to third behind Ekstrom, who took his joker on lap three to cover off the threat of Loeb. So Kristofferson won from Ekstrom, Loeb and Kevin Hansen. 

In other action, Ben-Philip Gundersen kept out of trouble in a wild final to take the RX2 win on his first visit to Cape Town, while Oliver Eriksson survived a dramatic weekend to clinch the driver’s championship. Clint Weston scored a dominant SA Rally class win in his Citroen and youngster Umpie Swart tool the local RX class in his BMW.

In Formula 1 action, Lewis Hamilton completed his dominant season with another emphatic win in the Abu Dhabi after pitting under an early virtual safety car period following Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg dramatically rolling out of the race to end up trapped inside his inverted Renault after contact with the Haas of Romain Grosjean on the opening lap. The German emerged unscathed from the soon righted machine.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel ended up second ahead of Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo and the second Mercedes of the troubled Valttieri Bottas, but neither Verstappen or Bottas were able to take advantage of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari stopping to wrest third from the Finn in the title race, leaving Hamilton champion from Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen and Bottas.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was the best of the rest ahead of the again impressive Ferrari-bound Charles Leclerc's Sauber, who held Force India driver Sergio Perez off for seventh, while Haas duo Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10 ahead of Fernando Alonso, who delivered an entertaining Formula 1 swansong for McLaren.

In other race news Toyota Gazoo Racing confirmed an unchanged Dakar driver line-up for 2019 at the Cape Town WRX with SA hero Giniel de Villiers, Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah and Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke at the helm, Mercedes Formula 1 junior and 2019 Williams F1 driver George Russell secured the 2018 Formula 2 title with his seventh race victory of the year in the Abu Dhabi feature race and SA driver Nick Adcock enjoyed a strong Asian Le Mans Series debut with fifth for Ecurie Ecosse in the Shanghai 4-hour in a Ligier JS P3 after running in a strong podium position through the race.