IRL champion Tony Kanaan may not have won the Race of Champions on Saturday night in Paris, but it didn't stop the Brazilian from making an impact on the event.
Paired against World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb in the quarter-finals, Kanaan himself joked in the Friday press conference that he had no chance of progressing to the semi-final stage but also upstaged the French star behind the wheel of a Peugeot 307 WRC machine.
Indeed Kanaan led the WRC champion after the first of two laps around the tight and twisty 1km circuit inside the Stade de France, and looked good to spring a shock result, before he nudged the inside barrier at the end of the long opening left hander. Although Kanaan felt he hadn't gained an advantage, he was hit with a ten second penalty by the organisers, meaning that although he crossed the line first it was Loeb who progressed to the semi-final and a meeting with fellow WRC star Armin Schwarz.
"At the drivers meeting, they said that they would make a race director's judgment as to whether you took advantage of the hit with the wall,” Kanaan said afterwards. “I didn't even feel it, so I couldn't have hit it very hard. But, it's tough in my case. He (Loeb) is the star of the show and you take him out in the first run? Whatever - it still makes me feel good because I still beat him. I didn't win because of touching the wall.
"I'm not upset. I'm just happy to be here. It's really an honour to be a part of this group. I mean, how many drivers are there in the world? There were only 16 of us invited to be here. That says a lot. I've had a lot of fun. I'm here for the sport. My wife was more upset than I was about the penalty!"
In Nations Cup competition, the Brazilian team of Kanaan and
Formula One driver
Felipe Massa defeated the German team in the opening round, with Massa ousting
F1 World Champ
Michael Schumacher and Kanaan beating Skoda WRC driver Schwarz. In the semi-final
