Harness: Ebbinge holds off McNair for repeat WDC crown

The Netherlands' Rick Ebbinge became only the second driver to ever repeat as the winner of the World Driving Championship, claiming his second title Friday night (Aug. 18) before a large crowd at Rennbahn Berlin in Germany.

Ebbinge entered the event's fourth-and-final round Friday with a 33-point lead but was made to sweat by Doug McNair. The Canadian posted two wins, a second, and a third in the first four of five races to vault from sixth to second, just 11 points from the top.

In the last race, McNair finished eighth with a longshot while Ebbinge was sixth. Ebbinge ended the competition with 163 points, 13 points ahead of runner-up McNair and third-place Hanna Huygens of Belgium. McNair won a total of four races in the WDC, one more than Huygens, to receive the higher placing.

Jordan Ross, representing the U.S., finished seventh in the 10-driver competition. Ross was handed longshots throughout the final night but had a second and fourth among his five starts in Berlin. He picked up one victory during the event.

Ebbinge joined Norway's Ulf Thoresen as the WDC's only repeat winners. Thoresen accomplished the feat in 1979 and 1981.

"It means very much to win the title again," said Ebbinge, whose best finishes Friday were a pair of sixths. "(The other drivers) are all so good. I didn't have a really good day today, and if you're racing against such good drivers, it was tight at the end, but still I had some room. I'm very happy."

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The 30th edition of the World Driving Championship, which was first held in 1970, visited tracks in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany during this year's competition.

World Driving Championship Standings
After Round 4 of 4 (20 of 20 total races)
1. Rick Ebbinge (Netherlands) 163
2. Doug McNair (Canada) 150
3. Hanna Huygens (Belgium) 150
4. Santtu Raitala (Finland) 145
5. Michael Nimczyk (Germany) 132
6. Peter McMullen (Australia) 130
7. Jordan Ross (U.S.) 118
8. Blair Orange (New Zealand) 107
9. Miodrag Pantic (Serbia) 103
10. Rodney Gatt (Malta) 78

To visit the World Driving Championship website, click here.