New champions -- who's taken the big 2005 titles ?

Sébastien Loeb

Citroën’s superstar successfully defended his World Rally Championship by finishing second in Japan . In doing so the Frenchman became the fourth man to win back-to-back WRC titles. He also has a record for wins in a season: eight at the time of clinching the crown.

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Dan Wheldon

A banner year for the Milton Keynes chappie with the transatlantic twang: he wrapped up the IRL IndyCar Series title,  with one round still to go, to add to his Indy 500 win. But Wheldon has yet to commit to Andretti Green Racing’s Dallara-Honda team for ’06.

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Nico Rosberg

The first of the current crop of ‘sons of’ to wrap up a major international title. Rosberg carried off GP2 Series honours when he won both races in the Bahrain finale for the French-run ART Grand Prix team. He’s now rumoured to be in the running for a Williams F1 seat for ’06.

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Matt Neal

Stourbridge’s tallest-ever motor racing export carried off the British Touring Car Championship — after 14 years of trying — thanks to a consistent weekend in the final round at Brands Hatch. A major achievement for the privateer Team Dynamics squad, which built its own Honda Integras.