Denmark's Tom Kristensen led the charge by coming first in his two duels against Champ Car Champion Sébastien Bourdais in the final, while fellow DTM star Mattias Ekström, from Sweden, pushed the Nordic pair's advantage home by getting the better of Dakar specialist Stéphane Peterhansel.

"It's great to come back to the Stade de France this year to win against the home team after being eliminated last year in the first round," said Ekström who represented Sweden at the Stade de France twelve months ago. "The racing has been very close but I think we proved tonight that we were the best team and we are very proud of that. Once we had a 2-0 advantage in the final, I knew we would go all the way. My toughest races were against Marcus (Grönholm) and François (Duval) but I didn't make any mistakes. This is good timing for me because next week I meet with my boss to talk about 2006!"

"It feels great to have won," echoed Tom Kristensen who was also successful on French soil earlier in the year when he picked up a record seventh win in the Le Mans 24 Hours. "My most difficult fight was with Jeff Gordon. That was very tight. But it was also a close run thing with Sébastien Bourdais in the final. There are a few places on the track where you can sense where the other driver is, but the biggest enemy is not so much your opponent but driving cleanly and keeping the car on the track. I don't know if I will win the individual Race of Champions later because this is my first time here in the Stade de France."

"I'm sorry I couldn't win for France tonight. I will just have to wait to try again next year," said defeated finalist Sébastien Bourdais who succumbed to Kristensen's superior speed in both his encounters with the Dane. "It was very difficult for my team-mate Stéphane Peterhansel who is not really in his element on an event like this. But we did well to make it all the way to the final. First we had to beat Alesi and Loeb, and that was close. The challenge is the fact that you have to adapt so quickly to the different cars."

On its way to the final, the Scandinavian team put in a perfect scorecard by eliminating Benelux, last year's finalists Finland and the USA without losing a single race.

Team Playstation France kicked off its evening by defeating the French 'A' team – comprised of 2004 Nations Cup winners Sébastien Loeb and Jean Alesi – before going on to defeat Britons Colin McRae and David Coulthard in the semis.

Nations Cup quotes

Christijan Albers (Benelux), after first round defeat against Team Scandinavia

"That was a great experience. I didn't have much grip at the front but that's the same for everyone. It's a shame we are out of the Nations Cup of course, but I will race again in the Race of Champions later this evening and I hope to do better in that."

Felipe Massa (Brazil), after winning his quarter-final heat against Pastrana (USA)

"It was a good race and a good run. The car was nicely balanced. It's fantastic to represent Brazil in such a great event."

Nelsinho Piquet (Brazil), after quarter-final defeat against USA

"That was tough. I lost time at the start of the first race against Gordon but then Jeff was just too quick in the second race."

Heikki Kovalainen (Finland), after quarter final defeat against Scandinavia

"I was caught by surprise when my car oversteered. I lost the rear end and went into a spin. Finland is now out and that's a great shame. There was nothing I could do to make up for the ground I lost, so I did some doughnuts to entertain the crowd on the second lap!"

Marcus Grönholm (Finland), after quarter final defeat against Scandinavia

"I'm afraid I lost my race. I wasn't good in the ROC Car. I drove too aggressively and I lost time."

Sébastien Loeb (France), after quarter-final defeat against Team Playstation France

"Although we lost our match against Playstation Team France, I was glad to win my heat. It's a pity we weren't able to defend our 2004 title, but the atmosphere here this evening is really great."

David Coulthard (Great Britain), after semi-final defeat against Playstation France

"It was nice to start the evening by beating Germany and in our match with Team Playstation France it was all resting on my shoulders in the decisive race. I was less than a tenth of a second behind Bourdais when I hit the wall. A shame, but this is still great fun."

Sébastien Bourdais (Playstation France), after semi-final win against Great Britain

"Winning races is the best feeling in the world, especially with the crowd behind you like they are here at the Stade de France. I had a problem with the gearbox in the second race against David Coulthard and I could see him catching, so that was very exciting."

Jeff Gordon (USA), after semi-final heat against Scandinavia

"It was a close thing with Tom Kristensen. I was very impressed by his driving. I'm pleased that we made it to the semi-finals and we were only narrowly beaten. I'm happy with my performance so far though, and I'm really looking forward to the individual Race of Champions event later."

Stéphane Peterhansel (France), after defeat in final against Scandinavia

"It was tough for me today competing directly against the likes of Sébastien Loeb and then Colin McRae. It was good fun, but trying to beat McRae in a WRC car was always going to be a tough challenge. When I stopped competing on two-wheels, I began racing in the Andros Trophy, so I have a little experience of competing in this sort of event."