V8 Supercars superstar Jamie Whincup will join an esteemed field at this year’s Race of Champions and line up alongside greats from Le Mans, IndyCar and Formula One.
Whincup will head to Barbados for the event, held at the Bushy Park Circuit from December 13-14 – and he may very well go there as a record-breaking six-time V8 Supercars Champion, after the Sydney 500 finale the week before.
Already the 2014 field is shaping up to be tough completion, with nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, Formula One’s Romain Grosjean (the reigning ROC Champion of Champions) and this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay have already signed up. The rest of the field for ROC 2014 will be announced in the run-up to December’s event.
“I’m delighted to be back competing in the Race Of Champions again,” Whincup said.
“I really enjoyed my visit to ROC Bangkok in 2012 and will use the experience from my rookie year to be more competitive this time in Barbados.
“Bangkok was the first time I had driven a left-hand-drive car so a little more practice in the coming months will no doubt help me out for the race.”
Whincup contested the Race of Champions in 2012, becoming the first driver in V8 Supercars to do so, partnering 500cc MotoGP legend Mick Doohan to the semi-finals of the ROC Nations Cup for Team Australia, only to fall to the might of eventual winners Team Germany (Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel).
While he had planned to better that result last year, the race was canceled due to political unrest in Bangkok.
But now Whincup will push harder in the heat of Barbados after once again being invited to compete against stars from all over the world for the 2014 event.
“We are thrilled that Jamie will be coming back to the Race Of Champions for a second time in December,” ROC organiser Fredrik Johnsson said.
“He is the only V8 Supercar champion to join us at ROC so far – and one look at his record shows just what an outstanding driver he is. Five titles is an amazing performance in any series and you’d have to be bold to bet against him making it six before we go to Barbados.
“Jamie will then have a chance to add even more glory at the Race Of Champions. With a year’s experience behind him he’s sure to be a major competitor and no one will relish taking on such a relentless winner. We hope a packed house in Barbados will enjoy seeing Jamie race against the best drivers from all over the world.”
The Race Of Champions, which has been held for over 25 years, brings together the world’s greatest drivers from motorsport’s major disciplines – including Formula 1, World Rally, Le Mans, MotoGP, Nascar, IndyCar, Touring Cars and the X-Games – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery on a unique tarmac track with two parallel lanes linked by a crossover bridge.
