On a parallel track, Hamilton will take to the seat of a Mercedes-Benz road
car, while Hoy takes to the saddle of a bike. Starting side-by-side on a
tight and twisty course which is alien to both machines, the two stars will
race around the circuit in the ultimate test of man and machine.
Hamilton and Hoy’s head-to-head chase will be the highlight of the preshow
entertainment, running before The ROC Nations Cup begins.
Hamilton will also perform a demonstration run in his championshipwinning
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

Staged on the same day that the nation will decide its 2008 BBC Sports
Personality of the Year, the challenge between two of the favourites for the
award will present the first opportunity for British motorsport fans to
gather and pay tribute to the achievements of Hamilton following his lastgasp
championship heroics in the Brazilian GP. Both Hamilton and Hoy will
depart Wembley late afternoon to travel to Liverpool for the Awards
ceremony.

The ultimate end-of-season racing celebration, The Race of Champions
pits the best competitors from the world of two and four-wheeled
motorsport together to show off their abilities on an asphalt track
constructed on top of Wembley’s famous pitch.

F1 stars, superbike champions, NASCAR racers and rally aces will battle
one another but, following Britain’s success in the Beijing Olympics and
Lewis Hamilton’s F1 World Championship victory, Fredrik Johnsson,
President of event organisers IMP, wanted to combine the two for 2008.

“Ever since we created The Race of Champions 20 years ago, we’ve been
putting the greatest racers in the world against each other,” Johnsson
commented. “With Britain’s fantastic performance in Beijing, especially in
cycling, we thought about how we could include that in the event and
when Lewis won the F1 World Championship it was just perfect.”

“This is going to be something very special,” said Hamilton. “I’ve done F1
demonstration runs away from race tracks before, but Wembley Stadium’s
completely different, the atmosphere is going to be crazy. It’s going to be
a great way to end a fantastic year, and I’m really looking forward to
putting on a show to thank the fans from all over the world and my
fantastic British fans for all their support. I get so much from the fans and
this is a great opportunity for me to give something back. I will be leaving
Wembley prior to the actual Race of Champions final in order to make it to
the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but putting on the demonstration
is a great opportunity for me to give something back.”

Hoy added: “I’m a big motor racing fan anyway and I’ve seen The Race of
Champions on TV so to be there in the flesh is going to be great and to be
actually able to compete and take part in it is fantastic.

“I can kick out about two and a half brake horsepower so that’s not going
to quite match his car but I think they’ll make the race as close as
possible and I’ll be giving it absolutely everything; I’m really looking
forward to it.”

Tickets for The Race of Champions are on sale now by calling 0844 412
1743, or online at www.raceofchampions.com. Adult prices start at £18
and child tickets at £9.