Jason Plato will contest this Sunday’s Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium.
It will be the first time that Jason has taken part in the event, and his first competitive outing since the final round of the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch 12 weeks ago.
The 2001 British Touring Car Champion is the fourth British driver to be confirmed for this year’s star-studded event, and he will race against Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Yvan Muller, Andy Priaulx, Sébastien Loeb, Carl Edwards, Tom Kristensen, Troy Bayliss, Adam Carroll, Gareth McHale and two-times Race of Champions winner Mattias Ekström.
Jason attended the ROC media day at Wembley on Wednesday, where he was joined at the press conference by event organiser Fredrik Johnsson and Olympic Gold Medal winning cyclist Chris Hoy (above). Hoy will race head-to-head against Lewis Hamilton in a Man verses Machine challenge on Sunday.
Jason experienced the twisty 1km asphalt track for the first time when he drove BBC’s Mike Bushell around the course in a 240bhp KTM X-Bow. The high-speed lap and interview will be broadcast on the BBC1 Breakfast Show this Saturday (December 13).
Jason was only allowed to do two laps, as to not gain an unfair advantage, and for his second run he took Mark Clews, The Sun Online video cameraman, out for a spin. That footage will be in the F1 & Motorsport section of www.thesun.co.uk
“I’m over the moon to be taking part in The Race of Champions,” says Jason. “I was asked to compete a few years ago and couldn’t because I was on my honeymoon at the time. I did consider flying back from Australia to do it, but I decided it might not be the best thing to do at the start of my marriage!
“I’ve followed the event over the years, watching it on television, and I’ve always wanted to do it. The chance to race against racing icons is amazing – the very best of motorsport is there. So I’m really excited and I’m sure my antics on Fifth Gear will stand me in good stead.”
The gates open at 12 noon, the show starts at 1pm and the Champion will be crowned at around 7.30pm. Adult tickets cost from as little as £18 and children get in for £9 and further information is available on www.raceofchampions.com.
