Mercedes Formula 1 car to appear at ROC Barbados

This year's Formula 1 world constructors' champions Mercedes will bring their 2012 F1 car to the Race Of Champions at Bushy Park Barbados this weekend.

The car, which features a spectacular screaming V8 engine, will be driven round the circuit by official Mercedes F1 reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein. In 2014 the German driver became the youngest ever winner - at the age of 19 - in his home nation's prestigious DTM touring car series. Wehrlein has since made his Formula 1 testing debut, topping the times on the last day of 2014 action at Abu Dhabi in November.

The demo run will be part of a packed series of shows on two wheels and four that runs in the gaps between the 60-plus head-to-head races making up this weekend's main racing action. Other highlights will include the FMX4Ever Freestyle Motocross Show, a world record attempt for the most people in a car on two wheels by stunt driver Terry Grant, the Easy Drift show featuring Martinique rally ace Simon Jean-Joseph and its inventor Alexandre Hayot, the 'Bajan HotBoyz' motorcycle stunt team and 1984 world champion Stig Blomqvist driving the iconic Audi S1 Group B rally car.

Wehrlein will also take part in Sunday's Race Of Champions. He has been drawn in a group with nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and 2014 GP2 Champion Jolyon Palmer. Before that Wehrlein will partner Palmer on Team Young Stars in Saturday's ROC Nations Cup, facing Team France, Team Nordic and Team Americas in their group.

The German driver was at Bushy Park today along with Kristensen and 13-time F1 grand prix winner David Coulthard. As the first drivers to arrive in Barbados, the three racers helped launch the new ROC track for the benefit of the local media.

Afterwards Wehrlein said: "It's been a really good year for me and it feels really good to come to the Race Of Champions. I've watched it on TV and I've always wanted to drive in this race so I'm really happy to be here and ready to take part. The track is completely different to usual - instead of a stadium it's on a proper race track. So I'm really looking forward to the weekend and the most important thing is to have fun.

"I'll also enjoy giving a show in the 2012 Mercedes F1 car. The car sounds really nice so I hope the spectators will really enjoy it. I'll do some doughnuts and try to put on a good show for all the fans here in Barbados."

The German is part of a stunning field for ROC 2014 featuring motor sport legends drawn from series including Formula 1, Le Mans, MotoGP, IndyCar, NASCAR, V8 Supercars, WTCC and World Rallycross. Drivers are heading to Barbados from all corners of the world including the USA, Europe, South America and Australia.