V8 Supercar legend Whincup signs up for ROC

Australia's five-time V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup has confirmed he will compete at this year's Race Of Champions, to be held at the Bushy Park Circuit in Barbados on December 13-14.

Whincup has dominated Australia's popular V8 Supercar series in recent years, with titles in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Australian tin-top racer also leads this year's championship by over 270 points as he bids for a record sixth title. Next on the calendar is the blue riband Bathurst 1000, which he has won four times so far.

These performances have already earned Whincup an appearance at the 2012 Race Of Champions, when he became the first Aussie V8 racer ever to compete at ROC. It was a successful weekend, too, as he partnered 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).

Now Whincup will aim to go even further in the heat of Barbados as he joins a line-up for the 2014 Race Of Champions featuring stars from all over the world: nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, Formula 1'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.

Whincup said: "I'm delighted to be back competing in the Race Of Champions again. 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."

ROC organiser Fredrik Johnsson added: "We are thrilled that Jamie will be coming back to the Race Of Champions for a second time in December. 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."