Hamilton vs Hoy: man versus machine race

11-19-2008 | AP

Panama Star LONDON. Britain's triple Olympic cycling gold medallist Chris Hoy is to compete in a man versus machine race against Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton at Wembley.

Hamilton, 23, will drive a Mercedes road car at the Race of Champions event on 14 December while Hoy will race his bike round the twisty circuit.

"It's going to special, the atmosphere is going to be crazy," said Hamilton.

"To see 80,000 fans for the first time since becoming world champion will be a great way to end a fantastic year."

Hoy won sprint, keirin and team sprint gold medals in Beijing to become the first Briton to win three gold medals at the same Olympics Games for 100 years.

And while the 32-year-old knows he will struggle to match the acceleration of the Mercedes, he hopes the tight and twisty track may prove a leveller.

"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," he said.

Hamilton, who became the youngest driver to win the Formula One world title this year, will also perform a demonstration run in his McLaren F1 car.

The duo will then head for Liverpool to take part in the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony later in the evening.

The Race of Champions event sees competitors from various strands of motorsport race against each other in a range of cars around a parallel two-lane track.