Oliver Rudgewick reports on sporting superstars set to get behind the wheel at the Olympic Park.
Olympic legends Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Ben Ainslie are set to go head to head in the Race of Champions Celebrity Skills Challenge.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallists will return to the Olympic Stadiums where they were flag bearers for Team GB, but this time they will take to the stadium on four wheels and compete other famous celebrities.
Competitors will take part in various driving challenges, including chicanes, slaloms, 360 degree turns and parallel parking.
Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy has taken to powered racing in recent years since his retirement from cycling.
The Scot has found success by winning the Complete European Le Mans Series with teammate Charlie Robertson.
Hoy is looking forward to the event saying: “it will be fun to find out whether my efforts on the track can transfer to some of these trickier, technical manoeuvres.”
Sir Ben Ainslie is a four-time Olympic champion and is the most decorated Olympic sailor in history. After his retirement in 2012 Olympics, Ainslie has competed in the America’s Cup, the most prestigious title in sailing.
Ainslie was victorious in the 2013 event with American Team Oracle as they beat Team New Zealand in San Francisco.
On his Race of Champions challenge, Ainslie told the event’s official site “we want to put on a good show for the crowds next month,”
Race of Champions president Fredrik Johnsson is delighted to have Hoy and Ainslie competing at the event. He said: “When it comes to champions, Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Ben Ainslie are up there with the best the world has ever seen.”