José María López joins 2014 Race Of Champions line-up

Newly confirmed WTCC champion José María López has been confirmed as a competitor for this year’s Race Of Champions event in Barbados in December, joining current V8 Supercars Championship leader Jamie Whincup as the second current touring car driver to compete at the event.

López, who sealed the 2014 drivers’ crown last week in Suzuka in his inaugural WTCC season, joins a roster which includes former DTM racer and nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean, Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, former DTM driver and Formula 1 test driver Susie Wolff, Rally and Rallycross champion Petter Solberg, former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch, and five-time V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup at the event on December 13th-14th.

“This has been an amazing year for me and this invitation to the Race Of Champions is the perfect way to cap it off,” said López. “At the start of the year I wasn’t thinking too hard about the WTCC title but I started taking it really seriously after I won my home races in Argentina. That raised the pressure too so it’s great to have made it over the line. I’ve won titles before but it feels especially good to be a ‘world champion’.

“Now I can look forward to racing my fellow champions in Barbados. I’m in no doubt that the competition will be hard but I’ve spent this year battling the likes of Sébastien (Loeb) and Yvan (Muller) so I’ll do my best and who knows what is possible.”