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GP2 Series Champion Fabio Leimer joins ROC line-up

Next month's Race Of Champions will feature one of motor sport's brightest talents as newly-crowned GP2 Series Champion Fabio Leimer has signed up for the event at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium on December 14-15.

The Swiss driver enjoyed a fine 2013 season in the Formula 1 feeder series, starting with wins in the first two feature races. He followed that with another feature race victory at Monza plus four further podiums and a total of 15 top-six finishes. He sealed the title in the Abu Dhabi finale, ending up 20 points clear of a strong field.

That run of glory has now earned Leimer the chance to show what he can do against a line-up of greats from a wide range of motor sport series when he makes his Race Of Champions debut in Bangkok next month.

Leimer said: "I am very excited about this invitation to the 2013 Race Of Champions and I would like to say a big thank you to the ROC organisers. This will be my first time at a ROC event so it will be an honour to be there and I am already looking forward to the duels with the very biggest names in motor sport."

Race organiser Fredrik Johnsson added: "We're very happy that Fabio will be joining us at next month's Race Of Champions. He has had a fantastic season in GP2 and he fully deserved to take the title against some very strong opposition. Now he has a chance to take on some of the world's greatest drivers and I'm sure he will make the most of this opportunity. We've seen some strong performances at ROC by GP2 champions in the past and I'm sure Fabio will push hard to keep that run going."

Held every year since 1988, the Race Of Champions brings together the world's greatest drivers from motor sport's main disciplines - including Formula 1, World Rally, Le Mans, MotoGP, Nascar, IndyCar, Touring Cars and the X-Games - and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.

ROC 2013 will take place on a specially constructed tarmac track with two parallel lanes winding their way round Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium. Drivers pair up for the ROC Nations Cup, this year scheduled for Saturday 14 December, ahead of the individual Race Of Champions on Sunday 15 December.

ROC features stars from all over the world: seven-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen, motorcycling great Mick Doohan, V8 Supercar ace Jamie Whincup and 2013 World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier have already signed up. The rest of the field will be announced in the run-up to next month's event.

Tickets are now available from www.raceofchampions.com where you can also find further information and access to high-resolution imagery. Sign up for all the latest updates at www.raceofchampions.com, Race Of Champions on Facebook or @raceofchampions and the hashtag #BangROC on Twitter.

Drivers already announced for the 2013 Race Of Champions:

Michael SCHUMACHER, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion
Tom KRISTENSEN, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner, FIA WEC Champion 2013
Sébastien OGIER, World Rally Champion 2013
Jamie WHINCUP, V8 Supercar Champion 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008
Narain KARTHIKEYAN, Formula 1 driver and ROC Asia Champion 2012
Karun CHANDHOK, Formula 1 driver and ROC Asia Champion 2012
David COULTHARD, 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner
Susie WOLFF, development driver for the Williams F1 team
Mattias EKSTRÖM, DTM ace and triple ROC Champion of Champions
Mick DOOHAN, five-time 500cc MotoGP World Champion
Fabio LEIMER, GP2 Series Champion 2013