News: Sir Chris Hoy swaps two wheels for four in bid to race at Le Mans

HE EARNED his knighthood on two wheels and now cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy is embarking on a new chapter in his remarkable career as he takes to four as a driver for Nissan’s GT3 racing team.

Hoy, who is an eleven-time world and six-time Olympic cycling champion, is to be put through Nissan’s advanced Driver Development Programme, currently enjoyed by the winners of the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy competition, with the aim of fast-tracking his progress to top-level motorsport.

The cyclist, who has already demonstrated his potential in club races, will compete in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 car in this year’s British GT Championship. The goal is to get the Olympian on his way to competing in the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours, the world’s most famous endurance race.

Hoy will race for the Nissan GT Academy team RJN. NISMO driver Alex Buncombe, who has helped all of the GT Academy graduates in their transition from gamer to racer, will partner him for the majority of the season’s seven race weekends.

“When I learned what had been achieved through Nissan’s Driver Development Programme I was keen to take my enthusiasm for motorsport to the next level,” said Hoy. “My ambition is to race at Le Mans. That is the dream but I’m taking this one step at a time.”

See Hoy’s transition from two wheels to four when he competes in the opening race of the 2014 British GT Championship at Oulton Park on Easter weekend (April 19-21).