(Tue 12 Aug 08)

Michael Schumacher and Sébastien Loeb, the most successful drivers ever in F1 and the World Rally Championship respectively, will do battle against each other at this year's Race of Champions, which is being held at Wembley Stadium on December 14.

Loeb's entry has only just been announced, but he has a lot of experience in this event. He reached the finals every year from 2002 to 2006, and won outright in 2003 and 2005, but didn't take part last year (his daughter Valentine had just been born, and there might have been a bit of a domestic if he'd gone racing so soon after that).

Schumacher won the title in 2004, and more recently was faster that Loeb in a bike race, so the Frenchman is out for revenge. At the moment, though, it's all quite amicable, at least on the surface. "It will be very nice to compete against Michael again," says Loeb. "We live very close to each other, but rarely have a chance to meet."

It's quite possible, though, that neither of them will win this year. The Race of Champions which involves top drivers competing head-to-head in identical vehicles, can sometimes produce a surprise winner - current McLaren F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen, for example, won several years ago, long before the general public had heard of him.

Other confirmed entrants are triple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx, double Superbike World Champion Troy Bayliss and F1 drivers Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. A further nine places have still to be filled.

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