Sir Chris Hoy returns to alternative sport as Olympic hero takes on 'very different challenge'
Edinburgh’s Sir Chris Hoy will team up with former Top Gear host Chris Harris for the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational.
Sir Chris Hoy has confirmed that he will join Top Gear host Chris Harris for the ‘Dark Horse Stars’ class at the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational having been selected as the first two drivers.
The June 11-14 event, held at the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe, will mark the international race debut for the Dark Horse R - with 35-plus Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race cars being shipped over from the US. It marks a return to motor racing at legendary Le Mans for cycling hero Hoy, who revealed that he had incurable stage four prostate cancer last October.
The six-time Olympic gold medallist, 49, told how he was “excited” to get back behind the wheel at the French track on social media platform Instagram. Back in 2016, four tears after retiring from track cycling, Hoy completed the Le Mans 24 Hours and was previously part of the British GT Car Racing Championship.
Sir Chris Hoy ‘excited’ to return to Le Mans
The Edinburgh native said: “So excited about this. Huge thanks to Ford Performance. Can’t wait to get out in the Mustang and give it a run.”
Scott Bartlett, of Ford Performance, added: “Sir Chris is an incredible man who has delivered on the world stage and is now facing a very different challenge. For him to want to take on Le Mans in a Mustang Dark Horse R is testament to the allure that Mustang has. We are also delighted that he is partnering with Chris Harris, whose global following on YouTube will give us another boost.”
Hoy also trailed his Tour De 4 charity bike ride in September in support of other stage four patients. That is taking place at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. The hope is to raise £1 million for 32,000 plus people living with stage four cancer in the UK.
Edinburgh native Sir Chris Hoy helps save over 1,000 lives
He’s recently been credited with saving over 1,000 lives following his decision to go public with his terminal prostate cancer diagnosis. Hoy has since collaborated with Prostate Cancer UK to launch an online 30-second 'risk checker' questionnaire. Since starting, over 180,000 men have taken the test, leading to more than 1,000 people being diagnosed with prostate cancer through PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing.
"So that campaign has saved lives," Sir Chris acknowledged. "In all the chaos and all the fear and all the horror of first being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, you can never imagine any positive outcome coming from that situation. So to know that there is one has given me a purpose. In difficult moments, you remind yourself, actually there is a net positive from this whole situation. And I'm lucky because I have a platform."