Race of Champions organisers have been forced to cancel the 2013 edition of the all-star event due to political unrest in host country Thailand.
A brief statement was sent by the ROC to media on Tuesday confirming the cancellation of the December 13-15 meeting.
This year was to see V8 Supercars star Jamie Whincup again take on the world’s best following his debut in 2012.
“The Sports Authority of Thailand and the organisers of the 2013 Race Of Champions have announced that the event cannot take place as planned on December 14-15 due to the current political situation in Bangkok,” read the statement.
“Our thoughts are with the Thai people during this difficult period and we wish that a peaceful solution will soon be found.
“The Race Of Champions has been held all over the world for 25 consecutive years and we are currently looking at options of repeating the success of last year’s event in Bangkok on another date.”
Four people have died in anti-government protests in Thailand during recent days, with one shot to death outside Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium, in which the ROC was to be held.
The stadium was hosting a 700,000 strong rally of government supporters at the time of the incident.
Last year’s Red Bull-backed ROC was hailed as a landmark motorsport event for Thailand as its government and the energy drink giant talked up the prospect of a local Formula 1 Grand Prix.
