NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DRIVE today announced it will exclusively air the 25^th Race of Champions (ROC), taking place in exotic Bangkok, at 7pm ET on December 15 and 16 for U.S. viewers on its YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/DRIVE.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121211/CL27241)

Accessible exclusively in the U.S. at www.youtube.com/DRIVE, ROC will pit motorsports' racing elite from various disciplines, including Formula One, World Rally Championship, MotoGP, Touring Cars, IndyCar and Le Mans. The competition will feature a series of head-to-head races in identical cars on a parallel track inside Rajamangala Stadium to crown the "Champion of Champions." Drivers will pair up by nationality for the ROC Nations Cup ahead of the individual Race of Champions the following day.

In partnership with Pirelli, Hertz and GoPro, DRIVE will produce pre-show and play-by-play commentary programming with longtime ROC presenter John Hindhaugh from RadioLeMans.com, professional driver and racing commentator Tommy Kendall and DRIVE motorsports analyst and host of SHAKEDOWN, Leo Parente.

Through its stream on DRIVE, ROC will reach a potential audience of more than 200,000 subscribers. Since its inception January 2012, DRIVE has generated more than 37 million views and continues to see strong, consistent subscriber growth.

"At DRIVE we continue to redefine automotive and motorsports programming," said J.F. Musial, CEO of TangentVector, Inc. and executive producer of DRIVE. "As the first YouTube channel to exclusively stream a motorsports event online, DRIVE offers a vehicle for our viewers, subscribers and advertisers to take part in the shift of consumers' sports consumption from traditional to digital."

Drivers competing in ROC 2012 include:

• MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion
• SEBASTIAN VETTEL, Formula 1 World Champion (2012, 2011, 2010)
• RYAN HUNTER-REAY, IndyCar Series Champion (2012)
• JORGE LORENZO, MotoGP World Champion (2012, 2010)
• SEBASTIEN OGIER, seven-time WRC winner, 2011 ROC "Champion of Champions"
• DAVID COULTHARD, 13-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner
• TOM KRISTENSEN, eight-time Le Mans 24 Hour race winner
• JAMIE WHINCUP, V8 Supercar Champion (2011, 2009, 2008)
• MICK DOOHAN, five-time 500cc MotoGP World Champion
• ROMAIN GROSJEAN, Formula 1 driver
• ANDY PRIAULX, three-time FIA World Touring Car Champion

In recent years, ROC has visited the Stade de France in Paris (2004-2006), London's Wembley Stadium (2007-2008), Beijing's 'Bird's Nest' Olympic Stadium (2009) and Dusseldorf's ESPRIT arena (2010-2011). For 2012, it's venturing outside Europe for only the second time in its 25-year history.

For more information about Race of Champions, visit www.raceofchampions.com. To see DRIVE's ROC coverage video teaser, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOpvUc0-cDs.

To view DRIVE's exclusive Race of Champions coverage on YouTube on December 14 and 15 at 7pm ET, please visit www.youtube.com/DRIVE.

About DRIVE
YouTube's original content channel DRIVE is a trailblazing internet video studio producing personality-driven shows that celebrate the culture of cars. DRIVE takes its audience on the road, to the races, to the factories, to the design studios -- and to other places car lovers have always wanted to go, but never had the chance.

DRIVE's weekly lineup of shows for car lovers include SHAKEDOWN – racing analyst Leo Parente gives the straight dope on the world of motorsports; TUNED – SPEED TV personality Matt Farah seeks out and drives the best examples of aftermarket, specialty, and unique vehicles; CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS – the UK's fastest-rising star of automotive journalism, Chris Harris, test drives the most important sports cars and exotics on the road today; and LIVE AND LET DRIVE – author, speed-record holder and automotive oddball Alex Roy takes you along on amazing, unexpected road trip adventures around the globe. For more information, please visit http://www.youtube.com/DRIVE.

SOURCE DRIVE