'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Their fathers, Formula One champions James Hunt and Niki Lauda were immortalised in Ron Howard’s 2013 film Rush, and their long-standing friendship and rivalry are legendary.
Although Hunt sadly passed away aged only 45 in 1993 after suffering a heart attack, 3-time World Champion Niki Lauda, now 66, continues to play a significant Formula One role years after his retirement as the non-executive chairman of Mercedes AMG Petronas.
Both team and drivers have a significant championship lead this year, with both drivers putting in consistently strong performances.
And now, in every racing fan’s dream, the names Hunt and Lauda will come back together as partners to race once more. This time, it’s the new generation taking over. Racers Mathias Lauda and Freddie Hunt, the sons of Niki and James, will drive together in the Euro NASCAR series, which is NASCAR's official stock-racing series.
It was known as the Racecar-Euro series before an agreement with NASCAR in 2012, but continues to be an FIA series.
The series itself is a mix of American and European-style racing, with the cars inspired by American NASCAR builds, but catered to and driven on European tracks. They’re also used in the Race of Champions.
Hunt and Lauda will drive for Austrian outfit DF1 NASCAR Racing when next year’s season commences.
Unlike his father, Freddie Hunt focuses on Endurance racing rather than Formula 1, and has had most of his racing success at the ADAC Cruze Cup, hosted in Germany.
Lauda, meanwhile, has raced in several single-seater series; he has been part of Formula 3000, Formula 3, GP2 and the A1 Grand Prix series. However, with not much success, he shifted his focus to touring cars, and has been competing in DTM (Deutsche Tournewagen Masters) since 2008.
Hunt Jr, who bears more than a passing resemblance to his late father, posted about the news on Twitter, and was thrilled to be driving with Lauda next year.
