Jenson Button to race at Le Mans

Former F1 champion also set to compete in the UK at least twice this summer

It seems that stepping away from the Formula 1 spotlight has only enhanced Jenson Button's appetite for racing. Having had his first taste of Super GT at last year's Suzuka 1000km, the Brit has already committed to a full season in the series this time around. Driving a Honda NSX-GT for Team Kunimitsu in the GT500 class, he finished second in the season opener at Okayama earlier this month.

The remaining seven rounds clearly aren't enough to sate his desire for track-based competition, however, with news today that he is set to take part in the remainder of the WEC 'Super Season' as well. Driving for SMP Racing, Button will be at the wheel of a BR1 LMP1 car, a vehicle designed as a joint effort between Russian company BR Engineering and famed Italian outfit Dallara.

This of course means that he'll be present at Le Mans for the 24-hour race on the 16th and 17th of June - adding a ninth reason to book a spot on the PH campsite! - where he'll go head-to-head for the overall win with, among others, former teammate Fernando Alonso. Alonso, don't forget, is on a quest for Triple Crown glory, with Button having stood in for him at last season's Monaco Grand Prix to allow the Spaniard to compete in the Indy 500.

Of his new challenge Button said, "I'm delighted to be a part of the SMP Racing team in the FIA World Endurance Championship. My teammates for this year will be Mikhail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov, whom I know very well from his racing in Formula 1, and Mikhail obviously from his Indycar exploits.

"I think with those two, and the experience we all have from different types of racing, and the team's fantastic experience in endurance racing we have a great chance to fight at the front and fight for the win and I can't wait to get going."

It won't be Button's only appearance at Le Mans this year though, as he's also scheduled to drive the Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar XJR-9 in the Group C races at the Classic meet in July. There'll be a PH presence at that event, too, but for those of you looking to see Button closer to home, his WEC commitment also means that he (and Alonso) will be in the UK in August, when round three of the 'Super Season' takes place at Silverstone.

Button will then return in September to race with JD Classics at the Goodwood Revival, though his car for that is yet to be confirmed, and there's always a good chance of seeing him piloting something special up the hill at the Festival of Speed.

There's plenty of Jenson to go around, then, which can only be a good thing! Hopefully he isn't spreading himself too thin, and fans both at home and abroad will see him add to his already impressive Formula 1 trophy haul.

[Images: LAT]

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