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.
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.
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]
After Audi and then Porsche pulled out, we nearly didn't book this year, but I'm glad we did.
I predict the driver's parade will be absolutely rammed this year
He wasn't up at the levels of Hamilton or Alonso but he was definitely one of the better drivers of his generation.
Think he proved that when he was partnered alongside Hamilton. Certainly didn't get embarrassed by him.
As others have pointed out, Button was (is) a good driver, has won more Grands Prix than you and also the Formula Ford Festival.
Just hope he doesn’t “do a Mansell” in the first 5 laps...
It was really interesting and he came across really well. There was a Q&A and one of the questioners asked him if he regretted not driving for Ferrari. He said he'd actually signed for them in 2014 but then Domenicali got sacked and it didn't happen.
The 24hr driving fans don't like F1 drivers and just see them as sprint drivers.
The 24hr driving fans don't like F1 drivers and just see them as sprint drivers.
The 24hr driving fans don't like F1 drivers and just see them as sprint drivers.
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