Jenson Button is back on track and will do so in what will literally be The Race of 2023: the 24h of Le Mans Centenary, which takes place on the weekend of 10-11 June.
The Briton has accepted Hendrick Motorsport’s proposal to get on board the NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that the US team will enter in the fourth event of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season at the invitation of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which every year offers the Garage 56 initiative for special cars.
Button, who lives in Los Angeles with his family, had been invited to witness a test of the car which he will share with Mike Rockenfeller and Jimmie Johnson. From what comes what and when you’re a pilot, certain opportunities eventually crop up automatically.
IMSA President John Doonan, Jimmie Johnson, Mike Rockenfeller, Jenson Button
Photo by: James Gilbert/Getty Images
“I chose this project because of the guys involved. First of all the riders, I know Mike Rockenfeller very well, I raced against him in the DTM and I followed his career at Le Mans, as well as that of Jimmie Johnson. I was his huge fan over the years, he’s invited me to a few races and I’ve really enjoyed the NASCAR atmosphere.I’ve spent some time with Hendrick Motorsports and when I’ve seen their structure and the details they build a stock car with, I realized it was way beyond what I ever expected, really. And you can understand why they’ve won more championships than anyone else,” says Button at the press conference to present the project.
“It was ‘Rocky’ who told me to come and see the test. So I took an overnight flight from Los Angeles and arrived a little scruffy and tired. I had written Jimmie that I would be there. It didn’t take me long to decide time. At the test I saw Rocky and Jimmie driving and then Chad Knaus offered me to get on board. I didn’t have a helmet and overalls, but they replied that I could borrow the material. I’m not used to this kind of thing and I was there for other reasons. But they insisted and I really liked the atmosphere within the team.”
“They’re very serious about what they do, but they don’t take themselves too seriously, which is great. It’s a really exciting project and we won’t be going to Le Mans as slow as we are. I think the car will be competitive; not that we’re racing against someone, but I’m looking forward to seeing the other competitors and to hear the fans’ opinion on the car and what we’re trying to achieve.”
Hendrick Motorsports, Garage 56, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Photo by: Hendrick Motorsports
The Englishman underlined how much the idea of getting into this very special machine excites him, dusting off certain emotions.
“I’ve been to a couple NASCAR races with Jimmy. The first time at Homestead in 2012, because it was the last one of the year. I remember being with him after the race, we had some fun. The second was Fontana I really enjoyed it, it was amazing. One thing that blew my mind was the sound of the cars.”
“I’ve followed Jimmie’s career for a long time, I’ve raced against Rocky at Le Mans, in different categories, and also in the DTM. They’re good friends and when I was asked to do a test at Sebring, I thought it was pretty absurd for NASCAR to go to the biggest race in the world.”
“They’re stock cars, making a lot of noise with their V8s; but in reality when you look at the engine it’s tiny and so low down to keep the center of gravity down. The exhaust comes out the side. When you hear a NASCAR on the track it’s crazy and this car sounds even louder than a Cup version.”
“I went to see the Sebring test and felt like a kid again. That’s what I want from motor racing. I’ve spent my entire career in F1 and when I retired I wanted to do something new. I’m a driver, I want to do other things. I’ve raced in Super GT in Japan, Le Mans and GT races.”
“When I saw the car, the smile came back on my face, the love for racing. I said to myself: ‘tell me where to sign!’. In my career I have always worked with my teammates, but in F1 we talk of one of your rivals, while in endurance races you work with them together and I like that a lot”.
“So getting information from Jimmie and Rocky, understanding them as people and understanding how they work behind the scenes, with their engineering skills, is something that is interesting to me as well. I see Jimmie racing on the track and I don’t know what he is like out of the car. So I think it will be good to see in which direction he wants to take the car and what he thinks is right or wrong, because obviously in endurance there are a lot of compromises.
Hendrick Motorsports, Garage 56, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Photo by: Hendrick Motorsports
Button will have a few months at his disposal to get to know it and try it out, develop it together with Johnson and Rockenfeller, and the team, and then go racing on a track he’s already got to know.
“Haven’t tested the car, have driven a bit in the simulator and spent some time at Hendrick Motorsport, which as I said blew my mind. I didn’t expect such a special structure and the details with which they build a It’s a production car. I didn’t know that. So it was really nice to get to know them and we immediately took care of fitting the seat and the position of the pedals in the car so that I was comfortable and ready for the test.”
“It’s all exciting and I can’t wait to ride it. There will be things that will take me some getting used to. One of them is probably the weight compared to what I’m used to, but I’ve driven some off-road vehicles that they’re heavy, so you get used to it.”
“The simulator is always available when we are available. We will do some tests this week and next week we will go to Sebring. We have time to do the kilometres, but most of them will be long distance tests, 12 and 24 hour tests. This is that’s the area where we need the most time. When you look at NASCAR, its ruggedness and its power unit, I think the reliability will be good.”
Jenson Button
Photo by: Garage 56
A single participation in the 24h of Le Mans was enough for the 2009 F1 World Champion to immediately understand what the world of endurance is compared to the Circus.
“I’ve only raced the 24h once, but if you do it’s like you’ve done a whole season in another category. So I got a lot of experience from that weekend. It amazed me how special Le Mans is as a race. It’s a real teamwork. If you can finish the race it is already a great achievement in itself. You see everyone very excited about what they have been through; the engineers and mechanics work not only for 24 hours, but for 36 hours straight before of the race”.
“It will be a challenge for us, a NASCAR has never raced 24 hours before, so there is a lot of work to be done for reliability, the driver change will be interesting because we will do it like in the Cup championship, which is fantastic and rightly so. I think people need to see NASCAR for what it really is.”
“Even if there is no competition in this case, we still put ourselves under pressure to do the best possible job. We don’t want to be slow, but competitive, constant and working as best as possible, staying close to the others on the track. Whatever I you drive, I will always be competitive and put a lot of pressure on myself to live up to it.”
“The atmosphere at Le Mans is very different from F1 because you basically do 10 GPs in one race. But the pressure is still high, especially as it is the 100th race. There are many eyes on it and even more because we will be present with Garage 56. I hope we will bring many fans to Europe to watch Le Mans and see how we can be competitive.”
#11 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1: Mikhail Aleshin, Vitaly Petrov, Jenson Button
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
As mentioned before, Button is above all a racing enthusiast and the fact that he has tried other things after F1 has helped him better immerse himself in the role of driver to fully understand each car.
“The Camaro is much heavier than an F1, there is less downforce and power, it’s different. After F1 I raced in several races around the world; the GT3s are the heaviest, then I did the Super GT, which are more like an LMH. I’ve tried different things and that’s what excites me. Learning new things. In the last two years I’ve also raced karts, the last time was 25 years ago, then I raced the last year and one two weeks ago. The competitiveness never fails.”
“Mechanical grip is an important factor on this car; we work with Goodyear to develop a tire that works at Le Mans, which is a rather easy track for tyres. I’m curious to see what we can do around the track. Porsche’s corners they will probably be the most difficult if you don’t have an LMH, because of the changes of direction and load transfer. On all the long straights, the hardest braking, I think the car will be fine, both in traction and when cornering”.
“This model is obviously different than usual, it’s a challenge and that’s what’s exciting. I really believe in what Jimmie and Rocky tell me about how the car feels. They tell me I’m going to enjoy it, so I accepted. We’ll develop this car hoping it will be competitive at Le Mans”.
#11 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1: Jenson Button
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Finally, Jenson told of his passion for motorsport and how his family understood him at home, prompting him to dive back into the fray as soon as possible.
“I had been off for a while first of all because I had two children and I didn’t want to spend time away from home when they were so young and from my wife. It’s funny because a couple of months ago my wife said to me laughing: ‘Please , go run something, you’re annoying me!’. He understood that this passion and will never go away”.
“The love for racing, for competition and for driving cars is my world. It will never abandon me. As long as there is the desire, the reactions and the physical shape I will continue. I am only 43 years old, I still have many career ahead of me. This is the first stage to return to serious racing”.
“I’d like to be in the first WEC category, but you always have to be in the right situation. There’s no point in driving something you don’t think would be competitive. I think this year is a very special year for Le Mans, it’s the Centenary, with the new regulations and with so many high caliber cars competing in this Class. It will be a good year and next year will be even crazier with the amount of Constructors arriving. We will see, although there are few opportunities for 2024 “.
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