Jenson Button reveals racing plans for 2020

Jenson Button

Button reveals racing plans for 2020

A return to an old stomping ground beckons...

Matthew Scott

Sunday 10 November 2019 18:00

Jenson Button is eyeing a return to the World Endurance Championship in 2020, having completed a two-year stint in Japanese GT racing.

Button won the SuperGT GT5000 class alongside Naoki Yamamoto in 2018 – his first title triumph since his 2009 Formula 1 World Championship.

The Briton has previous WEC experience with SMP Racing, including the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, but he cut short his stint with the Russia outfit, as the birth of his first child neared, while he also cited the series' lack of competition as Toyota dominated the LMP1 class that he was in.

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A new hypercar class is due to replace LMP1 as WEC's flagship category in 2020/21 – something that Button has his eye on.

Asked where he would like his career to take him next, Button said: "There are many. I like off-roading as well, but the off-roading I've been doing is very different to the Dakar, a lot more aggressive with jumps and things.

"I'll race the Baja 1000 with some friends at the end of this year, on the same weekend as DTM and Super GT in Fuji, which I'm very excited about.

"In the future, I will definitely race in Le Mans again. I'm very excited about the new regulations and in the future it will be a great series, WEC."

He added to Motorsport.com: "If I did it [WEC] next year, it would be to get used to Le Mans again and just gain more experience," he said. "Probably in LMP2, because that's the pace the hypercar is supposed to be.

"And at least you're racing in competition. Unless you're in a Toyota, you can't win [outright]. It's really going to be boring for Toyota really, no competition. So LMP2 is great category and maybe that's an option. Apart from that I've got no plans at all.

"For me the direction I'd like to go is WEC in 2020/21, that season."