Jenson Button stranded in the desert for 17 hours after Baja 1000 shunt

Jenson Button

Button stranded in the desert for 17 hours after Baja 1000 shunt

How many?!

Matthew Scott

Tuesday 26 November 2019 12:00

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Jenson Button says he spent 17 hours stranded in the desert after his car broke down during the Baja 1000.

The former F1 world champion was making his off-road racing debut in the legendary North American event, but things did not all go to plan...

"We come away from the Baja1000 with a story to tell, not the one we wanted but a great Baja story all the same," Button posted on Instagram.

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"Started well, passed five moving trucks and then another seven/eight broken or crashed, found a really good rhythm of looking after the truck when needed and hammering the fast flowing sections.

"At mile 235 Terry Madden my co driver and I heard a really loud clatter and lost drive, we had broken the differential.

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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B5RbOZFHYpJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">We come away from the Baja1000 with a story to tell, not the one we wanted but a great Baja story all the same. Started well, past 5 moving trucks and then another 7-8 broken or crashed, found a really good rythym of looking after the truck when needed and hammering the fast flowing sections. At mile235 @terry_madden my co driver and I heard a really loud clatter and lost drive, we had broken the differential, strange as all temps were good and we looked after the truck but hey this happens, the problem was we had found the most remote place to breakdown which meant we spent the whole night and a total of 17hrs under the stars, the only people we saw were other racers asking us to wipe their dirty light bars clean ?fuelled by energy bars and a fire that needed constant help as all we could find was twigs Terry and I could just enjoy the moment of peacefulness by telling stories which always ended with “its Baja”. A life experience but not the one I expected but I’ll take it. . Big thanks to all our sponsors as without them the Baja1000 would not have been possible #skysportsf1 #mobil1 #esso #foxshocks #alpinestars #kchilites #dare2b #bfgoodrich #methodracewheels #dukeanddexter . Lastly big thanks to our small but awesome crew @chris_buncombe @mazfaw @terry_madden @dudeabiding Javiers and @marty.fiolka</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jensonbutton/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Jenson Button</a> (@jensonbutton) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-11-25T02:50:42+00:00">Nov 24, 2019 at 6:50pm PST</time></p></div> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>embed" width="400" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true">

"Strange as all temps were good and we looked after the truck but hey this happens, the problem was we had found the most remote place to breakdown which meant we spent the whole night and a total of 17 hours under the stars.

"The only people we saw were other racers asking us to wipe their dirty light bars clean.

"Fuelled by energy bars and a fire that needed constant help as all we could find was twigs, Terry and I could just enjoy the moment of peacefulness by telling stories which always ended with "its Baja".

"A life experience but not the one I expected. But I'll take it."