Ex-F1 champion Jenson Button to compete in British GT season finale

Jenson Button

Ex-F1 champion Button to compete in British GT season finale

Button will race in the series for the first time

Sam Hall

Wednesday 14 October 2020 10:17 Updated: 10:34

Jenson Button will make his British GT debut at Silverstone in November with Rocket RJN team.

Co-owners of the Rocket RJN team Button and Chris Buncombe will join regular season drivers Michael O’Brien and World’s Fastest Gamer James Baldwin in the Pro/Am category for the three-hour Silverstone season finale.

To house Button and Buncombe, the team will run a second McLaren 720S GT3 and Button, who will be racing a GT3 car for the first time, hopes he can assist O'Brien and Baldwin as they attempt to claim the overall title.

“This will be my first taste of a GT3 car but I’m really looking forward it,” said Button.

"It will be lovely to join our team and lining-up in the McLaren 720S with my best buddy Chris Buncombe. It’s great to come back and race on UK soil again – a big thank you to our partners that have made this possible.

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“It’s a shame that this final round of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship will be without the fans but I hope they will tune in to follow our progress!”

The 2009 F1 champion Button never stood on the podium at the British Grand Prix, and was last victorious at Silverstone in 1999 when competing in British F3, one year before his Williams F1 debut.

Buncombe, who has previous experience of British GT and is a former Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup class champion, said the idea of sharing a car in the category had been the topic of conversation between Button and himself for some time now.

He added: “Jenson and I have spoken for a while about sharing a car together on track – we have done a number of off-road races together driving a spec Trophy Truck in the US but never driven together in a GT race.

"It will be great to return to Silverstone and I’m hugely looking forward to trying the McLaren 720S GT3. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible, it’s a fantastic way to end the 2020 season.”

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