Button to Make GT3 Debut in Silverstone Season Finale

Jenson Button will make his GT3 debut in next month’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship season finale with the Jenson Team Rocket RJN squad that he co-owns.

The 2009 Formula One world champion is set to share a Sky-liveried McLaren 720S GT3 with Jenson Team Rocket RJN part-owner Chris Buncombe in the three-hour enduro.

Both drivers are set to sample the car in a private test at Silverstone later this month.

It will mark Button’s first race appearance since last year’s Super GT series which he contested with the Team Kunimitsu Honda squad, and his first outing in GT3 rules racing.

Jenson Team Rocket RJN joined British GT as a full-season competitor this year, while its drivers Michael O’Brien and James Baldwin – the World’s Fastest Gamer esports competition winner – currently sit fourth in the drivers’ championship with a round to go.

Button has never driven for the team that he co-owns in the real world, although he has represented Jenson Team Rocket RJN in esports races during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This will be my first taste of a GT3 car but I’m really looking forward to it,” said Button, who won the Super GT title in 2018 alongside Naoki Yamamoto.

“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.

“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 British GT season finale takes place on Nov. 8.

Ram Racing’s Sam de Haan and Patrick Kujala lead the GT3 standings heading into the final round, with Barwell Motorsport’s Rob Collard and Sandy Mitchell six points behind.