Button claims podium on Daytona 24 Hours debut
Jenson Button finished third on his Daytona 24 Hours debut, while his former F1 colleague Felipe Nasr held his own at the head of the field to deliver an overall win to Porsche Penske.
Ahead of last weekend’s Rolex 24, Button spoke of his excitement about taking part in the endurance classic with Wayne Taylor Racing, an experience that completed the 2009 F1 World Champion’s bucket list.
“I’ve been wanting to do this race for many years and been speaking to Wayne [Taylor] for many years,” Button told Daily Sportscar.
“It just hasn’t worked out with timing and different things. But it did this year and I jumped into the WEC programme too. There’s nothing else [on the bucket list], nothing that stands out. It’s very special.”
Button’s teammates on the #40 WTR Andretti Acura included Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta and Louis Deletraz who brought the car home on Sunday in third place.
After a solid start, the latter was cruising through the night when he suddenly stopped out on the track, forcing the team to bring the car back to the garage to solve the issue which was dealt with swiftly.
As the clock wound down, Button, Taylor, Herta and Deletraz traded stints to climb back among the top-three with the latter holding steady behind the GTP leaders in the final portion of the race to claim the final spot on the overall podium.
“Wow, that was an experience!” said Button when all was said and done. “I have done a few endurance races before but nothing like this.
“When there are 60 cars on track and the banking, it is like a game of chicken at 200 mph.
“A lot of fun and feel so privilege to do it with these guys at Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti. They all did such an amazing job. I am such a small part of this.
“It was a great experience and fair play to the whole team. Congrats to them for getting a podium.
We didn’t have the pace for a win here but with WTRAndretti you always know they are going to get the maximum out of the car. And they did just that this weekend.”
Up ahead, Nasr – who shared driving duties with Aussie Matt Campbell and American pair Dane Cameron and Josef Newgarden – came out on top of a thrilling finale against Tom Blomqvist onboard the Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing he shared with Jack Aitken and Pipo Derani.
The former Sauber F1 driver delivered to Penske its first win at Daytona since 1969, when Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons steered their Lola T70 to victory lane.
Button will continue his endurance racing experience later this year with Jota Porsche, the 44-year-old undertaking a full season in the WEC that will kick off in Qatar on March 2.
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