Button made his collection debut in a Porsche 963 as the additional driver in JDC-Miller MotorSports’ line-up at Highway Atlanta, and completed fifth alongside Mike Rockenfeller – his Storage 56 Le Mans team-mate – and teenager Tijmen van der Helm.
The 2009 F1 world champion says he has “choices” to race in IMSA subsequent season – each a full season or enduros solely – or a World Endurance Championship marketing campaign, probably in Jota’s Porsche 963 programme which has additionally been linked to fellow ex-F1 stars Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica.
Chatting with NBC after his double stint within the season-closing race, Button mentioned he loved the GTP expertise however was stored busy within the hybrid-assisted LMDh automobile by the bumper 54-car entry.
“Joyful I obtained out in a single piece!” he quipped. “No, it was good enjoyable… Traumatic, chaotic, hectic and fairly bodily on the arms as properly.
“The steering wheel all of the sudden obtained heavy. I am unsure why that’s. My first run, I had new tyres on and it felt nice, I may race with folks, I had a go at getting previous Josef Newgarden [in the factory Penske-run 963] after which the second run was on {old} tyres. Wow, that was exhausting!
“You’ve obtained so many issues on the steering wheel to vary and modify, with TC lat and TC straight forward, after which there’s all of the migration below braking and there’s a lot, I used to be altering every part to attempt to take care of one finish of the automobile after which I’d begin locking-up that finish, so then I take care of the opposite finish. I used to be going round in circles with all of the switches!
“The tyre deg was a bit greater than I’d hoped however the first stint on the tyres I felt glad contemplating it was the primary time I’d been within the automobile and I’d by no means performed greater than 10 laps.
“It was good to race on the market with a couple of folks.”
Photograph by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
#31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac V-LMDh Cadillac V- LMDh: Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken, #5 JDC Miller MotorSports Porsche 963: Tijmen van der Helm, Mike Rockenfeller, Jenson Button, #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3: Sheena Monk, Katherine Legge, Marc Miller
It was additionally Button’s first ever race at Highway Atlanta, the sweeping 2.5-mile street course that performs host to the annual 10-hour IMSA season-ending occasion.
“The monitor’s not too unhealthy whenever you’re by yourself – which you by no means are!” mentioned Button. “Flip 1 is de facto tough, and with the tailwind, you turn-in in fifth gear and get an enormous snap [of oversteer] midway via. You strive it in fourth and also you get extra of a locked diff, it’s simpler but it surely’s slower and it’s revving loads.
“Then you definitely undergo the Esses, into Flip 2, and every part simply desires to lock up, fronts and rears, since you’re very mild on downforce at that time. However the Esses is superior enjoyable, after which it bottoms out, and also you’re heavy once more.
“Attempting to evaluate visitors, it’s been a very long time for me since I had to try this, and I feel that went properly, I didn’t lose any locations in visitors – I virtually gained one. I had a few scary moments, via the center of two vehicles, however all-in-all it was good.”