Jaguar XJR-9, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans 24 Hours, 1988

Le Mans Classic organisers retract claim Button will enter

2018 F1 season

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The organisers of the Le Mans Classic have retracted their claim Jenson Button will appear at this year’s race.

An announcement on one of their social media accounts earlier today said Button would participate in the July event at the wheel of a Group C Jaguar Le Mans car. However the post has now been deleted and the promoters advised F1 Fanatic Button’s participation has not been confirmed.

Button had been tipped to drive a 1988 Group C Jaguar XJR9 of the type which won the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours. Andy Wallace and former F1 drivers Johnny Dumfries and Jan Lammers took the car to victory.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Jaguar’s win, which ended a seven-year run of victories by Porsche. However the victory was in doubt until the flag fell, as Lammers had to nurse a damaged gearbox by keeping the car in fourth gear for the final laps.

The XJR9 also took Jaguar to the teams’ championship that year and was used by Martin Brundle to win the 1988 Sports-Prototype World Championship for Drivers. The Tony Southgate-designed car is powered by a seven-litre V12 Jaguar engine producing up to 750bhp.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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11 comments on “Le Mans Classic organisers retract claim Button will enter”

  1. My word if only the current Le Mans cars looked this good still. The clean lines in the bodywork, everything is in proportion, the wonderful liveries. The modern cars, are a monstrosity in comparison (in looks and noise)

    1. YES. That’s always my very first thought when seeing a car from that era – how strikingly beautiful they were, from the late 1980s up until 1998 precisely.

      1991 Mercedes – per-fe-ction:
      https://msmproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/2015/11/Mercedes2.jpg

      1. I never liked the prototype cars because they were always right next to the GT cars, and those look absolutely gorgeous, and always have. I’m a big fan of the new 911s, but basically any GT3 looks gorgeous.
        Although I really liked the 911 GT1 as well. I don’t think that competed as prototype though, did it?

        1. I love those Porsches as well – all you named @rahnarlsmenves ;) I also absolutely loved the GT1 class.

          The initial 911 GT1 raced – as the name says – in the GT1 category, as it was a limited-production street-legal car, just as any other super car I guess. The last version of it however, the 911 GT1-98 of 1998, although also competing in the GT1 class, was a prototype that had a street version just to satisfy the regulations. The line between prototypes and production sports cars was very blurred at the time, for obvious reasons, which was also exploited by Mercedes and Toyota.

      2. Lots of Tony’s cars were stunning! From the Lola days, up to the never-raced Ferrari and the 24hr winning Audis and Toyota endurance cars, Tony had a knack for making competetive and great looking cars.

        Very humble chap too – he flys model aircraft with my old man.

  2. So, Jenson has said that he would be too scared to race in IndyCar, but he’s going to drive a 1988 group C 750bhp monster at Le Mans. Hmm.
    That’s weird. If I was scared of racing a certain type of cars, other than pre-1990s single-seaters, I would be scared of racing exactly that type and generation of cars.

    1. It’s the closed cockpit :P

    2. I don’t think the Indycars themselves bothered him, more the type of circuit and style of racing. A Group C car on modern Le Mans doesn’t sound anything like as scary as driving some of the circuits Indy uses.

  3. Nice one Jenson! I was wondering when I’d find some time to sleep over Le Mans weekend. Watching Button drive anything is enough to put me to sleep instantly…

    1. Come on now Mr Psynrg, you should be taking your meds more often instead of relying on that nice Mr Button..

    2. Thank you! That’s funny. I was thinking something similar

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