Jenson Button is set to follow in his father's footsteps with a full campaign in the Nitro Rallycross series with Xite Energy Racing.
Button's late father John made a name for himself in rallycross, and the 2009 F1 World Champion admitted that going off-road and emulating his dad will be a "pretty special" experience.
"There’s a real family connection with rallycross," explained Button. "Dad used to race in the late ’70s and ’80s in a Volkswagen Beetle and then a Volkswagen Golf.
"If you go on YouTube you’ll actually find some videos of my Dad racing at Lydden Hill with Murray Walker commentating.
"I’d like to emulate what he did – that would be pretty special. I used to love going along and watching him race. I remember it was so loud.
"That won’t be a problem this time – the FC1 is not loud; it’s awesome that the kids can come and watch and don’t need to wear headsets!"
🚨 Welcome to the team Jenson Button!!
We are so pleased to announce that @JensonButton will join our @NitroRallycross team for 2022, racing alongside @42obennett .
Let’s go team 🤙🏻#iamxite #NitroRX @XiteEnergy @myenergiuk @TravisPastrana pic.twitter.com/a95AYQBzHM
— XITE ENERGY RACING (@EnergyXite) April 12, 2022
Although it will be Button's first foray into rallycross, the former McLaren driver is no stranger to off-road racing, having taken part in the legendary Baja 1000 in 2019 and in the first round of last year's Extreme E series in Saudi Arabia, driving for his own JBXE outfit.
The Nitro RX series will include a calendar of 12 events that will extend into 2023. The championship will kick off in the UK at Lydden Hill in June, with competitors traveling thereafter to Sweden, Finland, the USA, Saudia Arabia and Canada.
"I want to go racing," said Button. "I love racing, I love competing and I want to have fun.
"Xite Energy has great experience of not just rallycross but also racing electric vehicles.
"It looks awesome. There’s so much action. There are some fantastic drivers driving some absolute beasts.
"Some of the jumps I’ll be flying over are extremely big and kind of scary, but that’s why it’s exciting to me as it’s a new challenge."
©XiteEnergyRacing
Button admitted that there was little common ground between F1 and rally cross, but that's precisely why the 42-year-old wants to go off-road, to embrace a new challenge.
“Rallycross is night and day different to F1 and that’s why I love it," he said.
"I left that after 17 years because I wanted to try something new. I’m all about new challenges. I’m a racing driver, not an F1 driver, so new challenges is what I’m all about.
"I felt I achieved what I needed to in F1 so it’s nice to try different things."
©XiteEnergyRacing
Button will race at Xite Energy Racing alongside teammate and team boss Oli Bennett.
"It’s great to work with Jenson," said the latter. "We competed against each other in Extreme E last season and immediately got on. He’s a great guy and somebody who’s going to be a great addition.
"As well as the circuit experience he brings, one of the things you notice immediately is the level of professionalism.
"You don’t become a F1 world champion without knowing how to get the best out of the car, the engineers, the team and everybody around you.
"I feel, as an organisation, we’ve already benefitted hugely from having him with us."
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