Yahoo Autos Button goes full-time in WEC Hypercar with JOTA Porsche
Jenson Button is set to join Hertz Team JOTA for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season in the team’s No. 38 Porsche 963 LMDh prototype in the Hypercar class.
This move will see Button going full-time to the FIA WEC with the British team, after the 2009 Formula 1 world champion’s one-off appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year as part of the NASCAR Garage 56 effort. It also adds to his recent Porsche LMDh drive with JDC-Miller at Petit Le Mans back in October.
Next season, Button will share the privately run No. 38 Porsche with Phil Hanson and Oliver Rasmussen. He is the final JOTA driver to be revealed ahead of the season opener in March at Qatar after the team confirmed that Hanson, Rasmussen, Norman Nato, Callum Ilott and Will Stevens will all form part of its expanded two-car Hypercar effort.
As part of the drive, Button will head to Le Mans for his third start. Prior to running at La Sarthe in the Hendrick Motorsports-prepped Camaro ZL1 back in June, Button competed with SMP Racing in LMP1 back in 2018.
Button has been increasingly focused on sports cars since his Le Mans run with the NASCAR Garage 56 team. Motorsport Images
“I’m thrilled to be racing with Hertz Team JOTA in the 2024 World Endurance Championship alongside my teammates Oliver Rasmussen and Phil Hanson,” said Button. “Both already have a lot of experience in endurance racing and that is key. Endurance racing is about teamwork and there is no better team than Hertz Team JOTA to be taking on the big manufacturers in Hypercars. I’m already looking forward to the first race in Qatar but also know there’s a lot of work to be done so that we arrive prepared.”
Before the WEC season gets underway, Button will also compete at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January as a one-off appearance. In what will be his Rolex 24 debut, he will drive in WTR Andretti’s No. 40 Acura ARX-06 alongside Jordan Taylor, Louis Delétraz and Colton Herta.
“It’s an honor to have Jenson Button — a hugely successful driver across many racing disciplines — competing full-time in the WEC next year,” said Frédéric Lequien, FIA WEC CEO. “With nine manufacturers in the Hypercar category next year, including star names such as Jenson confirmed on the grid, everything is now in place for the WEC to have its most spectacular season yet.”
