Credit: LAT Images / Copyright: © 2023 Jake Galstad
Former Formula 1 and Super GT champion Jenson Button “enjoyed” his first IMSA race last weekend at Road Atlanta, which hosted an action-packed 10-hour Petit Le Mans race.
The 43-year-old Briton made his IMSA debut in a Porsche 963 Hybrid LMDh run by the JDC Miller MotorSports customer team.
Competing in the GTP class, he drove the #5 with the two full-time drivers Tijmen van der Helm and now Ford GTD works driver Mike Rockenfeller.
After the team finished in fifth position overall, Button said: “My first IMSA race, my first experience at Road Atlanta and my maiden event in the Porsche 963 – it was huge. I enjoyed every bit of it.
“I drove a great first stint and pushed myself more and more to the limits. There was a lot to learn about lapping traffic.
“The second stint was more difficult because the tyres required so many setting changes.
“Given my three hours of testing in the car, it was a lot of work.
“It was huge fun getting a chance to compete with the greats of the sport.”
Button took over the wheel of the #5 963 shortly after the halfway point, whereby the team were running at the tail end of the GTP field amidst a series of pit stops.
Within the first couple of laps, he had set the fastest race lap in the #5, thus demonstrating quick familiarity with the 963 package as he got up to speed.
Rockenfeller drove the longest over the course of the race with over four hours and 25 minutes, whilst IMSA debutant Button drove the least with his 1-hour-and-43-minute double stint.
The 2010 overall Daytona 24 Hours race winner also qualified the car on Friday in ninth out of 10 GTP cars, with a 1:18.204s lap time.
The most prominent focus for all drivers, especially those in the front-running GTPs, was the matter of traffic management with certain parts of Road Atlanta giving a better opportunity to overtake lapped traffic compared to sections such as the ‘esses’.
In particular, Button showed promising pace in the first and third sectors, having set what ended up as the 11th fastest S1 and the eighth fastest S3 times.
Managing the tyres was crucial in his second stint, with the need to make them last longer on track temperatures warmer than they were since free practice and qualifying.
Regarding heavy disruption throughout the 10-hour race, Button drove in a window considered the least eventful compared to the incident-filled opening two hours.
It was Button’s first race in a prototype since 2019 at Le Mans, when he raced the SMP Racing LMP1 and earlier this year at the Centenary edition he, Rockenfeller and seven-time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson drove the Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro next-gen cup car prepared by Hendrick Motorsports.
He will soon make a decision on whether he wants to take on a more involving IMSA GTP drive next year, as his debut left a positive impression.
Keyword: Button ‘enjoyed every bit’ of his IMSA Petit Le Mans debut