On the morning of Friday 1 June, Jenson Button completed his mandatory simulator session in Paris before heading to Le Mans, ready for the Test Day on Sunday 3 June.

Jenson Button has cleared the first hurdle on the route to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 2009 Formula One world champion stopped off in Tigéry, near Paris, to practice negotiating the 24-Hours circuit in the AOTech simulator, an exercise all first-timers are required to complete before taking the wheel in Le Mans for real. The SMP Racing crew member welcomed the opportunity to practice complying with the specific rules, which differ from other motorsport disciplines.

Brimming with enthusiasm as the French 24-hour marathon draws near (16-17 June), Button is delighted to be in the company of several Le Mans rookies from other disciplines. “Seeing Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya and a host of other talented drivers in the line-up shows the attraction of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the whole FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).”

The British driver is already looking forward to continuing in the FIA WEC after Le Mans, which means racing on home ground at Silverstone on 19 August, and in Fuji on 14 October before a crowd of Super GT fans with whom he is also very popular.  

Meanwhile, Button was keen to join his SMP Racing teammates Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin who are already at the circuit in Le Mans.