Super GT title ‘just as big’ as F1 crown claims Button after triumph at tense Motegi finale
Jenson Button feels winning the Super GT title in his debut season is “just as big” an achievement as his Formula 1 championship success in 2009.
Button and Kunimitsu Honda teammate Naoki Yamamoto clinched the 2018 GT500 title by finishing third in the Motegi finale, beating TOM’S Lexus drivers Nick Cassidy and Ryo Hirakawa by just three points.
With that result, Button became the first rookie driver to win a title in the premier class of Super GT since Toranosuke Takagi achieved the same feat in 2005, while he and Yamamoto ended Honda’s seven-year title drought.
The 38-year-old likened his Super GT success to his 2009 F1 campaign, in which he caused a major upset by winning the championship with Brawn GP.
“That was a tough race,” Button said. “They are never easy and that’s what makes it extra-special.
“This championship is one of the toughest in the world. That’s coming from someone who has raced in F1 for so many years.
“I feel a bit like a visitor to this team because these guys have been fighting for so long.
“I couldn’t be happier. It’s a long time coming from me.
“The last championship I won was nine years ago. That was quite a big one, and this for me at the moment feels just as big. This is so important.”
Button had to withstand heavy pressure from Hirakawa in the closing stages of the race while the two battled through GT300 traffic, but he managed to break away from his Lexus rival on the penultimate lap to seal the title.