It took quite some time, but an entity finally lured the 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button to compete in rallycross, as the British driver will represent XITE Racing in the new Group E class present in Nitro Rallycross.
Before the confirmation that will be Oliver Bennett’s team mate onboard a pair of Olsbergs MSE FC1-Xs, he already sampled a bit of rallycross by doing some laps in the JRM Mini Countryman RX and in the Olsbergs MSE Honda Civic RX, and he always considered the possibility of competing in the discipline to follow the steps of his father John Button, who was kicking up dirt in the early years of rallycross onboard a Volkswagen Beetle.
Recently the currently team mates were rivals in the Extreme E championship, with each featuring their own team, but while Button opted to sit out after one round and focus on JBXE’s management, Bennett kept going in 2021 with Hispano Suiza XITE Racing alongside Christine GZ. This is reason enough to say that both Button and Bennett aren’t jumping in a 1000 hp electric monster with zero experience, but the FC1-X may prove to be quite different from the Odyssey21 model and even from the combustion powered RX supercars.
Bennett already tested the FC1-X in the snowy Swedish landscape, giving him a good head start, but Button has experience in multiple types of machinery, with Formula 1, GT500 and LMP1 being some of the top specs where he was into, being champion in Super GT along with his F1 laurels.
The British pair will coincidentally debut at home soil, with the Group E class opening the Nitro RX season along with the supercars at Lydden Hill on 19 June.
PHOTO: XITE Racing
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