Every year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans It is undoubtedly one of the most special races on the motorsport calendar, but the 2023 edition will be even more so, if possible because the mythical Resistance event celebrates its 100th edition. And among the many incentives that the appointment on 10 June, with a lineup of many carats among the Hypercars, will be the union of two disciplines as different as WEC and Nascar through a car that will be driven by a luxury lineup led by Jenson Button.
The 2009 F1 champion joins Jimmie Johnson, seven-time Nascar Champion, and Mike Rockenfeller, two-time winner at Le Mans, in the ‘Garage 56’ project with which they will compete in La Sarthe at the wheel of a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 modified based on the next generation cars of the Nascar Cup Series. A collaboration between the great North American championship, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear with which they hope to attract attention in one of the most notable editions of Le Mans.
“I always dreamed of driving certain cars, with and against certain drivers and competing in certain events. In June, several of those dreams will come true.” says Button as excited as Johnson: “I’m super excited, racing at Le Mans one day has been at the top of my wish list. It’s a really incredible opportunity.” And Rockenfeller, the person in charge of doing the first tests of the car, “a great honor” for him, says that “having Jimmie and Jenson as partners is incredible.”
The best representation for Nascar
The project was presented in advance of the 24 Hours of Daytona that open the IMSA season, the American Resistance Championship, also with the presence of Jim Frances, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR. “Since the beginning of the Garage 56 project, Our goal has been to partner with the best drivers to represent us at Le Mans and this lineup is everything we could have dreamed of: three elite drivers who have won at the highest levels of motorsports”, he stated.
