How Crazy Would Jenson Button Joining Global Rallycross Be?

Formula One vet Jenson Button says he wants to run rallycross in 2017. It would be insane – and beneficial – if he were to join Red Bull Global Rallycross.

Jenson Button is taking a hiatus from Formula One in 2017, and if he has his way the 36-year-old McLaren driver will be running rallycross.

Speaking to Sky Sports last month Button declared his intention to fill at least part of his time off with other forms of racing, saying, “I’ll definitely do some karting in the future, and probably rallycross as well. That I’m very fond of and it’s very close to my heart.”

Both options are within reason; the 2009 Formula One World Champion began his career in karting and his father John Button was a successful rallycross driver.

But it’s the rallycross one that looks the most interesting.

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Button hasn’t firmed up any specific plans yet, and it stands to reason that when the Briton said “rallycross” he was thinking of the FIA World Rallycross Championship or its sibling FIA European Rallycross Championship – both successful leagues close to home.

Yet let’s indulge for a second. Let’s engage in a wild, back-court heave of theory and throw out another idea: what if somehow Button were lured to drive in Red Bull Global Rallycross?

Jenson Button driving in Red Bull GRC would set that world on fire. Global Rallycross is desperately in need of another big-name participant, both on and off the track. Fan favorite Ken Block exited GRC after a difficult 2015 season to compete full-time in the WRC and no one has been able to fill that hole.

As a result, large portions of the 2016 GRC season have been dominated by Andretti Autosport teammates Tanner Foust and Scott Speed. While Foust and Speed are phenomenal drivers and great personalities, they can’t do it all alone. They’re like the Team Penske of Global Rallycross; they need someone to mix it up with.

How about a Formula One champion? Someone who’s had 15 wins and 50 podiums against elite open-wheel competition? An experienced racer with nothing to lose given that McLaren holds an option for him to return as a driver in 2018? That’d make things very interesting.

Adding Jenson Button would also be a tremendous boost to the business side of Global Rallycross as well. He has worldwide recognition, which many of GRC’s drivers sadly don’t. He’d be someone that people would want to come to the track to see.

That’s an instant marketing chip that the league needs. GRC is a fantastic sport but 2016 has been a challenging year. The schedule changed, dropping some major markets like Detroit and Las Vegas, while the car count has gotten so sometimes it doesn’t matter what happpens in the Last Chance Qualifier because almost everyone will transfer anyway.

What would Button get out of the move? He’d be an instant star in the league, and he’d have some appealing competition. GRC racers like Foust, Speed and Brian Deegan hold nothing back and they would certainly give him some hard-fought battles. The first time Button came back missing a tire, or with his car on fire, that’d get him the full rallycross experience.

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This probably isn’t likely to happen. Button would have to decamp from Monaco and head to the U.S., and that’s before you factor in any financials and his commitments to McLaren next year. From a logistics standpoint Jenson Button coming to Red Bull Global Rallycross would be a minor miracle.

But it would also be amazing, and beneficial for both sides. Too bad there’s a massive ocean between Button and GRC.

What do you think of Jenson Button pursuing rallycross in 2017?

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