24h Le Mans
Along with Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya, Jenson Button is one of the most eagerly awaited competitors in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. But how is the entry of a driver with such an outstanding reputation covered in the media in his home country? We ask three British journalists (from the online media and printed press).
For Graham Goodwin (who works for www.dailysportscar.com), “Any Formula One World Champion is a public figure and Jenson has a personality that attracts the public mainstream media. Someone already popular sells newspapers, but Jenson’s appearance at Le Mans, head to head with Fernando Alonso, is bound to attract media attention. Jenson, like Fernando and Juan Pablo, is one of the 10 drivers whose reputation goes beyond Formula One, generating a great number of storylines about Le Mans and Formula One.”
“Jenson is extremely popular for Formula One audiences,” adds Eve Hewitt (Radio Le Mans). “He is a smiling and handsome guy, he is easy to talk to. Sportscars fans are always happy to see a driver from another discipline competing in endurance racing, even if Jenson is perhaps overshadowed by Alonso’s presence.”
“Jenson Button competes with a privateer and not a manufacturer,” muses Gary Watkins, a highly respected writer on weekly magazine Autosport. “But if he gets a good result, maybe a podium, he will get plenty of coverage. It will be a big deal for specialized media.”
Eve Hewitt insists, “British fans are very patriotic so Jenson will receive an enormous support, since he can score a potential podium or win.”
The last word, however, on Button’s maiden Le Mans goes to an insightful Graham Goodwin: “Jenson knows he is not in the fastest car, but he knows the history of this race, and anything can happen.”
