The latest big name has been confirmed for the Le Mans Classic

Jenson Button will drive a Jaguar XJR-9 at this year’s 2018 Le Mans Classic on July 6-8. The 2009 Formula 1 champion will enter the 24 hour event alongside endurance stars such as Derek Bell, Klaus Ludwig, Henri Pescarolo and Jochen Mass, in the JD Classics-prepared Big Cat. 

The car, chassis #688, made its competitive debut at Brno in 1988, with Johnny Dumfries and Jan Lammers claiming third. Martin Brundle later drove the car at Spa in 1988, finishing second alongside Lammers.

It was returned to the TWR factory after the 1989 480km race at Brands Hatch, before being passed through the hands of several collectors, before being restored and sold by JD Classics at auction in 2017.

Related: Tony Southgate and Norbert Singer look back on Le Mans 1988

Jaguar’s Group C XJR-9 prototype made its debut at the 1988 Daytona 24 Hours in Castrol colours, before it was dressed in the iconic Silk Cut livery in which it took six victories at the 1988 World Sports Prototype Championship.

Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace scored Jaguar’s first Le Mans victory in more than 30 years at the helm of the V12-powered machine. 

The XJR 9 was built by TWR and Jaguar, designed by Tony Southgate, and powered by a seven-litre V12 Jaguar engine.

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