Button: I grew up with rallycross

McLaren driver Jenson Button made a visit to Lydden Hill – home to the British round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy – as both drivers tested a pair of Supercars as part of a BBC F1 feature which will be aired later this year.

Button, whose father John competed in rallycross in the 1970s, spoke of an “unbelievable experience” as he took a trip down memory lane at the wheel of a 1974 VW Beetle – similar to the car that his late father John used to race in the British Rallycross Championship throughout the 1970s and ‘80s.

He later swapped to drive a JRM Racing prepared MINI RX Supercar while 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard took to the track in the Citroen DS3 RX Supercar that Britain’s Liam Doran currently uses in World RX.

"[This] has been a mega experience and completely different to what I am used to,” grinned Button after jumping out of the JRM MINI. “You need a huge amount of skill to drive these cars – on your own it’s scary enough, never mind going up against another four or five other drivers!"

"World RX is an exciting championship and it’s great to see the sport growing again like it was in the eighties both in the British and on the world scene. Everybody racing in single-seaters or in circuit racing regards rallycross as very professional and a lot of fun,” he added.

The 2009 Formula 1 Champion also took a moment to reminisce about his childhood as Button spoke fondly of the time he spent as a child in the rallycross paddock: “I grew up with rallycross – I used to watch my dad racing back in the mid-eighties and I used to love hearing the car. I would not have become an F1 World Champion if it hadn’t been for my dad and the grassroots of rallycross – that was where I caught the motorsport bug. "

"[It] has brought back some really nice memories but since then, I’ve also enjoyed watching World RX on TV. I remember seeing the footage from the Finnish round of the Championship last year and confirmed just how great it is in real life too,” mused Button.

Also in action was BBC F1 commentator Coulthard who no stranger to World RX having gone head-to-head with Petter Solberg in a Marklund Motorsport Polo RX Supercar at last year’s Race of Champions.

“Rallycross is highly skilled, because the drivers have to deal with an ever-evolving mix of asphalt and gravel that changes from lap to lap. I have tremendous respect for rallycross drivers, because there are just so many more variables,” explained the Scotsman, who also attended last year’s Norwegian RX round.