
Driving Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey’s Jaguar E-type, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion jumped poleman Bill Shepherd’s AC Cobra on the run to Fordwater on the opening lap.
Button streaked away from the field and was 13.9 seconds clear when the first safety car was called. He immediately started building a lead at the restart, breaking the GT lap record and leaving it at 1m23.799s.