By Dominik Wilde - Sep 26, 2024, 11:25 AM ET

Button latest pro to join Forza ‘Legend vs Leaderboard’ lineup

Earlier this year Mobil 1 and Forza Motorsport gave gamers the chance to pit themselves against professionals with the "Legend vs. Leaderboard Rival Events" series. Players could see if they could lap the game’s Maple Valley Raceway on the Xbox game faster than three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart and Indy NXT race winner Jamie Chadwick. Now 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has joined the fray.

The challenge, which is part of Mobil 1’s ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations, once again takes place on Maple Valley -- a fictional track that’s been a mainstay of the Forza Motorsport franchise -- with the 1971 Lotus Elan Sprint the car of choice.

“[The car I picked] is super slow. It's so slow,” said Button. “The funny thing about racing cars is they don't have to be fast to be fun. And it doesn't have to be fast to be competitive. Sometimes the slowest form of racing is the most fun."

“Lots of sideways, lots and lots of opposite entries and then trying to gather it all up. But it's amazing. Even when it's something that's slow. There's frustrating things to it so you don't want too much. But it was good fun."

The first two rounds of the Legend vs. Leaderboard series featured Stewart lapping in a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 (in 1m 57.453), and Chadwick in a 1970 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (in 1m 54.859).

The challenge with Button runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9, 2024, and can be accessed by logging into the Rivals section of Forza Motorsport.

As well as the opportunity to say you’re quicker than a bona fide motorsport legend, players can also be in with a shot at winning a custom in-game driver's suit.

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Dominik Wilde

Dominik often jokes that he was born in the wrong country – a lover of NASCAR and IndyCar, he covered both in a past life as a junior at Autosport in the UK, but he’s spent most of his career to date covering the sliding and flying antics of the U.S.’ interpretation of rallycross. Rather fitting for a man that says he likes “seeing cars do what they’re not supposed to do”, previously worked for a car stunt show, and once even rolled a rally car with Travis Pastrana. He was also comprehensively beaten in a kart race by Sebastien Loeb once, but who hasn’t been?

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