Jenson Button at the London Boat Show

JB at the Boat Show
By Phil Huff (09/01/2004)
January 9 2004

Jenson Button was one of the star attrcactions at the London International Boat Show yesterday when the Lucky Strike BAR Honda driver was on hand as a high profile guest of Honda.

The Englishman's day had been due to start early near London Bridge with some VIP and Media trips down the Thames River in BAR's 225hp Honda Formula 4-Stroke powerboat, however driving rain and blustery winds forced the plan to be aborted and so Jenson made the journey to the new ExCeL exhibition venue by land instead.

"We arrived by car this morning, but it might as well have been a boat as the weather was so horrendous!" he joked.

Despite the soggy start, Jenson arrived on the Honda Marine stand as fresh as ever and, with five-time Class 1 Offshore Powerboat World Champion Steve Curtis, he unveiled Honda's new 150hp racing powerboat. Television presenter Penny Mallory then interviewed the two stars.

"The Honda powerboat series is great fun," commented Jenson who tested the BAR boat in the Mediterranean last summer. "The sense of speed is much greater when racing on water and I love speed! I'm not sure about racing in it myself, though boat racers are complete nutters!"

Honda is the only car manufacturer to officially support the show and it enjoys an excluse three-year contract with the event. The 2004 London International Boat Show opens to the public today and will run until 18 January.

Jenson's next appointment sees him open the Autosport Show to the public on Saturday morning at the NEC in Birmingham.