Button to race in Super GT full-time in 2018

Jenson Button decided IndyCar racing is too dangerous

2009 World Champion Jenson Button is set to return to full-time competition in 2018 with Honda in the Japan-based Super GT championship.

Button raced in Formula 1 from 2000 to 2016 but stepped away from a race seat for 2017, though remained affiliated with McLaren, deputizing for Indianapolis-bound Fernando Alonso in Monaco.

Button outlined his desire to return to racing in 2018 and participated in Super GT's Suzuka 1000km in August, and will now join the series full-time next season.

Button will compete for Honda, with the announcement coming at the manufacturer's Thanks Day at Motegi, though no team or co-drivers have yet been confirmed.

"I'm very excited," said Button.

"I'll be racing for Honda in Super GT in 2018, it's been a dream for the last couple of years and I love the category.

Scott Dixon heading toward inches from instant death

"I did one race at Suzuka and it got me excited.

"[There's] a lot of testing to be done to feel comfortable and hopefully improve the package."

Honda is one of three manufacturers competing in the category, along with Lexus and Nissan.

The eight-round Super GT begins at Okayama in April and encompasses events at Suzuka, Sugo, Autopolis, Motegi, two visits to Fuji and a trip to Thailand's Chang circuit.

Watch as Scott Dixon comes inches from death in the 2017 Indy 500. A few more degrees of rotation and Dixon's head hits the wall and he dies instantly. With no canopies to protect the driver, the Jenson Buttons of the world won't touch IndyCar.