Rising Grand Prix star Jenson Button has fitted a vehicle tracking system, to protect his new BMW M5 anywhere in Europe, writes David Duffy.

About the size of a video cassette, eGUARD is hidden inside the car, making it virtually impossible to detect by a would-be thief.

Button, who gave the best performance of his F1 career so far at Spa last weekend, said: "I fitted eGUARD to my BMW M5 as it was highly recommended by my local dealer. It was fitted a the dealership in no time and helped reduce my insurance premium.

"My sister had her car stolen a while back and I remember how bad she felt about a stranger driving her car. eGUARD gives me peace of mind, especially when my car is parked on the road at night. I also like the added bonus of having pan-European coverage, especially when travelling between Grand Prix events in Europe." The system works by using the GPS network of satellites which surround the earth to provide an accurate 'fix' on the car and uses digital communications technology to follow the car wherever it goes. When activated, eGUARD can transmit the precise location and speed of a vehicle anywhere in Europe to a secure 24-hour monitoring centre.

The monitoring centre then displays the vehicle's location to within a few metres on accurate digital mapping. The position is forwarded to the nearest police force and the vehicle can be recovered.

Equipment and installation prices start at 399, rising to 499 for the Executive Europe system, plus monthly monitoring charges.