NickG1982
19-05-2007, 04:51 PM
Since it's 25 years this month since Gilles Villeneuve was killed at Zolder in 1982, I figured i'd put up a post remembering my all time racing hero.
I've been watching Formula 1 since I was 4 years old, been a dedicated follower since was 9. For my 13th birthday in 1995, my sister bought me a book entitled "Pirelli's Grand Prix Heroes", a large photo book focusing on some of the beloved and great drivers of the past, dating all the way back to the likes of Tazio Nuvalari's domination of the pre war era. One of the drivers featured in this book was Canadian Gilles Villeneuve...
Maybe it was my natural love for the Ferrari team that i've always had, or that Formula 1 in 1995 wasn't that great or perhaps I was still looking for a hero in the aftermath of Ayrton Senna's death a year earlier, regardless, the aged images of the wild eyed Villeneuve, throwing the iconic #27 Ferrari around with car control that seemed to defy all thoughts of what a car should be capable of, captured my imagination then and still does to this day.
In the space of less than 6 seasons, spanning the 1977 British GP to the 1982 Belgian, Villenueve won 6 Grand Prix and lost many more due to bad luck and circumstance. To this day he is considered by many fans to be the greatest driver to never win the world championship, to the point that in 1979 he conceded his only championship aspirations to allow team leader Jody Scheckter to win the title. Even more than any statistics can show, Villeneuve was regarded as one of the truly great competitors in history of the sport, a fierce but fair competitor, who despite his recklessness never endangered anyone else on the track but himself as Rene Arnoux said after their legendary battle in the 1979, "That there is no shame in losing, as I lost to the very best".
Gilles' greatest moments in Formula 1 are many, which is suprising for such a short career. The aforementioned duel with Arnoux in 1979, his practice laps in the rain at Watkins Glen in 1979 where he was over 10 seconds a lap faster than anyone else could manage, or his legenday drives hauling the terrible 1981 Ferrari to results that astounded rivals and fans alike, he is a reminder of a time when F1 was truly at its peak, one of the last of the truly great gentleman racers. A madman on the track and a gentleman off it.
For those who have never seen Villeneuve in action, some clips courtesy of Youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFxfPw1LoCg
The closing laps of France 1979 vs Rene Arnoux...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIJuqUsj7zA
http://www.gilles.villeneuve.com/english/
Amazing what you can write when you're bored eh? I know the bulk of the motorsport fans on this board would gravitate mainly to V8 Supercars and the like and not be interested in racing of the past, but I figured i'd write this anyway in tribute to an all time great.
I've been watching Formula 1 since I was 4 years old, been a dedicated follower since was 9. For my 13th birthday in 1995, my sister bought me a book entitled "Pirelli's Grand Prix Heroes", a large photo book focusing on some of the beloved and great drivers of the past, dating all the way back to the likes of Tazio Nuvalari's domination of the pre war era. One of the drivers featured in this book was Canadian Gilles Villeneuve...
Maybe it was my natural love for the Ferrari team that i've always had, or that Formula 1 in 1995 wasn't that great or perhaps I was still looking for a hero in the aftermath of Ayrton Senna's death a year earlier, regardless, the aged images of the wild eyed Villeneuve, throwing the iconic #27 Ferrari around with car control that seemed to defy all thoughts of what a car should be capable of, captured my imagination then and still does to this day.
In the space of less than 6 seasons, spanning the 1977 British GP to the 1982 Belgian, Villenueve won 6 Grand Prix and lost many more due to bad luck and circumstance. To this day he is considered by many fans to be the greatest driver to never win the world championship, to the point that in 1979 he conceded his only championship aspirations to allow team leader Jody Scheckter to win the title. Even more than any statistics can show, Villeneuve was regarded as one of the truly great competitors in history of the sport, a fierce but fair competitor, who despite his recklessness never endangered anyone else on the track but himself as Rene Arnoux said after their legendary battle in the 1979, "That there is no shame in losing, as I lost to the very best".
Gilles' greatest moments in Formula 1 are many, which is suprising for such a short career. The aforementioned duel with Arnoux in 1979, his practice laps in the rain at Watkins Glen in 1979 where he was over 10 seconds a lap faster than anyone else could manage, or his legenday drives hauling the terrible 1981 Ferrari to results that astounded rivals and fans alike, he is a reminder of a time when F1 was truly at its peak, one of the last of the truly great gentleman racers. A madman on the track and a gentleman off it.
For those who have never seen Villeneuve in action, some clips courtesy of Youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFxfPw1LoCg
The closing laps of France 1979 vs Rene Arnoux...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIJuqUsj7zA
http://www.gilles.villeneuve.com/english/
Amazing what you can write when you're bored eh? I know the bulk of the motorsport fans on this board would gravitate mainly to V8 Supercars and the like and not be interested in racing of the past, but I figured i'd write this anyway in tribute to an all time great.