Spare A Moment For Gilles
#1
Posted 07 May 2007 - 08:02 PM
Formula1.com
This Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Gilles Villeneuve, a driver widely regarded as one of the greatest talents Formula One racing has ever produced. Between 1978 and 1981 Villeneuve took six victories for Ferrari. He passed away on May 8, 1982 after crashing in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. By way of a tribute, we take a look back at what many remember as the French-Canadian’s finest hour - his epic battle with Rene Arnoux at Dijon…
The 1979 French Grand Prix was a landmark race for several reasons. Jean Pierre Jabouille gave Renault their maiden Formula One win and it was the first victory for a turbocharged car. Few people, however, remember these facts. So intense was the fight for second place between Villeneuve and Arnoux in the sister Renault, that it overshadowed pretty much everything else. It was racing at its finest.
With a five-week break between the French Grand Prix and the preceding Monaco round, most Formula One teams had been testing intensively. When they arrived at Dijon, the Renaults were blisteringly fast and duly took the front row of the grid in qualifying. They were followed by Villeneuve, Nelson Piquet's Brabham, championship leader Jody Scheckter in the second Ferrari and Piquet’s team mate Niki Lauda.
At the start of the race Villeneuve got the jump on the Renaults and took the lead ahead of Jabouille and Scheckter, as Arnoux fell all the way back to ninth. The opening laps saw a superb recovery drive from Arnoux as lap after lap he picked off the cars ahead to take third place on lap 15. Despite his poor start, the Frenchman and his turbocharged Renault looked a force to be reckoned with.
This fact wasn't lost on Villeneuve who, with a now ill-handling Ferrari, slipped behind Jabouille on lap 47. The yellow Renault disappeared off into the distance and didn't look back. Villeneuve, meanwhile, was being pulled in at a rate of knots by Arnoux. On lap 78 of 80, battle commenced.
Arnoux blasted past the French-Canadian on that lap but then his engine started to misfire. Maybe the turbo wasn't as perfect as everybody thought? Villeneuve, despite his Ferrari now handling atrociously, slipped back ahead on lap 79. The last lap would go down in legend, as corner after corner the pair raced flat out, two-abreast for the majority of the lap. Tyres touching, both cars bumping around over the rumble strips, millimetres away from causing an accident, both drivers wanted second place and neither would give up. As the sparks flew, the fans held their breath in awe, anticipation, fear and excitement. If either driver made a mistake, the ending was unlikely to be a happy one.
Then, on the exit of the final corner Arnoux ran just a fraction wide - it was enough for Villeneuve to sweep through to clinch second place. Jabouille had crossed the line 15 seconds earlier, heralding the dawn of the turbocharged era, but few fans had noticed. The only image people carried from the 1979 French Grand Prix was of two drivers putting everything on the line out of grit, determination and pride. Some thought it was out of stupidity, though, and both drivers were reprimanded.
Villeneuve would recall the race with affection: "That is my best memory of Grand Prix racing. Those few laps were just so fantastic to me - out-braking each other and trying to race for the line, touching each other but without wanting to put the other car out. It was just these two guys battling for second place without trying to be dirty but having to touch because of wanting to be first. I loved that moment."
And so did the fans...

______
Give me a roof over my head, some food to eat and a fast car. That's all I need.
That's all I'll ever need.
----Robert Kubica
"Gilles was the last great driver. The rest of us are just a bunch of good professionals."
----Alain Prost
The only true sports are motor racing and mountain climbing; everything else is just a game.
TF1 Blogs: be afraid, be very, very afraid..........
#2
Posted 07 May 2007 - 08:26 PM
Hey. There's no general toast emoticon... They're all celebratory!
-- Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961. (Emphasis mine).
"I'll never understand people. Even being one doesn't seem to help." -- Spider Robinson, Callahan's Key
"If two men are starving and cannibalism is the only alternative to death, which man's right is 'unalienable'? And is it 'right'?" -- RAH, ST
#3
Posted 07 May 2007 - 11:56 PM

______
Give me a roof over my head, some food to eat and a fast car. That's all I need.
That's all I'll ever need.
----Robert Kubica
"Gilles was the last great driver. The rest of us are just a bunch of good professionals."
----Alain Prost
The only true sports are motor racing and mountain climbing; everything else is just a game.
TF1 Blogs: be afraid, be very, very afraid..........
#4
Posted 08 May 2007 - 12:30 AM
-- Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961. (Emphasis mine).
"I'll never understand people. Even being one doesn't seem to help." -- Spider Robinson, Callahan's Key
"If two men are starving and cannibalism is the only alternative to death, which man's right is 'unalienable'? And is it 'right'?" -- RAH, ST
#5
Posted 08 May 2007 - 02:13 AM
So on this the 25th anniversary of his death I spare a thought and give time for reflection.
RIP Gilles, you will never be forgotten

"Giancarlo, you are still two seconds a lap slower than Fernando, this cannot be possible you have the same fuel load, I know you have some understeer but you cannot be two seconds slower, COME ON"!!!! - Alan Permane, Fisichella�s race engineer, 2006 Australian Grand Prix
"We're lucky we don't build aeroplanes" - Mark Webber on Red Bulls reliability issues at the Australian Grand Prix 2008.
Nathan is: .............. ??
#6
Posted 08 May 2007 - 03:45 AM
aussief1, on May 7 2007, 09:13 PM, said:
So on this the 25th anniversary of his death I spare a thought and give time for reflection.
RIP Gilles, you will never be forgotten
Never argue with an idiot, they bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Dilbert
If your lips are extended beyond your nose then you are about to do something rude. - Scott Adams
#7
Posted 08 May 2007 - 04:56 AM
aussief1, on May 8 2007, 12:13 PM, said:
So on this the 25th anniversary of his death I spare a thought and give time for reflection.
RIP Gilles, you will never be forgotten
My thoughts exactly. I watched some youtube footage and read the article about him on F1.com. what a legend!! I've changed my signature to mark this 25th year since his death. RIP Gilles
#8
Posted 08 May 2007 - 05:12 AM
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."
#9
Posted 08 May 2007 - 11:41 AM
Sadly though... I was also one of the unfortunate ones that had to witness the tragedy of his passing.
I "think" though... that if Gilles had to choose how to pass on to the next life... he probably got his wish.
Cheers Gilles
to optimize Long Term Reproductive Yield!!!!
#10
Posted 08 May 2007 - 11:58 AM
Thank heavens for Gilles and people like him, who through their talent make the world just a bit brighter.
Rules are written for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men
#11
Posted 08 May 2007 - 01:26 PM
For me is not on historical F1 driver podium, but he was the most spectacular driver of the F1 History!!!!!
#12
Posted 08 May 2007 - 03:25 PM
It's unfortunate that I haven't had even a look at a single video clip of him racing. Hope to do it soon.
#14
Posted 04 June 2007 - 11:03 PM
http://blog.myspace....89-7e16635ce03b
#15
Posted 05 June 2007 - 04:02 AM

#16
Posted 05 June 2007 - 12:16 PM
"There is nothing lower than the human race except the French."
- Mark Twain
#17
Posted 06 June 2007 - 03:41 AM
mikathegreat2, on Jun 5 2007, 10:16 PM, said:
It is a beautiful track with the lake in the centre making it look much like Albert Park. The lake to the right hand side is a rowing lake that the Montreal Rowing club use.
One of my favourite tracks of the year.
I wonder if the "Wall of Champions" will claim the only Champion on the grid. Watch out Fernando!!!
Edited by aussief1, 06 June 2007 - 03:42 AM.

"Giancarlo, you are still two seconds a lap slower than Fernando, this cannot be possible you have the same fuel load, I know you have some understeer but you cannot be two seconds slower, COME ON"!!!! - Alan Permane, Fisichella�s race engineer, 2006 Australian Grand Prix
"We're lucky we don't build aeroplanes" - Mark Webber on Red Bulls reliability issues at the Australian Grand Prix 2008.
Nathan is: .............. ??
#18
Posted 06 June 2007 - 04:47 AM
aussief1, on Jun 6 2007, 01:41 PM, said:
One of my favourite tracks of the year.
I wonder if the "Wall of Champions" will claim the only Champion on the grid. Watch out Fernando!!!
Whats the wall of champions?
#19
Posted 06 June 2007 - 05:35 AM
The 1997 Canadian Grand Prix was stopped early due to a huge accident involving Olivier Panis. Panis spun off and broke his legs. He was sidelined for nine races and some see it, unfortunately for Panis, as a turning point in the career of the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner. In 1999, the final corner of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve became well-known for catching out former World Champions. Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed into the same wall which had the slogan Bienvenue au Québec (Welcome to Quebec in English) on it. The wall became affectionately known as the "Wall of Champions". The wall also caught out Ricardo Zonta, who, at the time, was a reigning sports car champion. In recent years, World Champion Fernando Alonso, GP2 Champion Nico Rosberg and CART Champion Juan Pablo Montoya have also fallen victim to the wall.
Excuse the underlining
Edited by Jez, 06 June 2007 - 03:43 PM.
#20
Posted 06 June 2007 - 05:45 AM

"Giancarlo, you are still two seconds a lap slower than Fernando, this cannot be possible you have the same fuel load, I know you have some understeer but you cannot be two seconds slower, COME ON"!!!! - Alan Permane, Fisichella�s race engineer, 2006 Australian Grand Prix
"We're lucky we don't build aeroplanes" - Mark Webber on Red Bulls reliability issues at the Australian Grand Prix 2008.
Nathan is: .............. ??
#21
Posted 06 June 2007 - 07:12 AM
aussief1, on Jun 6 2007, 03:45 PM, said:
No worries, thanks for trying. I read Peters Windsors thoughts about that particular corner in this article from ITV.com. Theres a bit of Hami worship at the end, but still an interesting read-
[Why has a relatively simple chicane at the final turn in Montreal caused so many big names to embarrass themselves over the years?
Actually, I think it’s even more surprising that so many “great” drivers mess up their braking for the first corner – the tight left and right.This, I think, is because it requires most of the braking to be carried out in loaded conditions; finding a “flat car” is not easy at this point of the lap – particularly when you are racing and thinking of the exit of two, rather than the entry to one.
Returning to your question, though, I guess it’s because the Montreal circuit is relatively “low” on downforce and because, therefore, it is relatively easy to benefit from a tow on that long straight leading to the last corner.
Drivers who normally find themselves having to sit behind an astoundingly precise Jarno Trulli suddenly see that they are picking up revs and can pull out of the tow as the braking area approaches… and then they panic because they are in foreign territory, either off-line down the inside or braking too late on the outside… They bump over the apex kerb, the car jumps sideways, they decide to call it quits… and it’s too late.
Meanwhile, the astoundingly precise Jarno Trulli has braked at exactly the same place, turned in at exactly the same rate and has long disappeared into the distance…
Can’t wait to see Lewis in Montreal, though.
Lewis an inch off-line and a tad too quick. Lewis driving with fingertips and velvety touch. Lewis crushing them into submission with his stunning, innate feel for track position.]
#22
Posted 06 June 2007 - 01:29 PM
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