Jacques Villeneuve, Sr.

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Last updated: 5-February-2002

Biography

Before Formula One Formula One After Formula One

Background
Brother to Gilles and uncle to Jacques a Canadian motorsport institution
Motor racing can often turn out to be a rather nepotistic, dynastic affair. Take, for example, the Andrettis, Unsers and Pettys in America, the Hills in Britain, and the Brabhams in Australia. The Canadian equivalent, undoubtedly, would be the Villeneuves from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec. But while international race fans have been besotted with firstly Gilles and then his son Jacques, few will recall the efforts of Gilles' younger brother, and hence Jacques' uncle, Jacques Villeneuve Sr.
I doubt that Canadian fans would be equally blissfully ignorant, for although Jacques Sr only has 3 measly DNQs to show on his F1 record, his versatility on the track, in the snow, and now even in the water has seen him become something of a Canadian racing institution. In the last two decades he has been an omnipresent figure in Canadian motorsports, rarely venturing to race outside North America, but setting several landmarks of his own despite not having the aura or popularity of his brother and nephew.

1976
'Mononcle' seen as a joker by Canadian media; starts in snowmobiles
But even if he is by no means hopeless, he has always been seen as something of an odd man out in his family. Perhaps this has more to do with his character than his ability, for in contrast to Gilles and Jacques Jr's charm, Jacques Sr has always had more of a joker about him. Philippe Barsalou tells us in the Canadian media he has the derogatory nickname 'Mononcle' (a term for 'uncle' in joual, the Cockney of Quebec), because not only is he Jacques Jr's uncle, he also speaks unintelligible joual!
By the mid-1970s, Gilles had already begun to wow the crowds in Europe, but Jacques Sr was only just beginning to take his first tentative steps in car racing as a youngster barely out of his teens. After finding success in snowmobile racing in Canada over the northern winter months, in 1976 he entered the Honda Civic Volant Quebecois, a championship for identical showroom Honda Civics, the brainchild of Montreal journalist Gilles Boursier.

Jacques taking victory in his debut Honda Civic Volant event in 1976.

1976-78
Only interested in first; but countback leaves him second in Jim Russell school
Before his first race he made his intentions clear: "You can be certain that there is only one position I am interested in and it's first. I am not going to save the paint job here, I will give everything to be up front. It is in my nature, that's all!" And in his debut outing at Mont Tremblant, he was true to his word. From 5th on the grid he dropped to 7th early, but fought back to take the lead by lap 11, a lead he did not relinquish for the rest of the 15-lap event.
By year's end he had secured Rookie of the Year honours, and in 1977 he took out the title altogether. He then continued to race in a few events of the BF Goodrich Honda Series in 1978, taking two wins and winding up 5th overall, but by this stage he had his sights set of moving up the motor racing ladder, and for most of 1978 he actually raced Formula Fords in the Jim Russell School Championship, tying for 1st place with Marc Dancose but being relegated to 2nd on a count-back.

1979-82
Back to back Formula Atlantic Champion, but left behind in Can-Am
Undaunted, in 1979 he moved up to Formula Atlantic, and with a 2nd and 4th in six races he impressed en route to becoming Rookie of the Year. A fast learner, by 1980 he had won four races and become champion driving for Pierre Phillips, repeating the dose in 1981 with four more victories at Mosport, Mid-Ohio, Mexico and Trois-Rivieres and another title. And despite not having raced in any of the European feeder categories, his performances were enough to earn him his first F1 berth by the end of 1981.
But come 1982, a tragic year for the Villeneuve family, Jacques was unable to get a drive in any major open-wheeler category, and thus spent the bulk of the year racing Can-Am sports cars. Driving for both Chuck Storrie Racing and Canadian Tyre Racing in a Lola T296 and T294 Ford, and an Osella PA9 and PA8 BMW, he recorded a best of 4th at Mosport in 7 entries and came 4th in the under 2-litre class with 27 points. That year he also made a one-off start in CART, taking an Eagle 81 Cosworth to 14th at Phoenix.

Victories at Mosport, Mid-Ohio, Mexico and Trois-Rivieres gave Villeneuve the 1981 Formula Atlantic chapionship.

1976-83
Wins Can-Am title; his snowmobile exploits keeping him a well-known figure
In 1983 he continued in Can-Am, still with the Canadian Tyre Racing team, but with a Frissbee GR2 and GR3 Chevrolet at his disposal, he was an outright contender. And so he proved, with 3 wins, two 2nd places and 5 fastest laps, scoring 96 points to Jim Crawford's 93 in taking the title. Villeneuve also competed at Le Mans that year, a round of the European Sportscar Championship, failing to finish in his Brun Motorsport Sehcar C83 with fellow Canadians Ludwig Heimrath and David Deacon after a water leak.
A word too about his snowmobile exploits in the northern winters during this period. Having established himself as a Sno-Pro snowmobile racer of note, he raced unsuccessfully on Kawasaki 'Big K' machines in 1976-7. But Jacques bounced back, and in 1980 won the prestigious Eagle River Snowmobile Derby event, a self-proclaimed World Championship of snowmobile racing, on a Ski-Doo. He then took a second title at Eagle River in 1982, winning $11,300 after handling the bitterly cold conditions best of all.

1981
Arrows
Replaces Stohr for his home GP, joining Gilles in the F1 paddock
Some may consider jumping up from Formula Atlantic straight into Formula One as a rather daunting thing to do, but at the end of 1981 that's exactly what Jacques Sr did. For the final two races of the season at Montreal and Las Vegas, the Arrows team were looking for a replacement for an out-of-sorts Siegfried Stohr (who had been somewhat unnerved since a bizarre start-line accident at Zolder earlier in the year which had almost killed one of his own mechanics), to partner lead driver Riccardo Patrese.
Villeneuve was perhaps an unlikely choice to drive the Pirelli-shod A3 machine powered by a Cosworth engine, but with his brother Gilles driving for Ferrari, the decision to go with Jacques was probably good for some publicity and a few local sponsorship dollars. But it was always going to be very tough for the younger of the Villeneuve brothers to step up from Formula Atlantic and be on the pace, especially in an aging car, although Patrese had managed two podium finishes with it earlier in the year.

Jacques during his F1 debut on home soil in Montreal in 1981.

1981
Jacques four spots off the grid, but faster than Warwick and Gabbiani
Although he had been around the track in Atlantics and on snowmobiles, nothing could have prepared him for the steep learning curve. A shunt in practice damaging the front end of his car limited his track time, and come qualifying Jacques really had little chance, particularly since only the top 24 would qualify. And while he managed to go quicker than Derek Warwick's Toleman and Beppe Gabbiani's Osella, he was 7.518s off the lap time set by Nelson Piquet in the Brabham, and only good enough for 28th fastest.
The others to fail to qualify were the Fittipaldis of Keke Rosberg and Chico Serra and the Toleman of Brian Henton. Patrese had made it in 18th spot, while Gilles had struggled a little bit and would only start 11th. Jacques might have been glad to sit out the race, though, for it was held in horrendously difficult wet conditions, in which Patrese spun off but Gilles charged through to claim 3rd place behind John Watson's McLaren and Jacques Laffite's Talbot Ligier.

1981
Villeneuve again on the sidelines, while his teammate takes 11th on the grid
Jacques Sr remained in the Arrows car for the season-ending event at Las Vegas, held on the most Mickey Mouse circuit ever devised by man, within the confines of the Caesar's Palace car park. Again 24 out of the 30 entries would start the race, and again Villeneuve was 28th, although this time only 5.001s off pole-sitter Carlos Reutemann, and only 1.2s away from making the grid. Once more he was joined on the sidelines by Henton, Serra and Gabbiani, as well as Slim Borgudd's ATS and Derek Daly's March.
But teammate Patrese had once again made it onto the grid comfortably, in 11th place, while brother Gilles plonked his Ferrari on 3rd, although he was ultimately disqualified when he unfathomably started the race from the wrong grid slot. Patrese made two stops to finish in 11th spot, 4 laps behind race-winner Alan Jones, while Piquet's 5th place was enough to snatch the World Championship by one point over Reutemann, who was unsettled by handling problems and slipped from pole to 8th by race end.

Villeneuve entering the pits at the Las Vegas GP, held in the Caesar's Palace car park.

1983
RAM March
Lured back to the top flight to drive the number 17 March at Montreal
Jacques Villeneuve was probably never in contention for a full-time F1 ride, and his two entries for Arrows at the end of 1981 were probably no more than a time-filling exercise as the team regrouped for 1982. Jacques may well have been turned off F1 even more in 1982 when Gilles' Ferrari vaulted over the back of the number 17 March driven by Jochen Mass in qualifying at Zolder, and the French-Canadian legend crashed to his death.
But in the middle of his Can-Am successes in 1983 Jacques was lured back for yet another Grand Prix entry mid-year at Montreal where, ironically, he would drive the number 17 March. The RAM concern had taken over the running of the March team, although the March RAM 01 Cosworth V8 had not been a potent machine. Eliseo Salazar had begun the year in it but had left the team, and the outfit didn't even contest the Detroit round prior to Canada.

1983
His practice time would have got him on the grid, but Jacques misses out again
But come Montreal, with some sponsorship money brought by Jacques himself, the March team was in a position to compete. Jacques had a brief test at Mosport to familiarise himself with the car, and in free practice was setting some respectable times. In qualifying, however, Villeneuve found himself unable to generate enough heat into the tyres, and he was only 27th fastest, pipped for the last grid spot by Mauro Baldi's Alfa Romeo by 0.378s.
His free practice times would have been enough to earn him his first F1 start, but when it came to the crunch Jacques and his team had been unable to deliver. René Arnoux's Ferrari had set a pole time some 6 seconds faster than what the March driver could manage, and the Frenchman eventually won the race ahead of Eddie Cheever's Renault and Patrick Tambay's Ferrari. Villeneuve himself was subsequently replaced by Kenny Acheson in the RAM March, and he would not taste F1 power ever again.

Lured back to F1 after his Can-Am success, Jacques pilots his RAM March at the 1983 Canadian GP.

1984-85
Becomes the first Canadian to win an Indy Car race, taking a victory at Elkhart Lake
Still, throughout the mid-80s Jacques found himself competing in CART, the top open-wheeler category in North America. In 1984 he drove a March 83C and 84C Cosworth, and came 6th in his first race at Long Beach. Thereafter he finished 6th again at Portland, and recorded other top 10 results at Cleveland, Sanair and Phoenix, where he had actually started from pole. He would have been the slowest qualifier at Indianapolis, but concussion after a practice crash forced him to withdraw.
After that he always showed a conspicuous avoidance of superspeedways, but nonetheless he was equal 15th in the 1984 championship with 30 points. In 1985 he upgraded to a March 85C, failed to qualify at Indianapolis after two more practice shunts, but bounced back to claim 4th at Cleveland and 3rd at Mid-Ohio. He topped it off by winning at Elkhart Lake in showery conditions, becoming the first Canadian to win an Indy Car race, beating Michael Andretti and Alan Jones from 4th on the grid.

1985-92
Finally makes the Indy 500; regularly in the points, but crashes out a bit often
1985 saw him wind up a competitive 8th in the points table with 54 points, but in 1986, when he drove a March 86C Cosworth, he slipped to 15th again with only 38 points. This time he did start the Indy 500 from 15th place, but retired with engine failure, and he scored a 6th at Miami and 5th places at Meadowlands and Portland. However in the latter he had actually collided with Tom Sneva two laps from the end, although they had done enough to be classified 4th and 5th in the final race results.
Indeed, Jacques had developed a rather unfortunate habit of hitting things. He had crashed out from a few too many races, and Gerald Kersh tells us that at one stage his fellow competitors had nicknamed tyre barriers 'Jacques absorbers'. Not surprisingly 1986 was his last full year in CART, although he did return for two races in 1992, driving a Euromotorsports Lola T91/00 Buick at Cleveland and Elkhart Lake, qualifying lowly in, and retiring from, both events.

Jacques racing in CART during 1985, a successful year in which he became the first Canadian to win an Indy Car race.

1988-90
Guest drives in Rothmans Porsche sees pole and victory; four IMSA starts
Since 1986, his car racing activities have been limited to occasional starts here and there. In 1988 he was a guest driver in the Rothmans Porsche series event at Mont Tremblant, winning the race by 10 seconds after starting from pole, and in 1989 he was a guest driver at the Mosport round, where he again qualified on pole, but tyre problems saw him slip to 6th by the end of the race.
In sports car racing he had 4 entries in IMSA in 1989, driving a Peerless Racing Lola T88/10 Chevrolet with the likes of Scott Goodyear and Elliot Forbes-Robinson, finishing 11th with Goodyear at Watkins Glen and scoring 8 points for equal 48th overall. In 1990, he scored 4 more points in a Seabroke Nissan GTP ZX-T with John Paul Jr at Sears Point for 7th place, and the pair also came 14th at Watkins Glen. Villeneuve ended up equal 49th in the 1990 IMSA championship with Paul Newman and Perry McCarthy.

1989-98
Mostly a winner in FAtlantic around Trois Rivieres; takes to Europe in ISRS
But Formula Atlantic is where he has been most willing to make occasional appearances, usually to good effect. In 1989 he won at Trois-Rivieres by six seconds, and in 1990 led the race at the same track from pole before an engine failure put him out. 1991 saw him win again at the same circuit, obviously one of his favourites, and in 1993 he came 2nd there in a Swift DB4, before competing in a few more Atlantic events in 1994.
After a few years in the mid-90s away from car racing, during which his nephew Jacques Jr was setting the world on fire in CART and F1, Jacques Sr returned to the saddle in 1998, and what's more he was even lured away to race in Europe for one of the rare occasions in his long career. He teamed up with Xavier Pompidou and Robin Donovan in the Misano round of the International Sports Racing Series in Italy, finishing 12th in a Centenari Racing MAC3 Alfa Romeo, securing 8 points and leaving him equal 26th overall.

Villeneuve made a comeback to Formula Atlantic in 1998 - at Trois-Rivieres, of course!

1998
Jacques up for another trip around Trois Rivieres, but not all goes to plan
Better still, he even returned for yet another blast around the streets of Trois-Rivieres in a Formula Atlantic car! He got a drive in an RDS Motorsports Ralt RT41, and after gearbox problems could only qualify 22nd. Undaunted, he said:
"We'll try to do better tomorrow, but unfortunately, I haven't had much time in the car. These guys have had seven or eight races so far and a lot of time testing the cars. But I'm having a lot of fun because racing is my life."
More to the point, in a refreshing comment in this era of professionalism, he added:
"All those who said I was too old to race said I would crash, [but] all I wanted to do was go fast!"
A shame for him, then, that his race only lasted one measly lap out of 45. He hit the wall on the first turn of the second lap, and parked it at turn three, making him the first retirement of the race. Not quite the success he had enjoyed at Trois-Rivieres previously!

1998
Gremlins in the car, but it's not the result that always matters to Jacques
We'll let Jacques himself take up the story:
"I guess I blew it. We'd had a good start. The car felt really good. We had a good first lap, it wasn't that fast but it was good for us. It was crowded out there. We got to turn one and it got noisy in the back. Next thing you know, I was heading nose first into the tyres. I tried to save it as much as I could. I thought I could avoid it but I kissed the wall gently. That took care of the rest of my race."
An inspection later by his crew discovered that there had been a faulty part in his rear right suspension, which had caused the noise he heard in the back, and which had pitched him into the wall. Nonetheless, this one-off outing had epitomised the fun-loving, hard-trying spirit which has made Jacques Sr such a happy figure in Canadian racing circles. For Jacques, it appears enjoying the thrill of competing has always been more important than the result.

1999 saw more snowmobile success for Villeneuve, including him becoming Eastern Pro F1 Champion.

1986-99
More success in snowmobiles, first 3-time winner at Eagle River
Similarly, he has competed every winter in snowmobiles, usually with great results. He had won the Eagle River event again in 1986 to become 'World Champion', becoming the first three-time winner of the event on his Vessair Ski-Doo twin track. He didn't capture the 1987 event, but he did win the Ski-Doo Sport Series instead. Next, we know that in 1996 he raced in the inaugural Supersleds Series, winning the F1 Trophy Dash at Beausejour and coming 2nd in the Dash at Plymouth, and finishing 2nd in the F1 Finals in both.
In 1998/99, racing for the Ski-Doo-Prolab-Choko-NSK team, he won the Eastern Pro Tour in the F1 class. The next season, in the Champ 440 class, riding for the same team in the Eastern Pro Tour, he won the Canadian championship and came 2nd in the North American title behind Erik Nicholsen, winning a race at Eganville, Ontario, taking 2nd at Winchendon, Massachusetts, and coming 3rd at Eagle River.

1999-2001
Fine victory at the Grand Prix de Valcourt; more success for Ski-Doo team
But perhaps the highlight of his 1999/2000 season was his effort at the prestigious Grand Prix de Valcourt, where Philippe Barsalou and Martin Moran tell us he was forced to start from 11th and last place on the grid after a practice accident, where, in Jacques' own words, his "bum was on fire". But he then drove his snowmobile like a man possessed to claim a superb 3rd place in a wonderful recovery ride.
But in the 2000/2001 season, Jacques Sr was unstoppable, clinching both the Canadian and the North American titles of the Eastern Pro Tour in the Champ 440 class, once again racing for the Ski-Doo-Prolab-Choko-NSK team. He racked up 5 wins, including at Evan Mills, Shawinigan-South, and Eganville. He was 2nd at Valcourt, but could only manage 7th at Eagle River after a troubled run.

As Monty Python might say ... now for something completely different! Jacques Sr taking to powerboating in 1999.

1999
Versatile Jacques takes to powerboating for something completely different
Besides the track and the snow, Frederic tells us that in 1999 Villeneuve also ventured into the world of 5-litre powerboat racing. Yet proving that there's always action when he's around, at the Régates de Valleyfield event mechanical problems damaged the structural integrity of his hydroplane (called 'Débossabec'), preventing him from taking part in the last qualifying session. As a result, organisers excluded him from the final of the event.
It's this sort of versatility and omnipresence which has made Jacques Sr a well-known and much-liked figure in Canadian motorsport circles, even though he may not have become a cult hero to millions like his brother Gilles, nor a CART and F1 World Championship like his nephew and namesake Jacques Jr, who interestingly also took his first CART victory at Elkhart Lake, and who in 2002 will start his seventh season in F1, and his fourth with British American Racing.