Jacques Villeneuve Newsletter
Sign-up to receive daily news on Jacques Villeneuve by email.
Jacques Villeneuve Filmography
Source:
Theiapolis
Jacques Villeneuve Resources
Table of Content
Jacques Villeneuve: Formula One champion
In 1996, he moved to Formula One with the Williams team. His debut was nothing less than spectacular, as he became only the second Formula One driver in history to achieve both a pole and a podium position in his maiden grand prix. He won four races that year, reached the podium 11 times, and finished with 78 points -- all rookie records, which still stand today. He finished the season runner-up in the drivers championship to teammate Damon Hill, and helped Williams win the constructor championship by over 100 points. With the 1997 departure of Hill to Arrows, Villeneuve became the number one at Williams, and he responded emphatically by winning seven races on his way to winning the drivers championship and another constructor crown. He finished with 10 poles, 8 podiums, and 81 points, clinching the title in dramatic fashion by beating Ferrari rival Michael Schumacher in the final race of the year. However, Villeneuve's career went into sharp decline following his drivers championship. Remaining with Williams in 1998, he struggled with an underpowered Mecachrome engine, and failed to win a single race.
<<
Early years -
Struggles at BAR >>
Table of Content
Latest Film News
Latest news on Jacques Villeneuve
AutosDiesels Crush All Challengers at Le Mans
Diesels didn't just win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they crushed all comers to thoroughly dominate the race for the third consecutive year, taking the top six positions and leading the closest gas-fueled car by 19 laps in a race many pundits are calling one of the best ever.
The prestigious endurance race has in recent years become the key battleground in the fight for diesel engine supremacy, and an Audi R10 - running some biodiesel, no less - scored its third consecutive win in a hard-fought race with Peugeot's 908 HDi.
Everyone expected a tight race going in, and Peugeot held the advantage with faster cars that started from the first three places on the grid. Peugeot got off to a better start, with the No. 7 car of Nicolas Minassian, Marc Gene and Jacques Villeneuve leading the No. 2 Audi of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello.
Then the rain started.
The Peugeots are a handful in the wet, and Audi seized the advantage.
Kristensen took the lead on lap 234 at 5:17 a.m. Sunday as Villeneuve stopped for fuel. There was no looking back from there, but the race stayed tight. By 2 p.m. Sunday, with 23 hours elapsed, the cars were still less than two minutes apart on a track that's 8 miles long. Another spate of rain dashed Peugeot's hopes, though, as Minassian - running on slicks to make up time on dry parts of the track - spun near the end of the race. Audi opened its lead to finish the race 4 minutes and 31 seconds ahead of the Peugeot.
But throughout the race - all 24 hours and 3,077 miles of it - the two cars
were never more than one lap apart. Audi took first, fourth and sixth places, while Peugeot took second, third and fifth. The No. 7 Pescarolo Judd took seventh, the highest finish by a gasoline car.
The performances by Audi and Peugeot should put to rest any
lingering doubts about the performance and reliability of turbo-diesel
engines.
Associated Press photo.
Published: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:49:01 GMT - Source: Blog.Wired.Com - Read the article
Sign-up to receive daily news on Jacques Villeneuve by email. See Also:
