211 replies to this topic

[Henri Greuter]

Again, another May 8th,

 

Even after 41 years, it still hurts to think back onto May 8th in 1982.

And the one event that day that has makse this date painful each and every year ever since.

And about what could have been if only....

 

Never to be forgotten, at least not by me.

 

Salut Gilles, and thank you for the good memories there are as well.

 

Rest in Peace

[Henri Greuter]

May 8th again.

 

 

Salut Gilles, never to be forgotten.

 

 

Rest in peace

[D28]

Thanks Henri for reminding us of that fateful day, The passage of years does nothing to lessen our memories of Gilles.  Always remembered with affection at home.

[Peeko]

[Henri Greuter]

What would you give to see anything like that in F1 being possible again nowadays if it comes to cornering, no matter the driver, no matter the car.....

[Gilles126c]

Another year since that sad day, such an exciting driver, every race was worth watching just to see what he would do, so clearly working without a safety net.

He would have won at least two tittles in 82 & 83.

[garoidb]

Today would have been his 75th birthday.

[D28]

He would be a very quick 75, were he still with us. Meanwhile there is no update on the cowardly theft of his statue last fall.

 

https://www.theautop...les-villeneuve/

[JacnGille]

I'm sure glad I got to see him race at Watkins in 1978 & '79, Montreal in 1980 & '81, then Long Beach in 1982. Thanks for the birthday reminder.

The Glen in '79 with the Magic Lap plus all his F Atlantic races at Road Atlanta for me.

[Bob Riebe]

A racer and engineer fast on any thing:

 

 

The 1981 Twin Track race sled had the wing on the rear and the two small wings on the front. Ski-doo only built three or four sleds that year. Jacques Villeneuve rode the entire SnoPro circuit that winter with the Ski-doo colors. Only “Jocko” raced the sled that year; except for the 1981 TT Moto-Ski (shown here).
The Moto-Ski colors and graphics were done specially for (brother) Gilles Villeneuve. Gilles was part of Bombardier’s advertising campaign for Moto-Ski, and raced the sled at the Montreal SnoPro in the winter of ‘81. When Enzo Ferrari found out his F1 driver had raced a snowmobile that weekend he was not amused. That was the last snowmobile race Gilles ran before being killed during practice for the Belgium Grand Prix at Zolder in May of 1982.
This was the sled that Gilles raced at Montreal and it sits today at the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wisconsin. The sled is now owned by Brad Warning.

[D28]

Had he survived, Gilles would probably still be racing somewhere, maybe in a similar machine. Brother Jocko despite multi broken bones and a bout with cancer retired from snow racing in 2016, only to run one final event in 2022. He was 69 at the time. The whole family likes to keep on racing.

[FLB]

Jacques (Gilles's brother) is still at it!    Just a bit of a warning, though: He's hard to understand even for a Québec native