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[desmo]

I found this on a japanese site and I thought perhaps some of you might find it interesting:

JACQUES VILLENEUVE COLUMN - BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

To prepare for the race in Belgium we tested at the Mugello circuit in Italy, which I really enjoyed. I've wanted to try
a F1 car at Mugello ever since I raced there in F3. It's a beautiful track, a bit like Spa in Belgium, with a lot of
elevation changes and some very interesting high-speed corners, my favorite type. But no place has corners like Spa,
which is my favorite track of all.

After the test I went back home to Monaco for another of my favorite pastimes - a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
It was only a 16 hour game, short by our standards because we sometimes play for days. There were eight of us and
it was so absorbing nobody had trouble staying awake.

Once I get into something I really enjoy the focus becomes so intense it's as if nothing else exits. Working on my
computer, reading a book, listening to music, playing music, whatever, I can spend hours just sitting there, not
moving and not noticing the passing of time.

Then it was time to go racing at Spa, which is about as far away as you can get from sitting quietly at home playing
games with your friends. Here, you're sitting alone in your car, taking on some of the greatest road racing challenges
in the world and trying to beat them.

It's a tremendous thrill to take Spa on the limit, going flat out around its many quick corners and keeping up the
momentum as you climb up and down the steep hills. The combination of the wide open layout and the quite long lap
- nearly seven kilometers - enables you to get into a smooth rhythm and feel that you're really expressing yourself
behind the wheel. Besides the sheer pleasure of the sensation of speed there is a feeling of accomplishment that is
wonderfully satisfying.

Eau Rouge, the most famous section of Spa, is really fantastic. When you approach it you're going flat out downhill
and all you can see in front of you is a wall that appears to be going straight up. You have to climb that wall, and
change direction while you're doing it. The strange thing is that even when you think you're on the limit you can go
even faster because the faster you go the more stable the car becomes.

But instability is always there and sometimes it can turn around and bite you - hard. Over the years there have many
big accidents at Eau Rouge, including two by yours truly, in 1998 and 1999.

Both times my car was destroyed, but I wasn't hurt. The crashes looked more frightening than they felt.

Though I've never been really frightened or badly hurt in a racing car sometimes after a big moment or a crash you
think for a few seconds 'Whew, that could have hurt.' But you're not hurt so you say it with a smile. And you feel
stronger because you're not hurt.

It would be stupid to think you are immortal, which would make you a danger to yourself and others, and it's every
driver's duty to be as safety conscious as possible. But you can't be too fearful and do the job we are paid to do, and
you can keep fear at bay as long as long as you feel in control. In a car if you start getting sideways you have a
chance to catch it. If I was in an elevator and it started to fall I would surely be afraid.

I love the feeling when you're right on the edge and pushing it. The greatest pleasure is when you're going through a
corner and the car gets very light, just short of sliding, and you hold it there. You're really on the limit, you can feel
it, and you're controlling it.

You wonder how far you can push it. You feel where you are in terms of balance and you know it wouldn't take much
to lose it and that every small movement you make affects what's happening. But you keep pushing and you know
you're out there on the edge. Even by yourself it's a great feeling and when you set a quick lap time or you go around
a corner quicker than the others you have proof you're doing something special.

Not many drivers take Eau Rouge flat out, so it becomes a matter of pride to try and do what others don't. It's also a
matter of mind over body, because even though you think you can do it flat, somehow your foot wants to come off
the throttle by itself. So it's exhilarating to force yourself to control your foot and to tell yourself it's going to be okay
and to actually go against what your body is telling you. It's quite an interesting feeling.

This year, I have to report I wasn't able to take Eau Rouge flat out. I almost made it, in qualifying, but the car got
sideways and I had to back off - which is really the way the race went for us.

We finished the Belgian Grand Prix where we qualified - in seventh place after a really hard afternoon's work
fighting a car that had terminal underwater. It just wouldn't turn into the corners fast enough, which is the last thing
you want at Spa, where 90 percent of the corners are fast.

Speaking of speed reminds me of Eartha Kitten, who races around our place in Monaco like the world's fastest cat.
She is growing up and beginning to understand the schedule Dannii and I have each day, when it's time to play, to
eat, and to sleep. Unlike most cats, Eartha is not really very independent. She doesn't like to be alone and we are
very happy to keep her company.

- Jacques Villeneuve