Jacques-Joseph Villeneuve (born November 4, 1953) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

racing driver. He is the younger brother of the late

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances. An enthusiast of ...

, and uncle to

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various o ...

, the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

World Champion. He is sometimes called "Uncle Jacques" ("L'oncle Jacques" in French) to differentiate him from his nephew, and is also known by the nickname "Jacquo". Villeneuve had a varied motorsport career, taking in

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada (''Can'') and four races in the United ...

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

racing and

, and remains a revered figure in Canadian motorsport circles. Villeneuve was the first three-time winner of the

World Championship Snowmobile Derby The World Championship Snowmobile Derby is the World championship snowmobile race. It is held at the World Championship Derby Complex, formerly known as the Eagle River Derby Track, along U.S. Route 45 in Eagle River, Wisconsin on the third weeke ...

.Eagle River Snowmobile Derby - Rich In History
; 2005;

; Retrieved November 19, 2007

Career

Villeneuve started out racing snowmobiles and he has continued to race in snowmobile events throughout his career. He moved into saloon racing in Canada, winning a

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Hond ...

series and many races from 1976 to 1978. He then stepped up to the open-wheeler

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula Fo ...

category, and then Formula Atlantic, where he took Rookie of the Year in 1979, then consecutive titles in 1980 and 1981. He also won the

in 1980. At the end of 1981, he took a pair of drives for the Arrows Formula One team, but failed to qualify for the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sp ...

, or the

Caesars Palace Grand Prix The Caesars Palace Grand Prix was a car race held in Las Vegas between 1981 and 1984. For the first two years, the race was part of the Formula One World Championship, before becoming a round of the CART series in 1983. Nissan/Datsun was a pr ...

. In 1979 he competed in the

Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, unsanctioned automobile race run five times in the 1970s from New York City and Darien, Connecticut, on the Eas ...

in a Porsche 928 co-piloted by John Lane (Gilles Villeneuve's sponsor and friend). 1982 started out with Villeneuve winning the World Championship Snowmobile Derby. The track was exceptionally hard caused by bitter cold, and his team set up his sled for the conditions. He took home $11,300 for his win, with cash and prizes totaling over $50,000. The rest of 1982 was difficult, after his brother Gilles Villeneuve died in May. Jacques spent most of the year in Can-Am, though he would take a one-off drive in CART. 1983 saw him take the Can-Am title, as well as another Formula One drive (narrowly failing to qualify a

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch ...

for the

1983 Canadian Grand Prix The 1983 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 12 June 1983. It was the eighth race of the 1983 Formula One World Championship. The 70-lap race was won from pole position by Frenchman René Arnoux, ...

). During this period, he also kept up his snowmobiling exploits, winning a number of prestigious races, and had a one-off Sportscar drive at the 1983

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

. 1984 saw a return to CART, with Villeneuve ranking 15th overall, having taken pole position at the Phoenix round. The following year he became the first Canadian to win a CART race, taking victory in the wet/dry race at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Ch ...

on his way to eighth overall in the standings. He became the only person to win a third World Championship Snowmobile Derby in 1986. After spending the season of CART and his only appearance in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

, Villeneuve scaled back his motor racing activities, though he has regularly returned for occasional drives to CART, Formula Atlantic (winning some of these guest races) and

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive dir ...

. He also remained highly active and successful in snowmobiling, also branching out to powerboat racing. On January 18, 2008, Villeneuve was seriously injured in an accident during the World Championship Snowmobile race. He suffered multiple leg and pelvic fractures as a result, in addition to a spinal injury. It was estimated that it would take Villeneuve seven to nine months to recover from his injuries. On February 16, 2013, having recovered and returned to racing, Villeneuve suffered another serious accident whilst competing in Valcourt, sustaining a leg injury. He left hospital ten days later. "Uncle" Jacques Villeneuve was inducted into the

Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have m ...

in 2001.

Racing record

Complete Formula One results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

)

American open–wheel racing results

(

)

CART

References

*Hughes, M. 1998. ''The Other (quicker) Jacques Villeneuve''. Motor Sport, October 1998.

External links

Comprehensive Biography at f1rejects.comStats F1 Jacques Sr Villeneuve

F1 Total.com Jacques Villeneuve Sr.Chequered Flag Motorsport's Profile of "the other Jacques Villeneuve"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villeneuve, Jacques racing driver, born 1953 Racing drivers from Quebec 1953 births Canadian Formula One drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Champ Car drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Living people International Formula 3000 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Arrows Formula One drivers RAM Racing Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Can Am drivers People from Centre-du-Québec Snowmobile racers