- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
^ That's hysterical! 
Ferrari Festival! • One-Make • Events Complete!Full
- Thread starter BrandonW77
- 1,921 comments
- 65,940 views
- 1,820
- Ireland
- turnupdaheat
I already posted this in another thread but it would be remiss of me not to post it in a Ferrari Festival thread!
Today, the 8th of May, exactly 1 week after the anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death, marks the 32nd anniversary of the passing of my ever favourite F1 driver - Gilles Villeneuve.
He was only around in F1 for less than 4 years and in that time recorded a modest 6 GP wins and 2 pole positions but for the majority of that time he was driving inferior machinery. He was the most spectacular and gifted driver I've ever seen. Of course, it's impossible to directly compare drivers from different eras but many consider Villeneuve to have been the the fastest ever.
Here's an interesting selection of quotes from people in the know!
Qualifying in the rain at the 1979 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, New York
A friend of mine in America sent me a cassette a while ago. On it is the sound of a lone racing car, unmistakably a Ferrari flat-12, and its clearly audible all the way round the lap. There is a lot of wheelspin - you can hear the revs abruptly scream out of every turn - and then the volume builds until the car swishes by in a welter of spray. He taped it during the first afternoon of practice at Watkins Glen in 1979, when conditions were as bad as I have ever seen at a race circuit. In places the track was flooded, and only eight drivers ventured out. One of those was Scheckter, who was fastest behind team mate Villeneuve. Eleven seconds behind ...The tape is of course Gilles, and it revived memories of a day when we forgot the wintry rain until he came in, the Ferrari breathless and steaming. In the pits the other drivers, aghast, had giggled nervously every time he skittered by at 160 mph. "Why do we bother? He's different from the rest of us," Jacques Laffite said. "On another level ..."
"I scared myself rigid that day", Jody remembered. "I thought I had to be quickest. Then I saw Gilles's time and - I still don't really understand how it was possible. Eleven seconds !" "Motor racing was a romantic thing for him, you see." Scheckter went on. "We were close friends, doing the same job for the same team, but we had completely opposite attitudes to it. My preoccupation was keeping myself alive, but Gilles had to be the fastest on every lap - even in testing. He was the fastest racing driver the world has ever seen. If he could come back and live his life again, I think he would do exactly the same - and with the same love."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981 French Grand Prix Qualifying at Dijon:
During practice at Dijon in 1981, Gilles crashed at the Courbe de Pouas, an undulating, flat-in-fourth right hander, with no run-off worth mentioning. During the lunch break I found him dabbing a cut on his jaw: "Bloody catch pole cracked my helmet and broke the visor ..."
"You overdid it ?" I asked. "Just ran out of road?" "No, no," he grinned. "I ran out of lock! "The car is really bad through there - an adventure every time. Go and have a look this afternoon and you'll see what I mean." I did. I watched the Cosworth- engined Williams and Brabhams droning through on their rails, and waited. At its clipping point, at the top of a rise, the Ferrari was already sideways, its driver winding on opposite lock. As it came past me, plunging downhill now, the tail stayed out of line, further and further, and still Gilles had his foot hard down. As he reached the bottom of the dip, I knew the position was hopeless, for now it was virtually broadside, full lock on, Villeneuve's head pointing up the road, out of the side of the cockpit.
Somehow, though, the Ferrari did not spin, finally snapping back into line as it grazed the catch fencing, then rocketing away up the hill. For more
than a hundred yards, I swear it, the car was sideways at 130 mph. "That's genius," said David Hobbs, watching with me. "Are you seriously telling me he's won two Grand Prix in that?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacques Laffite quote:
"I know that no human being can do a miracle. Nobody commands magical properties, but Gilles made you wonder. He was that quick."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Williams quote:
"I was very proud of Alan that day. We had the best car at the time, without a doubt, and the only driver on the track we feared was that little French Canadian ..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Niki Lauda quote:
"Gilles was the perfect racing driver who knew where to take which advantage where ..." "Villeneuve had the best talent of all of us. Whatever car that you put him in he would have been quick."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jackie Stewart quote:
"Oh, I think he's superb, and I believe he'll get better and better. At the moment he still makes mistakes, misses the odd apex, gets up on a curb, uses a little too much road on the way out sometimes, but i'm being hypercritical here. His level of natural talent is phenomenal - there's real genius in his car control."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gilles quote:
"I love motor racing. To me it's a sport, not a technical exercise. My ideal Formula One car would be something like a McLaren M23 with a big normally aspirated engine, 800 hp, 21 inch rear tyres. A lot of people say we
should have narrower tires, but I don't agree because you need big tyres to slow you down when you spin. And you need a lot of horsepower to unstick big tyres, to make the cars slide. That would be a bloody fantastic spectacle, I can tell you. We would take corners one gear lower than we do now, and get the cars sideways. You know, people still rave about Ronnie Peterson in a Lotus 72, and I understand that. I agree with them.
That's the kind of entertainment I want to give the crowds. Smoke the tyres ! Yeah ! I [care about the fans], because I used to be one of them ! I believe the crowd is really losing out at the moment, and that's
bad."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enzo Ferrari Quote:
" ...and when they presented me with this tiny Canadian, this miniscule bundle of nerves, I instantly recognized in him the physique of the great Nuvolari and I said to myself, `let's give him a try."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rene Arnoux Quote:
"It was terrible when Gilles died. I cried that day and the next one, too, even though I had to race ...and I remember the feeling that we were all starting equal, from now on. Villeneuve was gone. We all knew he had a
talent beyond our reach."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alain Prost Quote:
" ...with me and my competitors it's battle for pole position as that's important but with Gilles you will see a battle for everything ...[including] 10th place ..."
"He made the fastest start of anybody here. I thought he must know a trick ...all season he had quicker starts, no one could compare"
"Gilles was the last great driver. The rest of us are just a bunch of good professionals."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Juan Manuel Fangio Quote:
"He will remain as a member of the family of the truly great drivers in auto racing history. Mr Enzo Ferrari, who is an authority on these matters, has compared Villeneuve to Tazio Nuvolari. Nuvolari in my younger days was the great idol. All drivers wanted to equal the great Nuvolari. They struggled to match but could only imitate him. To be compared to Nuvolari is to receive the highest praise. Villeneuve did not race to finish, he did not race for points. He raced to win. Although small in stature he was a giant."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keke Rosberg Quote:
"To Gilles, racing truly was a sport, which is why he would never chop you. Something like that he'd look on with contempt. You didn't have to be a good driver to do that, let alone a great one. Anyone could do that.
Gilles was the hardest ******* I ever raced against, but completely fair. If you'd beaten him to a corner, he accepted it and gave you room. Then he'd be right back at you at the next one! Sure, he took unbelievable risks - but only with himself - and that's why I get ****ed off now when people compare Senna with him. Gilles was a giant of a driver, yes, but he was also a great man."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gilles Quote:
On Snowmobiling
"Every winter you would reckon on three or four big spills - and I'm talking bout being thrown onto the ice at 100 mph. Those things used to slide a lot, which taught me a great deal about control. And the visibility was terrible! Unless you were leading, you could see nothing, with all the snow blowing about. Good for the reactions - and it stopped me having any worries about racing in the rain !"
Salut Gilles!
Today, the 8th of May, exactly 1 week after the anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death, marks the 32nd anniversary of the passing of my ever favourite F1 driver - Gilles Villeneuve.
He was only around in F1 for less than 4 years and in that time recorded a modest 6 GP wins and 2 pole positions but for the majority of that time he was driving inferior machinery. He was the most spectacular and gifted driver I've ever seen. Of course, it's impossible to directly compare drivers from different eras but many consider Villeneuve to have been the the fastest ever.
Here's an interesting selection of quotes from people in the know!
Qualifying in the rain at the 1979 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, New York
A friend of mine in America sent me a cassette a while ago. On it is the sound of a lone racing car, unmistakably a Ferrari flat-12, and its clearly audible all the way round the lap. There is a lot of wheelspin - you can hear the revs abruptly scream out of every turn - and then the volume builds until the car swishes by in a welter of spray. He taped it during the first afternoon of practice at Watkins Glen in 1979, when conditions were as bad as I have ever seen at a race circuit. In places the track was flooded, and only eight drivers ventured out. One of those was Scheckter, who was fastest behind team mate Villeneuve. Eleven seconds behind ...The tape is of course Gilles, and it revived memories of a day when we forgot the wintry rain until he came in, the Ferrari breathless and steaming. In the pits the other drivers, aghast, had giggled nervously every time he skittered by at 160 mph. "Why do we bother? He's different from the rest of us," Jacques Laffite said. "On another level ..."
"I scared myself rigid that day", Jody remembered. "I thought I had to be quickest. Then I saw Gilles's time and - I still don't really understand how it was possible. Eleven seconds !" "Motor racing was a romantic thing for him, you see." Scheckter went on. "We were close friends, doing the same job for the same team, but we had completely opposite attitudes to it. My preoccupation was keeping myself alive, but Gilles had to be the fastest on every lap - even in testing. He was the fastest racing driver the world has ever seen. If he could come back and live his life again, I think he would do exactly the same - and with the same love."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1981 French Grand Prix Qualifying at Dijon:
During practice at Dijon in 1981, Gilles crashed at the Courbe de Pouas, an undulating, flat-in-fourth right hander, with no run-off worth mentioning. During the lunch break I found him dabbing a cut on his jaw: "Bloody catch pole cracked my helmet and broke the visor ..."
"You overdid it ?" I asked. "Just ran out of road?" "No, no," he grinned. "I ran out of lock! "The car is really bad through there - an adventure every time. Go and have a look this afternoon and you'll see what I mean." I did. I watched the Cosworth- engined Williams and Brabhams droning through on their rails, and waited. At its clipping point, at the top of a rise, the Ferrari was already sideways, its driver winding on opposite lock. As it came past me, plunging downhill now, the tail stayed out of line, further and further, and still Gilles had his foot hard down. As he reached the bottom of the dip, I knew the position was hopeless, for now it was virtually broadside, full lock on, Villeneuve's head pointing up the road, out of the side of the cockpit.
Somehow, though, the Ferrari did not spin, finally snapping back into line as it grazed the catch fencing, then rocketing away up the hill. For more
than a hundred yards, I swear it, the car was sideways at 130 mph. "That's genius," said David Hobbs, watching with me. "Are you seriously telling me he's won two Grand Prix in that?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacques Laffite quote:
"I know that no human being can do a miracle. Nobody commands magical properties, but Gilles made you wonder. He was that quick."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Williams quote:
"I was very proud of Alan that day. We had the best car at the time, without a doubt, and the only driver on the track we feared was that little French Canadian ..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Niki Lauda quote:
"Gilles was the perfect racing driver who knew where to take which advantage where ..." "Villeneuve had the best talent of all of us. Whatever car that you put him in he would have been quick."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jackie Stewart quote:
"Oh, I think he's superb, and I believe he'll get better and better. At the moment he still makes mistakes, misses the odd apex, gets up on a curb, uses a little too much road on the way out sometimes, but i'm being hypercritical here. His level of natural talent is phenomenal - there's real genius in his car control."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gilles quote:
"I love motor racing. To me it's a sport, not a technical exercise. My ideal Formula One car would be something like a McLaren M23 with a big normally aspirated engine, 800 hp, 21 inch rear tyres. A lot of people say we
should have narrower tires, but I don't agree because you need big tyres to slow you down when you spin. And you need a lot of horsepower to unstick big tyres, to make the cars slide. That would be a bloody fantastic spectacle, I can tell you. We would take corners one gear lower than we do now, and get the cars sideways. You know, people still rave about Ronnie Peterson in a Lotus 72, and I understand that. I agree with them.
That's the kind of entertainment I want to give the crowds. Smoke the tyres ! Yeah ! I [care about the fans], because I used to be one of them ! I believe the crowd is really losing out at the moment, and that's
bad."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enzo Ferrari Quote:
" ...and when they presented me with this tiny Canadian, this miniscule bundle of nerves, I instantly recognized in him the physique of the great Nuvolari and I said to myself, `let's give him a try."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rene Arnoux Quote:
"It was terrible when Gilles died. I cried that day and the next one, too, even though I had to race ...and I remember the feeling that we were all starting equal, from now on. Villeneuve was gone. We all knew he had a
talent beyond our reach."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alain Prost Quote:
" ...with me and my competitors it's battle for pole position as that's important but with Gilles you will see a battle for everything ...[including] 10th place ..."
"He made the fastest start of anybody here. I thought he must know a trick ...all season he had quicker starts, no one could compare"
"Gilles was the last great driver. The rest of us are just a bunch of good professionals."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Juan Manuel Fangio Quote:
"He will remain as a member of the family of the truly great drivers in auto racing history. Mr Enzo Ferrari, who is an authority on these matters, has compared Villeneuve to Tazio Nuvolari. Nuvolari in my younger days was the great idol. All drivers wanted to equal the great Nuvolari. They struggled to match but could only imitate him. To be compared to Nuvolari is to receive the highest praise. Villeneuve did not race to finish, he did not race for points. He raced to win. Although small in stature he was a giant."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keke Rosberg Quote:
"To Gilles, racing truly was a sport, which is why he would never chop you. Something like that he'd look on with contempt. You didn't have to be a good driver to do that, let alone a great one. Anyone could do that.
Gilles was the hardest ******* I ever raced against, but completely fair. If you'd beaten him to a corner, he accepted it and gave you room. Then he'd be right back at you at the next one! Sure, he took unbelievable risks - but only with himself - and that's why I get ****ed off now when people compare Senna with him. Gilles was a giant of a driver, yes, but he was also a great man."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gilles Quote:
On Snowmobiling
"Every winter you would reckon on three or four big spills - and I'm talking bout being thrown onto the ice at 100 mph. Those things used to slide a lot, which taught me a great deal about control. And the visibility was terrible! Unless you were leading, you could see nothing, with all the snow blowing about. Good for the reactions - and it stopped me having any worries about racing in the rain !"
Salut Gilles!
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
Awesome post. I never knew he was such a talented and well respected driver. I did, however, visit a small man-made island in Canada that has a beautiful racing circuit named after him. 👍
- 7,765
- Yorkshire
- ScapeGoat4U
- WhippingBoy
So how's this gonna work then? Is someone gonna post up the room number in this thread so we can all find the room? Is the race it definitely on? If it's gonna be a public room it might be a good idea to name it; "Pro Clean - 512BB Only, Stock" or similar so people know what to expect.
- 1,375
- Warwick/UK
- Nemesis-Reaper
Personally I would prefer that all attendees send me a FR on PSN. I can then see if you are online and have an idea if you are able to attend or not! Also you can msg me if you are having any problems getting in, also we have to recreate a room it cuts down on the admin!
However, I can appreciate that there may be reasons people prefer not to/cannot do this, however...
if the lobby is left OPEN, we may also have to be kicking people out for the group members to get in!
As I see from Brandons first post, this is the potential group
1. @hobbsy /Nemesis-Reaper
2. @Cu3e /Bergele
3. @KingKlingeling /KingKlingeling
4. @cbcvabch /cbcvabch
5. @acjy1985 /acjy1985
6. @Torzilla /Torzilla
7. @Naptown25rs /Naptown25rs
8. @bdubclub /bdubclub
9. @gaudeamus_xy /gaudeamus_xy
10. @GTsail290 /GTsail290
11. @LJ12 /Lambokid12
12. @Litchi /GTP_Litchi
13. @VBR /VirtualBornRacer
14. @daddyo845 /daddyo845
15. @thlogan /thlogan
16. @Drex124 /drex125
If anyone is missing, please let me know (obviously no Brandon).
Unless anyone objects, (and please post here if you do) I suggest send me a FR to "Nemesis-Reaper" on PSN, or if you cannot get to your account I can send out the FR's and all you have to do is accept before I create the room.
However, I can appreciate that there may be reasons people prefer not to/cannot do this, however...
if the lobby is left OPEN, we may also have to be kicking people out for the group members to get in!
As I see from Brandons first post, this is the potential group
1. @hobbsy /Nemesis-Reaper
2. @Cu3e /Bergele
3. @KingKlingeling /KingKlingeling
4. @cbcvabch /cbcvabch
5. @acjy1985 /acjy1985
6. @Torzilla /Torzilla
7. @Naptown25rs /Naptown25rs
8. @bdubclub /bdubclub
9. @gaudeamus_xy /gaudeamus_xy
10. @GTsail290 /GTsail290
11. @LJ12 /Lambokid12
12. @Litchi /GTP_Litchi
13. @VBR /VirtualBornRacer
14. @daddyo845 /daddyo845
15. @thlogan /thlogan
16. @Drex124 /drex125
If anyone is missing, please let me know (obviously no Brandon).
Unless anyone objects, (and please post here if you do) I suggest send me a FR to "Nemesis-Reaper" on PSN, or if you cannot get to your account I can send out the FR's and all you have to do is accept before I create the room.
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
GTsail
Premium
- 2,472
- Florida
- GTsail2/GTsail3
@hobbsy -
I should be able to race tomorrow, so I will send you a friend request tonite.
The only thing that might make me miss the race is if one of the IZOD/Indy drivers is sick tomorrow, and @BrandonW77 gets to drive as a replacement driver in the Indy Race tomorrow.
I might be distracted cheering for Brandon!
Thanks,
GTsail
I should be able to race tomorrow, so I will send you a friend request tonite.
The only thing that might make me miss the race is if one of the IZOD/Indy drivers is sick tomorrow, and @BrandonW77 gets to drive as a replacement driver in the Indy Race tomorrow.
I might be distracted cheering for Brandon!Thanks,
GTsail
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
- 1,375
- Warwick/UK
- Nemesis-Reaper
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
If anyone's interested you can catch the last half of qualifying for the Grand Prix of Indy here. http://www.racecontrol.indycar.com/
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
- 167
- Australia
- PersonAbove-Nice
Is anyone here interested in some Sambabus fun? We currently only have 5 participants, so please do come along if you can!
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...sambabus-sprint-races-17-may-11pm-bst.308392/
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...sambabus-sprint-races-17-may-11pm-bst.308392/
- 106
- Bydgoszcz, Poland
- kHamcio
@BrandonW77 please, sign me up for tonight (if there are some free slots) - if not, sign me on the all next week races all next Saturdays' races 
EDIT! I can participate only at Saturdays, @BrandonW77, You can sign me as a permanent Saturday racer
EDIT! I can participate only at Saturdays, @BrandonW77, You can sign me as a permanent Saturday racer
Last edited:
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
@BrandonW77 please, sign me up for tonight (if there are some free slots) - if not, sign me on the all next week races
Will do, send me a FR on PSN. Scroll up a bit to see the details about today's race, I'm going to the GP of Indy so @hobbsy is guest hosting. See you on track soon! 👍
- 106
- Bydgoszcz, Poland
- kHamcio
- 986
- Bergen (GMT +2)
- LAMBOKID12
@BrandonW77. I can`t participate this evening, sadly. Catch you next Saturday, hopefully.
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
It's a beautiful day at The Speedway!
Similar threads
