Villeneuve.
You know the name, even if you can’t place it.
I, however, am referring to Rene Villeneuve…the other Villeneuve, the Villeneuve you want to have drinks with, the Villeneuve who vaulted Polizei from the street to the track, the Villeneuve who - as Polizei 144 Racing Team Captain - will lead the Polizei/TRG Interceptor 144P into professional motorsport on May 17th at Laguna Seca.
Without Rene Villeneuve, Team Polizei would never had made the lap. I couldn’t be more proud to have him lead us, to have him as my instructor, and to have him as a friend. I’m not alone, because whereas Rene is Team Captain, our other driver - Ferrari Challenge veteran & new Polizei Master Pilot Henri Richard - has also been racing under Rene’s instruction.
And thus the team was born.
I first met Rene several years ago when I attended Skip Barber at Laguna Seca, but, with only Gumball stories to tell, didn’t think it fit I bring those up among proper race instructors, let alone the other students. We re-met through mutual friends last year, and once I recognized him I tried to strike up a conversation about endurance driving - an effort totally in vain - until a passerby mentioned my team’s 31:04 record. Rene burst out laughing, and a friendship was born.
Last week I asked him some basic questions I hoped would convey who he really is…for Rene isn’t the attention-seeker I’m so often accused of being. Rene is one of many race drivers who remain humble in their acheivements, who teaches racing while raising his two daughters and - just like the rest of us - enjoys driving on the street.
So of course I asked about fear, street racing vs. pro racing, games, the Cannonball, Gumball, favorite cars and co-pilot selection. And Jaques. Read the full interview after the jump…
Q) When was your first professional race? Were you scared?
A) My first Pro race was in the Barber/SAAB Pro Series, at Del Mar, CA in 1990. I was 21 years old. I wasn’t scared at all, but I was very nervous! That race was on a street circuit lined with concrete walls and blind corners. I was so afraid I was going to damage the car. I’d put together enough money for the race, but didn’t have any money to repair the car if something happened, so I drove fairly conservatively and managed to finish 17th…I think. I was so happy because it was the only time my Mom and Dad came toa race. Honestly, they weren’t very happy about me racing, but they knew that was what I wanted to do. Even though I didn’t finish that well, my dad was very proud, and that made me very happy. I’ve never been scared, but it took a few races before I was able to gain any real confidence. It’s really just a matter of seat time.
Q) Have you ever made a move on the track you regretted?
A) Yeah…well, sort of. I was racing at Road Atlanta in the Speedvision Cup in an M3, back in 1997. My co-driver had crashed pretty hard on lap 2 or 3. We got the car back to the pits for repairs and I got in, but there was no front on the car. The bumper and splitter had been ripped off, so there wasn’t much bite from the front end. It started to rain and we came in to change tires. When I went back out we were 9 laps down, and I was determined to make some of that back. After an hour or so I made a mistake in Turn 1. The car snapped on me. I wound up in the tirewall. We were done. I guess I could have taken it easy, but it’s hard as a racing driver to slow down. You always want to go as quickly as possible.
Q) Do you have any speeding tickets? Were they justified?
A) Almost every ticket I ever got was for something like 20 MPH over the speed limit, which is justified. The funny thing is I had usually just slowed down from a much higher speed. Sometimes I felt like saying to the cop, “you should have seen me 2 minutes earlier.” But I never did.
Q) Does having the last name Villeneuve ever lead to funny situations?
A) That is the most common question I get, but the relation is a distant one. My father grew up in Louisville, Quebec which isn’t far from Berthierville, where Gilles [Villeneuve] grew up. My grandfather knew Seville - Gilles’ father - but beyond that there wasn’t much in the way of contact. Right after Gilles was killed I spent some time with Jacques Sr., when he was driving in Can-Am and IndyCar. He is a great guy, and extremely quick in anything!
Q) Have you ever street raced? What is your definition of street racing?
A) Yes I did! When I first came to California I started hanging with some guys who were into “running Mulholland”, which is a winding road in the hills of Los Angeles. I got myself a BMW 318i and spent a lot of money on it. I know street car tuning has been around for a long time, but as far I know we were the first guys fining up European cars like BMWs, Porsches VW Golfs & Sciroccos. We were buying all the latest air dams. we thought 15 or 16 inch wheels were the coolest!
Define Street Racing? There are many kinds of street racing, drag racing, canyon racing, freeway runs, but it’s all dangerous. That was my way of fulfilling my need to drive fast before I got serious about professional racing!
Q) Would you ever try to break 31:04?
A) No, I leave those things to the professionals like Alex Roy!
Q) How did you meet Henri Richard? When did you know you wanted to race WITH him?
A) I met Henri at the Ferrari Challenge race at Infineon last year, and we got on great right from the beginning. He’s such a genuine person, and I came to know him as very serious about his racing. He may not be a full-time “professional” driver, but don’t let that fool you. He is more serious and committed to racing than some of the “pros” I know. I’ll drive with a guy like that any day!
Q) What do you drive? Want to drive? Hate to drive? Why?
A) I love German engineering. I’ve owned BMW M3s most of my life. Unfortunately, I’m a bit behind things…as I still drive an E36 M3. A new would be nice. Who can argue with 400+ HP? But I can get in as much trouble with 250 hp as I can with 400 hp. I don’t really hate anything. It’s fun to make even a minivan go fast!
Q) Have you played Gran Tourismo? Forza? Iracing? Why? Why not?
A) Not seriously, and when I say seriously I know how intense the guys and girls who play these games are. But the games themselves I find strange, because so much of what you do in a racecar is by feel. Even the best commercial simulators lack that real seat-of-the-pants feel. It’s the small things that are missing, like the slip angle of the front tires, or the longitudinal slip of the rear tires as you try to put the power down. That is hard to recreate in a video game, so I’m not much better at them than Isabella, my 11 year-old daughter.
Q) What is your greatest fear on the road? On the track?
A) On the road, it’s other people. Most drivers are trying to get from A to B, and they’re not really thinking about speed differentials or proper braking distances. On the track, I don’t really have any fears except letting my team down. No driver likes to make a mistake and erase all the hard work the team has done.
Q) If you had $10k to spend on your M3, what would you spend it on?
Brakes! To go fast you need good, efficient and consistent brakes! After that, I guess some more power, but that’s not as important to me.
Q) Do you drift?
A) For me drifting is a switch that is hard to turn on. I’ve spent my whole career learning to be smooth and precise. Going sideways is not the fast way around the track, but it sure is fun. Some of my good friends are best drifters out there, like Samuel Hubinette, Doug Van Den Brink and Conrad Grunewald. I have a lot of respect for guys and what they do, but I don’t see myself doing it, at least not competitively.
Q) Would you ever do the Gumball? Why? Why not?
A) To me racing is racing, and everything else is not. I am a racing driver…not just a guy who likes to drive fast. Racing is about preparation and teamwork. Alex is the only guy who used those things in rallies, and look at his records. But, for me, I just enjoy racing on proper racetracks. There is so much I want to accomplish in racing still, so it would be distracting to think about doing anything else.
More questions:
Was Alex a good student ?
What were his biggest mistakes ?
Do you think that he’ll be ready for May 17th ?