A First Victory Since 1997 for Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve ended an eleven year drought yesterday when his team finished in first place of the Le Mans Series endurance race presented at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.

The team, composed of the French Nicolas Minassian, the Spaniard Marc Gené and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, on board a Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP crossed the finish line in first place of the 1000 kilometer race.

Jacques Villeneuve said to the press immediately after the podium ceremonies that this win felt very good after waiting for a victory for such a long time. In fact, Villeneuve's last victory was registered in September of 1997 at Nurburgring. At this time, Villeneuve was driving for the Williams Formula One racing team as he was on his way to the driver's championship.

The team of Minassian-Gené-Villeneuve will be kept intact for the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race that will be run on June 14 and 15. Villeneuve will be trying to conquer the only Triple Crown racing jewel missing in his resume as he already conquered the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One driver's championship.

The only driver to ever conquer the three racing jewels, which are the Indianapolis 500, the 24 hours of Le Mans and the Formula One driver’s championship, is Graham Hill. The British driver won the Monaco Grand Prix in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969; the Formula One World Championship in 1962 and 1968; and the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and finally the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972.