Las Vegas Grand Prix: History and Memories from the Racetrack

2023-11-17 10:00:00

LAS VEGAS | At the end of the phone, in Saint-Cuthbert, the speech of Jacques Villeneuve senior, friendly nicknamed “Mononcle Jacques”, is as fast as a Formula 1. He recounts his epics on the race tracks, both in a single-seater and on a snowmobile. . And although his memory may fail him a bit during a race held in the desert in the fall of 1981, he remembers the event in Las Vegas. “I was heating up a damn mess from the back of the yard. A damned bastard. A real piece of trash.”

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• Read also: Two editions of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a parking lot

The bazou or the cossin in question was an Arrows-Ford from the 1980 championship. The British team which fielded the Italian Riccardo Patrese had collected 11 points that season by finishing in 7th place among the 11 teams.

The following year, for the inaugural Grand Prix in Vegas, Villeneuve was behind the wheel of the third “chariot”. Despite all his good will and his desire to drive at full speed while monitoring the wear of his tires, his “bazou”, as he likes to call it, was simply not moving forward.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU

So much so that he never even managed to qualify for the event.

“It was impossible with this tank. He was already in the bottom the year before. I could not do anything. I couldn’t get it from the back of the grid to the front.”

Villeneuve, brother of Gilles, still has good memories of this experience which was one of his three laps in F1.

Jacques Villeneuve (uncle) and Jean-Guy Roy. September 1981 THE ARCHIVES / LE JOURNAL DE MONTREAL

Route 1981 and 1982

Without even giving him a clue, he remembered the crazy layout on a cramped plot of land near the Strip.

“We were filming in a parking flat. It was still fun, because I wasn’t a fan of oval circuits even though I’ve done a lot of racing on this type of circuit in my career. I enjoyed the urban circuits.”

In 1981 and 1982, F1 arrived in Las Vegas on the temporary Caesars Palace circuit. PHOTO PROVIDED BY LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU

In the 1981 and 1982 editions of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, evil tongues said that the owner of Caesars Palace had bought himself a race. There is truth. The event was contested on a temporary circuit set up in the parking lot behind the hotel complex. The layout strangely resembled that of the Pac-Man character on the arcades of the time.

Photo taken from the X account @Vintage Las Vegas

Today, this same space is occupied by the Forum Shops and the Collosseum. The Mirage hotel is also built there.

Villeneuve remembers that he was accommodated, like all his colleagues, at Caesars. But the racing enthusiast in him wanted nothing to do with games of chance.

“Like everywhere F1 went, it was a happening. We saw all the money rolled into the casino. But I didn’t care what happened outside the track and the garages. I was given a tank and I took care of it. Everything’entertainmentthat didn’t interest me,” said the 70-year-old man.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU

And the 2023 championship, interesting?

Fast forward four decades to the return of F1 to Vegas. Will this ordeal, which promises to be colorful, bring back memories for Uncle Jacques?

“Max (Verstappen) who wins everywhere, that doesn’t interest me. Max, he’s not an auntie, but he drives a damn good thing, he analyzed with a laugh after a generous 45-minute discussion.

“That’s what F1 is like. If you don’t have it, you’re in trouble. Before, the driver made a big difference.”

Photo AFP

Between the lines, this means that Villeneuve is more or less interested in the discipline. At least, live. Whether in Brazil, Singapore, Abu Dhabi or even Vegas.

Delayed, he takes a look at it, observing the fights in the peloton, the accidents and the overtaking. He enjoys the “show” more.

With what the organizers are promising in Vegas, “Mononcle Jacques” could be well served in front of his television.