2023-06-11 13:19:46
Joann and Mélanie Villeneuve delivered vibrant testimonies in the fascinating documentary “Villeneuve Pironi”, recounting the rivalry between Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi in 1982, which you can watch from Monday on Crave.
The wife of the Quebec driver, who died tragically at the Zolder circuit in Belgium, and his daughter were kind enough to answer our questions after watching this 90-minute documentary produced by Noah Media Group in association with Sky Studios.
“We worked hard to make it as authentic as possible, and I think we succeeded,” said Joann in an interview with the Journal.
From friends to rivals
Many observers claim that the behavior of the French driver is directly linked to the death of Villeneuve which occurred on May 8, 1982. As a reminder, two weeks earlier, Pironi had not respected Ferrari’s instructions at the Grand Prix de Saint- Marin at Imola by overtaking his teammate at Ferrari at the end of the course. Which had obviously made Villeneuve furious.
From then on, there was no longer any question for Villeneuve to speak to Pironi, whom he believed to be a close friend. This rivalry was to mark the spirits and take a tragic turn thereafter.
“I won’t go so far as to say that Didier is responsible for Gilles’ death, indicates Joann, although many people think so. If there hadn’t been a disagreement on the track between Gilles and Jochen Mass, there wouldn’t have been an accident. But that’s not Mass’s fault. He ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. One thing is certain however, Gilles never thought that Didier would act in this way. He felt betrayed. »
When Pironi was the victim, in turn, of a serious accident at Hockenheim, three months later. Joann first had an initial reaction.
“There’s a little something about you that says too bad for him. Then, there, you wonder if it’s really what you think. Unless you don’t have feelings, you don’t wish bad luck on anyone, ”she added.
emotional melanie
“For me, the documentary is impactful. It makes me react a lot and touches me deeply, ”said Mélanie at the start of our telephone conversation.
We saw her particularly emotional during one of her testimonies.
“I can’t watch the documentary without shedding tears,” she says. And it’s not tears that I control. I was angry and in great pain. Even today, I see images of Gilles and it picks me up.
“The way he touched the public is exceptional. In 1981 he managed to win two races (Monaco and Spain) with panache, even though he had a bad car. It’s magic when you look at this. »
Like her mother, Mélanie is not ready to hold Pironi responsible for Gilles’ death.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she continues. Anyway, I think Gilles was affected by some emotion. He was deeply hurt. In Zolder, Gilles was not himself. »
His brother Jacques, who can also be seen in the documentary, said his father “was very selfish”.
“In 1980 and 1981, things weren’t to his liking. His car did not give him satisfaction. Between two races, he was often at Ferrari [à Maranello] to experiment and find solutions. We saw him very little and we suffered from his absence. That’s probably what made him selfish in Jacques’ eyes,” claims Mélanie.
The absence of Forghieri
At Imola, the director of the Ferrari team and big supporter of Gilles Villeneuve, Mauro Forghieri, was absent for family reasons. Marco Piccinini, who was close to Pironi, replaced him.
“And if I had been there”, wondered Forghieri, implying that Pironi would probably have respected Ferrari’s instructions. The Italian engineer died on November 2, before filming for the documentary was completed.
“If Mauro had been there at Imola, things would surely have happened differently”, concluded Joann Villeneuve.
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