Belgium’s Circuit Zolder, was bright and sunny on that Saturday afternoon – 30 years ago today, as Gilles powered his #27 Ferrari 126 C2 sideways through the Kleine chicane.  His determination was never more intense, as he opened up the throttle of his crimson steed, disappearing over the hill heading toward Terlamenbocht corner.   He was on his last qualifying lap for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix and was racing hard to out qualify his 2nd season team mate and recently made nemesis, Didier Pironi.  It was to be Gilles final lap.

With eight minutes left in the qualifying session, Villeneuve came over the rise and found Jochen Mass on his cool down lap through the left-handed Butte bend before the Terlamenbocht corner. Jochen saw Gilles approaching at high speed and moved to the right to let him through on the racing line. At that same moment, Gilles also moved right to pass the Jochen’s March. The Ferrari hit the back of March and was launched into the air at about 120–140 mph. The Ferrari was airborne for over 100 yards before it slammed down nose-first onto the ground – the force so incredible, that it buckled the nose and the front part of the cockpit. But that was just the beginning of the Ferrari’s destructive dance. The car then catapulted itself high into the air and began a series of horrifying cartwheels – then bounced off an earthen bank behind the guardrails on the right side of the entry to Terlamenbocht, before finally resting itself on the edge of the track.   The car just barely avoided landing on the slow-moving March of Jochen as it made the turn.

What was left was a scene of utter devastation. The wreckage was strewn around the crash scene for over 500 feet. The remnants of the chassis, bearing witness to the violence of the crash, sat on the track, with the entire front section ripped off at the point where the driver once sat. The force was so extreme that Villeneuve was thrown from the car with his seat & safety belts still attached to him – his helmet having flown off and rolled some distance from his body.

The on-track medics were on him in less than a minute and began their attempts to revive him. They found him unconscious, his body visibly flaccid and his pupils dilated. Once on scene and after examining Gilles, FIA doctor, Professor Sid Watkins concluded he probably had suffered a cervical spine fracture with high spinal cord injury. Watkins later commented on the surreal scene stating that he noticed that Gilles’ feet were quite bare as his shoes and socks were thrown off during the crash.

Eleven minutes after the crash, his was on a stretcher, on a military helicopter and flown to the University of St. Raphael Hospital at Louvain.

At the hospital it was confirmed that Gilles was still unconscious and was suffering from severe injuries to his neck and brain-stem: officially a fracture of the cervical vertebrae and the severing of the spinal cord. His vital functions were being maintained by a life-support system.

Once it was determined that there was nothing more that could be done and the situation was thoroughly explained to his wife, Joann, the decision was made to remove Gilles from life support.

Later that evening, the hospital made the official statement which simply read:

“Gilles Villeneuve died at 9:12pm on 8th May 1982.”

I remember I was getting ready to leave that evening and as I was about to go out the door, when my attention was caught by the news reporter on the TV set.  He started to tell of the accident and subsequent death of a driver during the Formula 1 qualify session in Belgium.  As I approached the TV set to listen to the details, I saw the picture of a race car on the corner of the screen and the brief details of the accident and his death.  I was stunned as the news report ended and could not believe what I had just seen and heard.

I grew up in an era when most of the F1 racing world came to me via the print media.  We didn’t have cable TV at the time and there was little to virtually no race coverage on the networks.  I followed the F1 circus through sources such as Autoweek, On Track magazine and for a more colorful and polished account of any given F1 race – Road & Track.  I could usually count on the results in the L.A. Times sports section the next day after the race, but I would mainly get all the racing details weekly from Autoweek.

The following day or possible the next, I picked up a copy of the L.A. Times and read the brief article of Gilles accident and death.  The news further adding to my sadness for the driver I had so diligently kept up with over the past few years, having died so tragically.  Through the articles in the aforementioned magazines, I later read in greater detail, about everything that had transpired on that fateful qualifying day.

Over 10 years ago, I wrote a brief article for my website titled “Remembering Gilles“.  In it, I briefly summarized his career, his talent and raw, natural ability as a driver.  But most importantly I wrote about the man who was Gilles Villeneuve and what he meant to me.  A man who’s priorities were far from what most drivers of that era, lived and drove by.  A driver who’s character, morals and values were there for all to see and admire, as well as criticize.  Such were the strength of his convictions, his passion for racing, his commitment to his family and his love of life in general, that it leaves little wonder, after all this time, why Gilles is still so highly regarded in the racing community -  and why I continue to consider “Il Piccolo Canadese* “, my racing hero.

30 years later… Always remembered.

Vic

“He left us because of something incomprehensible. His fatality has deprived us of a great champion, one that I loved very very much. People used to say that one day he’ll quit Ferrari but I never believed it because Gilles and I had formed such an affection for each other we were like father and son.

My past is scarred with grief…  father, mother, brother, sister, wife… my life is full of sad memories. I look back and I see my loved ones …and among my loved ones I see the face of this great man: Gilles Villeneuve.” – Enzo Ferrari on the death of Gilles Villeneuve

* (Enzo Ferrari called Gilles, “Il Piccolo Canadese” – the tiny Canadian. A term of endearment Il Commendatore had for Villeneuve.)

Websites of Interest:

Gilles Villeneuve – The Last Day.
30 years ago: A totally shamelessly subjective, but yet honest view on Gilles Villeneuve.
Ventisetterosso
Gilles Villeneuve – Wikipedia
Gilles Villeneuve Museum