May 10, 2007

• Nice read, Capt! "Gilles in a road car was frightening and when I turned to speak to his wife, she was not visible as she had taken to the floor. She indicated that this was normal for her and I soon found out why. "Villeneuve believed in the `gap theory,' i.e., that there was always a space into which he could move when faced with a high-speed collision. He ignored all red lights, gently bouncing off parked cars or lamposts, talking all the time and and never pausing or hesitating in the traffic. !!!
• Rockin' story, indeed. The only fault I can find is that he should have shortened his name to "Gilleneuve."
• He ignored all red lights, gently bouncing off parked cars or lamposts, talking all the time and and never pausing or hesitating in the traffic. Standard Montreal driving behaviour.
• I don't know much about car racing (or cars at all to be honest), but what a euphonious name Gilles had.
• I don't like car racing because the most important factor in it is not the person. It is the car. This is not true of other sports. Kobe Bryant can wear stilettos and still kick my ass in basketball even if I am wearing top of the line Nike shoes. However, if I am driving one of the Nascar vehicles and Jeff Gordon is driving my parents my Jetta, I am pretty sure that I am going to win.
• Yeah, fish tick. Sometimes I really miss driving in Montreal. There are so many fun games to play, some of which are fairly harmless. I've always loved the bus stop clutch pop, where you sit in the bus stop (no right turn on red in Montreal) and just before the light changes drop the clutch and jump around the traffic to your left. Extra points for drinking a coffee, smoking a cigarette, and arguing with someone in the back seat while carrying out this maneuver. It's certainly true that Gilles carried that approach to driving to the track. Formula one has been far less interesting since we've lost drivers like that.
• And yet, for all the standard Montreal driving behaviour, the only ones who are dangerous are the taxi drivers.
• Capt. Renault -- I've always felt safer driving in Montreal than in Toronto.
• However, if I am driving one of the Nascar vehicles and Jeff Gordon is driving my parents my Jetta, I am pretty sure that I am going to win. I don't think you're being quite fair, bernockle. For one, there's really no comparing a Jetta to a NASCAR vehicle. It's not all about the car, as it takes a certain skill and character to handle, maneuver, and manipulate a hulk of metal with such horsepower. Now, I'm not a NASCAR fan by any means (much prefer Formula 1 myself), but I'm fairly certain that if you had two identical Jettas - one with Jeff Gordon and the other with you - chances are he would blow you away each time. Just as in every sport, there is also an element of "playing" your opponent by intimidation, bluffing, and focused determination. Just because NASCAR is a sport utilizing a vehicle doesn't make it any less worthy of being labeled a "sport" IMHO/YMMV/WWJD/ETC... Even given your hypothetical scenario, you might not go as fast as you would expect...
• It's not all about the car, but it's a lot about the car. One doesn't need to look much further than the career of Gilles' son Jacques to see that. He did well in a good car. He didn't do well in a bad car. In '97 or thereabouts, in Jacques' heyday, he and Larry Walker were up for the Lou Marsh Trophy, given by Canadian sports writers for the best Canadian athlete of the year. At the time, there was even a debate if a race car driver was an athlete, but whatever. Larry Walker, despite being the NL MVP that year, was quoted as saying "I was beaten by a machine." Some saw him as a sore loser -- but it's clear that history has borne out that view. And Walker won the next year, anyway. Jacques Villeneuve went on to become the Anna Kournicova of auto racing...