Remembering the 'Aviator', Gilles Villeneuve January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982

“Only Villeneuve could have made that happen,” Arnoux said. “I had confidence because it was Gilles. I would never have tried to fight so ferociously with any other driver... The duel with Gilles is something I'll never forget, my greatest souvenir in racing.”

Some of you might remember this photograph I took for a previous article of mine, Why it's important. If you're eyes were sharp enough, you could just identify the man standing beside the #21 Ferrari 312. And if you're thinking that this book must mean a lot to me, you'd be very right.

After all, thanks to this Official Book of Ferrari 1947-1997, I was the only person of all my friends to have learned about Gilles Villeneuve. I was only twelve years old and I couldn't properly pronounce his last name, but I understood his heroism and he became my favorite racing driver of all time.

Born January 18, 1950, today would have been Gilles' 61st birthday. But rather than have you all read about Villeneuve from a young'un like me who wasn't even conceived when Gilles passed away, I share with you an excerpt from The Official Book instead:

He was nicknamed the 'Aviator' because at the start of his Formula 1 career the Ferrari race cars he was driving took flight so often. Thus, race after race, Gilles Villeneuve became a personality before he became a winner. Enzo Ferrari, who had practically bet blindfolded on Gilles, gave him his confidence and was rewarded. Gilles soon established himself as one of the fastest drivers of all time, won several races and came close to the world title, but he remained what he was: a born fighter, the racing driver who never gave up, who would fight for first place, but also for second-last, with the same determination and the same look of a somewhat 'difficult,' rather ingenuous boy, that was unusual among great drivers. Millions of people admired him, loved him and finally mourned him when a last terrifying flight into the air, at the end of practice for the Belgian GP, took him away forever on May 8, 1982.

*no photographs of the fatal crash are posted.

“Only Villeneuve could have made that happen,” Arnoux said. “I had confidence because it was Gilles. I would never have tried to fight so ferociously with any other driver... The duel with Gilles is something I'll never forget, my greatest souvenir in racing.”