Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction June 2024
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/25/2024
The year 1997 was the season of seasons for Jacques Villeneuve in Formula One. He had just finished his first season with Williams Renault that saw him finish 2nd in the Championship to teammate Damon Hill. In 1997 Hill jumped ship to the newly formed Arrows F1 team and that left Jacques as the number one driver with Williams and he made the most of it. He captured 10 pole positions and 7 race wins on his way to the 1997 Formula One World Championship; he still remains the only Canadian to win the title.
This Bell Dominator helmet was painted by Bell S.P.O.R.T.S. Europe in Jacques’ traditional paint scheme and was numbered “R-4” on the back. As always extra eye-port foam has been added and the top vents have been partially tapped-off with blue colored tape. The other air vents as well as the drilled out drink tube are closed-off with heli-tape and the full race radio remains intact. Jacques has applied his signature to the visor in silver paint pen adding “World Champ 97”. Also included is the original Bell carrying bag with “J.V. R-4 1997” handwritten annotations.
It must be noted that for the 1997 season, Villeneuve’s helmets were not tagged on the back with the flag of the country by Bell trackside staff to indicate in which Grand Prix weekend it was used so without a photo-match it is impossible to say when during the season he would have used it. The helmet exhibits a few easily noticeable paint chips in the forehead area with additional wear also visible in that area.
It is rare that any of Villeneuve’s helmets from the 1997 Championship season are offered to the public and this helmet would become the centerpiece of any racing collection. This item is from Jacques Villeneuve’s personal collection and will come with his signed LOA.
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