Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction Spring 2022
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/31/2022
The 2003 season was a trying one for both Jacques Villeneuve and the Lucky Strike BAR Honda team. They had chosen to use Bridgestone tires which turned out to be very uncompetitive and Villeneuve spent most of the season in contract negotiations which ultimately lead to him being replaced for the last race of the season. In this last season with BAR Honda, he managed 6 top 10 finishes with a best placing of 6th at the Italian Grand Prix. This relegated him to 16th overall in the 2003 World Championship. This Bell K1 helmet was painted by Bell Racing Europe, tagged 2003-03 and had the Malaysian flag applied to the back by Bell trackside staff. The helmet is photo-matched to the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix held at the Sepang International Circuit, in Sepang Malaysia, from March 20-23. That weekend, like the rest of the season was very trying. Villeneuve qualified 12th on the grid but the car had an electrical issue at the start and he was forced out of the race before it began, he was classified as finishing 16th. The helmet shows light wear inside and out with a nice amount of “pitting” and small chips in the paint, with the microphone clips unglued from the side but still attached. The helmet still has the full race radio and HANS clips attached. The drink tube has been drilled out as well the visor still has three custom tear-offs still affixed to it. Malaysia is known as one of the hottest races of the season with very high humidity and you can see the remains of a helmet cooling system that was removed and most likely used again in another helmet. Originating from Jacques Villeneuve’s personal collection, his signed LOA will accompany.
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