Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction June 2016
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/15/2016
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 worn by Jacques during the British Grand Prix held at the famed Silverstone Circuit on July 13, 1997. Jacques started on pole and won his 4th GP of the season by edging out teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The helmet was painted by Bell SPORTS Europe in Jacques' traditional paint scheme and is tagged R-9 on the back. The British GP is a non-tobacco race so the traditional "Rothmans" decals were replaced by "Racing" decals which were also removed as it is believed that this helmet was used again during the season for testing as extra eye-port foam has been added as well and the front vents have been completely closed off. The helmet is photo-matched to images of Jacques sitting in the car and as well as celebrating the win with his team. This is the first known race-winning helmet of Jacques Villeneuve to ever be offered to the general public.
This item is from Jacques Villeneuve's personal collection and will come with his signed LOA.
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