One year later Gilles died after a crash at this same circuit.
During qualifying on Saturday May 8, at 13.52,
he touched the March of Jochen Mass and crashed heavily.
Gilles Villeneuve may well be the fastest driver Formula 1 has ever known, if not the most spectacular one.
Fans from around the world loved this driver for his 'never say die' approach to racing.
For him a race was only over, when the chequered flag was shown,
and as long as he was able to drive his car - albeit on three wheels once in a while - Gilles kept going.
Some of his drives are legendary, like the three wheel drive at Zandvoort 1979,
or qualifying in the rain at Watkins Glen that same year where he was 11 seconds faster than everyone else,
or his drive at Jarama 1981, where he kept five cars behind him for most of the race; it was his last race win.
But his most remembered race is the one that gave him 2nd place: Dyon 1979.
During the last few laps of this race he had a wheel-banging battle with René Arnoux for 2nd place.
To this day, Gilles is in the hearts of many racing fans. His son, Jacques, later stepped into his footsteps
and achieved what Gilles was never able to do: win the World Championship (1997).
