SEPTEMBER 18, 1995

Villeneuve's work begins

JACQUES VILLENEUVE cannot expect much of a holiday in the weeks ahead.

JACQUES VILLENEUVE cannot expect much of a holiday in the weeks ahead. The French-Canadian may have won the Indycar title at Laguna Seca a week ago but now Williams, which is running Jacques in F1 next year, wants him to do as much testing as possible before testing restrictions begin for 1996. F1 rules state that teams cannot test at circuits which hold races after January 1, and before the event in question. There are some circuits where testing is never possible, F1 teams are not allowed to run at tracks outside Europe; while tracks like Monaco and Spa are made up of public roads and never available for testing.

Thus, it is important for Williams to give Villeneuve as much mileage as possible at tracks where he is allowed to run, because the rule restricting F1 practice during GP weekends is a big problem for drivers who have never visited the tracks in question.

Villeneuve will thus run a two-day test at Monza this week and is expected to do a lot of testing at Estoril, Barcelona, Magny-Cours, Hockenheim and Imola before the end of the year. With Williams having nominated Silverstone as its home circuit, Jacques will get plenty of laps there in the New Year.