FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION VILLENEUVE TO RACE V8 SUPERCAR IN TOWNSVILLE

The Sucrogen Townsville 400 has been handed a massive coup with news former Formula One, Indianapolis 500, and IndyCar Champion Jacques Villeneuve will race in the Pepsi Max Crew V8 Supercar at North Queensland’s largest annual event.

The colourful Canadian motorsport superstar who has raced in Formula One for a decade, driven in Nascar and the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, will be driving the Pepsi Max Crew car in Townsville from July 6-8.

It is massive news for the event, Townsville and North Queensland to have an international superstar on their doorstep and one that is expected to bring with it massive international audiences and visitors to the region.

Villeneuve’s V8 Supercars cameo is a sign of the high esteem the competition enjoys in the world’s motorsport ranks, and his visit to Townsville makes him arguably the highest profile athlete to compete in North Queensland.

V8 Supercars CEO David Malone welcomed the news, and Villeneuve’s strong endorsement of the V8 Supercars Championship. Villeneuve has had some experience in a V8 Supercar as a co-driver to Paul Dumbrell in the ARMOR ALL Gold Coast 600 in 2010.

“It’s real coup for North Queensland to have an international motorsport legend the calibre of Jacques coming to racing in Townsville for three days,” Mr Malone said.

“This will be the first time an ex-Formula One World Champion has driven a V8 Supercar in a stand-alone event which makes history for our sport. For Townsville this is huge news, he is a household name worldwide.

“Drivers from different competitions around the world look with a degree of envy at the V8 Supercars Championship, we race on some of the best tracks and street circuits in the world – here in Australia. Our competition, and the quality of our drivers, is absolutely world class, as is the Townsville event.

“Jacques is a 24 Hours of Le Mans win away from being only the second man in history to win the coveted Triple Crown of motorsports  - the Indianapolis 500, the Formula One Championship, and the Le Mans endurance event. He is the kind of driver who is always looking to push himself. It’s in his blood.”

Queensland Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey said attracting such a big name would raise the profile of the Townsville event and attract world-wide attention to the region.

“The Sucrogen Townsville 400 is already a highlight on Queensland’s motorsport calendar.  To have Jacques Villeneuve, a world champion from multiple categories race in Queensland, is a big win for the event, and a big win for the state.

“The 2011 event was a huge success for the region, with more than 150,000 people attending; delivering an economic boost of more than $18 million. With great talent like Villeneuve in 2012, the event is expected to again deliver fantastic results,” said Ms Stuckey.

“The Sucrogen Townsville 400 will be followed by the ICC Cricket World Cup in August and the NRL test in October which demonstrates the Newman Government's commitment to hosting major international events in Queensland.”

Villeneuve will be racing on all three days of the 2012 Sucrogen Townsville 400, with Friday’s practice sessions followed by two races of the V8 Supercars Championship on Saturday and Sunday.

“Jacques is a renowned and respected driver the world over and it’s with huge excitement that we welcome him into the Pepsi Max Crew. The style and persona of Jacques is something that will bode well with our team and his fresh perspective makes us very confident heading toward the Townsville round in July,” said Adam Burling, PepsiCo.

Commenting from his home in Montreal on accepting this special invitational drive, Jacques said, “I feel for Greg Murphy having to miss a number of races in the Championship as there is nothing worse for a race driver than sitting on the side lines with an injury and not being able to accumulate points in the series. When this opportunity came up only one week ago, the stars all aligned and thankfully my commitments with the NASCAR Nationwide Penske Team in America and Porsche Supercup events in Europe allowed me to grab the Pepsi Max Crew seat for the Townsville race in an instant.  V8 Supercars is a spectacular race series and I had a great experience on the Gold Coast back in October 2010”.

“I have checked out the whole Pepsi Max Crew Graffiti concept and it looks wild . . . I also understand if time permits that the guys are thinking about a specific livery for the Townsville Race for me which will be cool.  Like all drivers though, I am planning to first and foremost be competitive in the car as quickly as possible…. your Championship is world class and I will be thrilled to do this Townsville race.”

Pepsi Max Crew team owner Rick Kelly said, “It’s not every day a decorated driver of Jacques calibre walks through your doors with his achievements at the highest possible levels of global Motor sport.  JVs upcoming drive with us is a win for everyone . . . all our staff, the sport, the V8 Supercar fan base in Far North Queensland, and of course PepsiCo who have had a tough year with Greg’s unfortunate back injuries disrupting their marketing programs.  His driving and technical capabilities are sound and I have no doubt he will be quickly on the pace”.

Tickets for the 2012 Sucrogen Townsville 400 are on sale now through Ticketek, for more information about this year’s event visit http://townsville.v8supercars.com.au .

About Jacques . . .

Jacques started his racing career in 1990 in the Italian Formula Three, in 1992 to the Japanese Formula Three Series, in 1994-95 to the IndyCar World Series and in 1996 in Formula One with Williams Renault.  Jacques F1 Career spanned from 1995 – 2007 when he went back to NASCAR Racing.  In recent years Jacques has been involved with Le Mans racing, NASCAR and the Andros Trophy Series.

Jacques racing accomplishments are formidable with victories in both F1 Championship and Indycar Championship.

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