Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/20/2020
The 1996 season marked the debut of Jacques Villeneuve in Formula 1. After 2 years of racing CART in North America, Jacques signed on with Frank Williams and the powerful Williams Renault F-1 team. Jacques made it very clear from the start he was there to win. He started the season with a pole position in the Australian GP and went on to score 4 wins, 2 more pole positions, 11 top three’s, 6 fastest race laps and second overall in the F-1 Championship.
This 1996 Bell M3 helmet was used while driving for the Williams-Renault team during his 1996 rookie season in Formula One. The helmet has been labeled by Bell S.P.O.R.T.S. Europe “R-4”. This helmet was used during the 1996 season and then had the 1997 sponsor decals added and was likely used during pre-season testing as by the first race of the season Jacques was wearing the newly designed Bell Dominator helmet.
The helmet is all original and as all of Jacques’ helmets customizations; the air vents are closed-off with heli-tape and there is added extra foam to the eye-port. The helmet shows nice wear and use with a number of small chips in the paint. The race radio has been removed but one of the radio clips remains on the helmet. Jacques has applied his signature to a remaining tear-off on the visor. Also included is the original Bell carrying bag with “J.V. 96 R4” handwritten annotations.
No other name represents Canadian racing like Villeneuve. The son of racing legend Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques became only the fourth driver in history to win the Indy 500 and the Formula 1 Championship. The helmet is from Jacques Villeneuve’s personal collection and will come with his signed LOA.
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