Jacques Villeneuve, the Incredible Iceman

Jacques was forced to get in an ambulance.

In the hour following his accident, Villeneuve announced that he was going home. Then, he said something that surprised his family: "It's risky, really risky, but you never know. We'll have to see..."

He checked his leg and his knee, and added: "It doesn't hurt that bad..."

His chief engineer, Jean-Marc Huard, was still hopeful Jacques could get back on his snowmobile.

Jacques was barely able to walk on Sunday, the day of the race.

"Trust me, I know him well. A few years ago, in Quebec City, Jacques was feeling much more pain after a crash but, the day of the race, he was back and managed to win the damn thing. You never know what he's going to do..."

And so, on Saturday night, Jacques announced the news:

"My snowmobile has been repaired, while my body is still sore. Whatever, I'm at least going to give it a shot!"

No doubt, this guy is from another planet and his threshold of pain is incredibly high. He would have to be very injured or handicapped to miss a race! He's certainly not like the Montreal Canadiens; he has a lot of courage!

Sadly, the pain intensified and Villeneuve was unable to take part in the 25th Valcourt Grand Prix. He would have loved to go on, but his injured body wouldn't allow him. His spirit was crushed.

"I'm sorry. I won't be able to race today, but I'll be back next year," he said. "Come see me!"

That was the message Jacques told the record crowd. In the end, his knee, leg, ribs and neck hurt too much to try winning a third straight Valcourt Grand Prix, an event he's always excited to participate in.

Before going home (and probably to the hospital in the next few days), Jacques was handed a gift by the organizers, who wanted to thank him for making the Valcourt race ever more popular.

Céline and Jacques Villeneuve

As incredible as it may sound, Jacques and his team headed towards Eganville, Ontario, the very next week in hope of racing again.

Despite his age and the toll on his body, the Incredible Iceman is ready for war. Who else could have done the same thing?



_{Thank you, Pierre, for your collaboration... I couldn't have done better without you!}