They were the words she’d hoped never to hear, yet before he spoke them she instinctively knew what he’d been about to say.

Now Jacques, Joann Villeneuve’s only son and barely 13, served notice that he wished to follow the family tradition and go motor racing. Joann promised that if he obtained good marks in his maths exam, a subject at which he was weak, she would allow him to drive a kart.

Even at that early age, the young Villeneuve relished a challenge. He applied himself at school, got good marks and Mrs Villeneuve had no choice but to keep her word.

Almost a year later, in September 1985, Joann fulfilled her promise and allowed Jacques to drive a 100cc kart around the kart track at Imola, indeed daughter Melanie was also allowed to have a go too. The owners of the kart, Luigi and Massimo Buratti, were impressed and having shown his mettle in the 100cc machine, Jacques progressed to a 135cc version before being allowed on to the Grand Prix track with a Formula 4 car, all on the same day!

Two years later the Italian motorsport magazine Autosprint ran an interview with Jacques under the title: ‘Mi ha contagiato un virus familare’ – I have contracted the family virus. The rest, as they say, is history.

Although Jacques clearly had the ‘racing bug’, his mother was adamant that his schoolwork must not suffer. Young Villeneuve was attending the Beau Soleil International Alpine College in Switzerland. It was here that he was able to indulge in the other great passion in his life, skiing, particularly ski-racing.

Ayrton Senna famously said: ‘Racing is in my blood’, the same could undoubtedly be said of Jacques. His uncle Jacques who had won the 1980 and 1981 Formula Atlantic Championships as well as the 1983 Can-Am title was keen to discover if his nephew had inherited the Villeneuve racing talent, Jacques Sr. enrolled the youngster at the Jim Russell Driving School at Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Although Jacques’ race course lasted a mere three days, his instructors were impressed, particularly with his powers of concentration, rare in a fifteen year old. At the end of the course Jacques received his diploma, chief instructor Gilbert Pednault declaring that Villeneuve was the best student he’d ever seen.

In the summer of ‘87 Jacques attended a racing school set-up by former Russell instructor Richard Spenard. Here, in return for helping out in the garage, Jacques would receive guidance on race craft as he attempted to hone his undoubted skills. Like Pednault, Spenard was amazed by Jacques ability to concentrate, though he was the first to admit that the youngster was not exactly enthusiastic when it came to helping out in the garage.

Jacques was still undecided as to what he wanted to do with his life, did he want to race cars or should he continue with his other great passion skiing? Spenard was convinced that Villeneuve could achieve greatness, he had the speed but lacked discipline, however that would come.

Aged 17, Villeneuve was too young (by a year), to obtain a competition licence in either Italy or Canada, so he applied for (and got), a licence from Andorra, with a little help from the Canadian Automobile Federation.

Part Two Of Jacques' Story