Asian Motor Sports

Reports from Australia suggest that former Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve is being targeted to join Super Cheap Racing.

Team owner Paul Morris, who recently retired from driving, wants the son of legendary F1 racer, Gilles Villeneuve, to take his place in the Holden team, alongside former V8 champ Russell Ingall.

Morris has connections with former Champ Car team boss Barry Green, now part of Villeneuve’s management team, from when he raced in Indy Lights in the late 1990s.

He said that Green had initially approached him about a Bathurst drive for Villeneuve last year (Jacques along with co-driver M.Neal finished 23rd) but that there was insufficient time to complete a deal.

Now Morris wants to get Villeneuve into the car for the full V8 championship.

“This is real. Absolutely. He is pretty keen to do it,” Morris told the Herald Sun newspaper.

“It would be the full season. Not just one race. If we can make a bit of a buzz about it then I think it can definitely happen.

“We would have to write about $2 million in sponsorship so we could run the car and pay him to drive.

“How long since we’ve had a Formula One driver in touring cars in Australia? The last one was Alan Jones. And if he drives as good as AJ, he will be all right.

“The next step would be to get him out here to drive the car.”

Morris has already tested Leanne Tander, and considered young gun Steve Owen, but was also drawn to American racer Boris Said who co- drove for him last year in the Bathurst 1000.

But he is keen on Villeneuve and wants to get him to Australia.

“Yes, I want it to happen. And I think it can,” Morris said.

Villeneuve is currently competing in the Speedcar Series in the Middle East, having so far failed to secure a regular NASCAR drive.

Related FT Network articles:

• Jacques Villeneuve Quickest During Speedcar Test