There have been increasing whispers and rumours within the motorsport world in recent weeks that former
Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has split from his long-time manager Craig Pollock.
The pair have worked together closely since 1992. They had initially met when Pollock was a teacher in Villars, Switzerland, and taught the young Jacques how to ski. Years later, whilst the Scot was working in Japan in a business role, the pair's paths crossed again by chance.
It was during his highly successful Japanese F3 campaign – one that saw him triumph three times
en route to the runner-up spot in the drivers' championship – that Villeneuve came to Pollock's attention once more, and from that point onwards they agreed to work together as driver and manager.
It was Pollock's intervention that saw Villeneuve return to the North American racing scene for the first time in four years, and over the following 15 seasons the duo's relationship would strengthen, taking in the 1995 CART honours,
F1 drivers' laurels two years later and the French-Canadian's maiden appearance in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar classic last June.
Now, however, stories are beginning to circulate that the pair have reached a decision to terminate their working relationship.
Villeneuve is set to compete in 2008 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, having made the switch across to the category late last summer, when the 36-year-old participated in a number of Craftsman Truck Series outings and made his Nextel Cup debut at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, qualifying an impressive sixth on his maiden appearance.
Despite rumours that he did not have sufficient budget available to be able to complete the full season in 2008,
Toyota Motorsport Vice-President Jim Aust today told Canadian newspaper
Le Journal de Montréal that Villeneuve will indeed be competing for Bill Davis Racing throughout the entirety of the forthcoming campaign.
