Villeneuve gives approval to Zhuhai track

   Copyright c 1998 Nando Media
   Copyright c 1998 Agence France-Presse

ZHUHAI, China (Oct 23, 1998 - 12:50 EDT) - World champion Jacques
Villeneuve gave cautious approval to China's Zhuhai race track following a
test drive on the latest addition to the Formula One circus in unrealistic
conditions Friday.

"It's good. It's wide enough and has good breaking zones ... but it's
lacking a few high speed corners," Villeneuve said.

"In a way it's a bit like the new Austrian track and that's always
given good races."

But Villeneuve's assessment of the purpose-built 4.32 kilometre (2.68 mile)
track was based on three leisurely laps in a two-seater Renault Spider.

The nearest Villeneuve came to a Formula One Grand Prix car was when he
posed for photographers in Zhuhai, sitting in an engine-less model of a
Williams FW-17.

The season-ending Japan Grand Prix on November 1 will be Villeneuve's last
drive for Williams before he switches to British American Racing (BAR), the
new owners of the Tyrrell team.

But the 27-year-old Canadian said he would not have any secrets about the
Zhuhai circuit to take to his new team.

"What I've seen today is not going to help me next year," he
said, noting the relatively "slow" Spider was not the right
vehicle to get a true feel for the track.

"But it's a very simple track anyway. There's not a lot to learn."

Probably Villeneuve's biggest adrenalin rush was when he went to Hong Kong
after the drive and gave an abseiling exhibition down five-floors of a
high-rise building.

The track at Zhuhai, which borders Macau in southern China, will stage the
second Formula One race of 1999, on March 21 following the Australian Grand
Prix.

The $35 million circuit, with a 100,000-seat capacity, was completed in
1996 with a Formula One berth in mind. It has already staged international
GT races, but Villeneuve found nothing special to elevate the prominence of
Zhuhai.

His favourite tracks are Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Japan's Suzuka
which he described as "the old type of track that follows the layout
of nature and you feel you're going somewhere."

Although off the pace in this year's Formula One series, Villeneuve said he
would not be taking it easy at Suzuka in his last race for Williams.

"There's still a chance I might lose my fifth place and there's a
chance the team might lose third place.

"I want to do it the best I can. I'm still part of the (Williams) team
and I'll still work as hard as ever," he said.

He tipped McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen, who has a four-point lead over
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher to replace him as world champion.

Of his prospects next year with BAR, led by his long-time friend Craig
Pollock, Villeneuve said they had the same budget and technology as the
current major players and he would be surprised if they were not
competitive.

"But until the car has wheels and goes around the track at least once.
I don't know what to expect," he said.

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