Jacques Villeneuve opens racing school near Montreal

What do you do when your racing career is reaching its end? Well, if you were high-profile enough at the height of your career, you open a racing school. That's what former Indy and Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve has done, following various attempts to remain in F1, switch to NASCAR, starting a music career, and opening his own club/restaurant in downtown Montreal.

The new school is located at the ICAR racing complex, which Villeneuve helped design, about 20 minutes north of Montreal at the largely unused Mirabel airport. One of the largest airports in the world (in terms of land size), Mirabel was originally envisioned as the future hub for supersonic air travel to and from North America. Since that never really took off, so to speak, Mirabel has a lot of extra runways – perfect for opening a race track.

The Jacques Villeneuve Academy will offer a wide range of programs from novice to expert, allowing enthusiasts and aspiring drivers to benefit from Villeneuve's once-great racing prowess. Montreal may be lacking the grand prix this year, but between the Jim Russell racing school, the Ferrari driving program and Jacques' new academy all within easy reach, the racing spirit certainly hasn't left town.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Darrell Ingham/Getty]

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