Panis: “Villeneuve, a good spirit”

AUTOhebdo.fr: Olivier, you must be happy to find Jacques Villeneuve as a teammate on the Andros Trophy ?
Olivier Panis: I am obviously very happy that he is joining us on the ice. Jacques welcomed me wonderfully at BAR in Formula 1 a few years ago, when we became teammates. He played the game to the fullest and allowed me to integrate ideally into the team. He?s someone who really has a good spirit.

How did this collaboration come about?
We have always remained in contact with Jacques and when we discussed with Skoda the possibility of integrating another driver into the Andros Team, I suggested Jacques? name. Skoda liked the idea and I contacted them. Jacques was seduced by this project and an agreement was quickly reached between Skoda and him.

What did you say to him to convince him to come join you on the ice?
I first spoke to him about the level of competition there is on the Andros. The names of the high-level drivers present in the Trophy speak for themselves and the cars used are real ice prototypes. I also spoke to him about the very friendly and fun atmosphere of the Trophy, the good evenings we spend with friends? He liked it straight away!

Do you think he will perform well on the ice?
I'm not worried at all. Jacques is a Formula 1 World Champion and he has an exceptional level of feeling. He wants to ride with me to get some reference points and benefit from my experience. I told him that ice was a difficult discipline and that we had to put aside our habits and our reference points as “circuit” drivers. But at Skoda we benefit from a great structure and extremely well prepared cars. We will have all the tools to do well and I am sure that Jacques will be invaluable in helping the team score big points.

What are your own objectives for this 2010/2011 Andros Trophy?
I want to do everything to win the Trophy this year. I now have several seasons of experience behind me and I benefit this year, thanks to Skoda, from a very efficient structure to achieve this. There will be a lot of competition for sure, but that doesn't displease me!