By Steven English Tuesday, June 10th 2008, 10:48 GMT
Jacques VilleneuveJacques Villeneuve says he is ready to win the Le Mans 24 Hours thanks to the experience he gained in last year's race.
The 1997 Formula One world champion will share the No. 7 Peugeot 908 HDi with Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gene for the second year, and believes he can be competitive enough to give the car a good chance of victory.
"I know the track this time and I'm very happy with where we are," he told autosport.com. "Last year my first stint was when the sun was setting, which was the worst moment of the day because there's a full straight where you're totally blind.
"I also did a lot of driving at night, which is the hardest time. I didn't actually do a lot during the day last year and driving the car in the daylight has been much easier.
Villeneuve, who is aiming to become the only man alive to have won the Indy 500, the F1 world championship and Le Mans, is confident that the 908 is a much-improved version of last year's and that he works well with Minassian and Gene.
"There has been a lot of work done on the car in one year. It's a lot faster, more competitive, and more reliable than before, which is great.
"I have a good chemistry with both Marc and Nicolas. We have similar set-ups, so it's easy to drive the car among ourselves, and we had a good race at Spa too.
"They're good teammates to have because I know the two of them are fast and don't make stupid mistakes. They don't take any stupid risks and in a long race like the 24 Hours that really pays off."
The late Graham Hill is the only man who achieved the feat of winning at Le Mans, Indianapolis and the F1 title.
