The helmet Gilles Villeneuve wore during his last F1 season fetched a record amount at an auction. It is the iconic red and black helmet he used in the 1982 season. The piece of racing history was sold for 1.25 million dollars, equivalent to over one million euros, according to the Canadian press. This has shattered the previous record by a wide margin.
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The previous record stood at 720,000 pounds – over eight hundred thousand euros – and was set last year with Ayrton Senna’s helmet from the 1992 Belgian GP. The motorsport museum ‘Hall of Fame Collection’ from Burlington, Ontario, mediated the sale of the Villeneuve helmet. Chairman and CEO Darren Jack stated that this is a world record. The helmet was in a private collection for nearly thirty years before it reappeared on the market.
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“The helmet is an extremely rare item among collectors,” Jack told the Canadian media. “Moreover, this is probably one of only five existing racing helmets of Gilles Villeneuve.” About the background of the item, Jack explained that it is a helmet Villeneuve wore for Ferrari during the 1982 San Marino GP. Just two weeks later, the Canadian legend died at the age of 32 after a crash during qualifying for the Belgian GP. The F1 circuit in Montreal still bears his name.
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