From Gilles days in the Sno Pro series. He was World Champion in 1974 and 1976, I think. Brother Jacques Sr. was also there and still races today. He had a big crash 2 weeks ago in Eagle River and was seriously injured. I've got fotos I took of Jacques at some Mich races in the late 70's somewhere ...
Didnt they do one in the 90's for the younger Jacques? As I recall, it was slower and made a constant high pitched whine.
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Gilles is generally acknowledged as the best snowmobile racer ever. But he was also a designer and fabricator. He basically was Alouette's race department. Although he didn't invent IFS (independent front suspension) he was the one to make it work in 1973 - a design still used by all race sleds and most recreational sleds today. He also invented a twin-track sled with IFS (the last foto is Gilles testing the twin-tracker). It didn't have much success. In 76, he and Jacques took the World Series by storm with Gilles IFS Skiroule's - check out the 2nd foto with Gilles IFS in the lead followed by two obsolete leaf-spring setups.
Very cool, Curt. My Dad's racing photos from the 60's and 70's contain a few Canadian snowmobile races. Some of the coolest are at Mosport, where they simply raced around the snow-covered track. I remember Canadian winters in the early '70s where you could do that. Sadly, I don't think that there is enough snow to do that nowadays.
Some of the photos are very cool, with guys hanging completely off the snowmobile around corners. Brave guys.
My mother, who often accompanied my Dad on his racing shoots, described Gilles as, "one of the biggest *******s I ever met." Perhaps, Mom, but that boy could drive. So could his brother and son.
J
So how's the book of your Dad's work coming along anyway?There's got to be some gold in there!
Don't ask. There is definitely some gold in there, but his son is nothing but cubic zirconiumIt's like most things - finding the time . . .
By the way, your post prompted me to look at some more snowmobile racing photos at Mosport last night - when those guys wrecked, it got ugly. Impacting the snow, it looked like a bomb went off. As I said, brave guys.
I remember watching Jacques (senior, Jacques junior's uncle) racing Trans Am cars at Mosport in the early to mid-'80s, if I correctly recall, and his talent wasn't limited to snowmobiles. That boy could drive! He was Jacques Jr's mentor early in his career, and clearly had some influence.
There was great racing during that era in Canada, including Richard Spenard (one of the best I've personally seen, and a hell of a Porsche driver to boot), Ron Fellows, Scott Goodyear and a very young Paul Tracey. Money was flowing into motorsports then, with the Honda Michelin, Porsche 944 Cup, Formula V and Trans Am series.
A fabulous era with some great Canadian drivers.
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