SAINT-DENIS-SUR-LOIRE, France – Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve has teamed with Patrick Lemarie to bring FEED Racing into the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
FEED Racing will be an extension of the FEED Racing Academy Villeneuve and Lemarie launched last year. The team plans to compete in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with a mix of top drivers and young talent.
Villeneuve and Lemarie will drive the No. 5 and No. 6 cars in the EuroNASCAR PRO championship, marking the first time the two will race as teammates despite a longstanding friendship. The first EuroNASCAR 2 driver will be 17-year-old Belgian Simon Pilate, who will share the No. 6 car with Lemarie.
“This is a project aimed at giving young talents the opportunity to grow and become professionals in racing. I always loved this kind of cars and races and after gaining some valuable experience last year in NWES, we are ready to take the next step,” said Villeneuve, who raced full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2019. “With Patrick we know each other since we were eight years old, he was the test driver at BAR in Formula One and we founded the FEED Racing academy together, so this is a natural step forward. The Euro NASCAR car is perfect to learn the basics of driving a race car, it is bold and aggressive, it has no electronic aids and plenty of horsepower and since two drivers share the car, we will be able to do a proficient work together with our young drivers. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series can open a very interesting development path for them and in the next couple of months we’ll evaluate the opportunity to expand to three or four cars, fielding more top drivers and more up-and-coming talents.”
Villeneuve’s personal ambitions for the 2020 season are clear and include the opportunity to chase the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series title.
“Progressing will be the key element. Personally I’ll want to do better than last year and that logically includes fighting for the NWES championship and bring home some wins. The same will be for all our drivers, we’ll want the EuroNASCAR PRO drivers to be able to compete at the front and the EuroNASCAR 2 drivers to show they can step up to the top championship in 2021,” said Villeneuve.
For Lemarie, this will mark a return to competition after several years of hiatus as a driver. The Andorra-resident took the decision to climb back into a race car after visiting the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Finals at Zolder, Belgium despite having never driven a NASCAR Whelen Euro Series car.
“I really look forward to drive a Euro NASCAR car. I’m a close friend with Jacques since a very long time and last year he was so enthusiastic about the NWES car and the championship and he told me this would be the perfect occasion to race together. So here we are, I’ll come back after 15 years,” said the Lemarie, whose vast experience includes Formula One, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the European Le Mans Series he won in 2001, Formula 3000, Champ Car and much more. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to return behind the wheel but I went to Zolder for the NWES Finals, I saw the car and the championship and I was immediately very excited about this opportunity. I’m super happy to be Jacques’ teammate and I really want to enjoy the races. The goals of the entire FEED Racing project is to help young talents and we think that the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series can be a very good opportunity for them. The car is challenging to drive and definitely a great school and they can share the car with us, so they can learn how to work and have a good exposure for their sponsors. We hope it can open many doors for them.”