Villeneuve and the summer of '79
Villeneuve's heroics inspired a generation of F1 fans, among them Tony Dodgins - who recalls how his encounters with Gilles at 1979 grands prix defined the course of his life
Certain things in your life have a defining influence, and for me it was the summer of '79 and Gilles Villeneuve.
My father had once said, only half-jokingly, "You argue quite a lot, so why not do it professionally?" I enjoyed court-room dramas in any case, and so the thinking for my career was the law.
Share Or Save This Story
More from Tony Dodgins
Autosport 70: F1's age-old problems and how to fix them
Best features of 2012: Early signs Kimi would star
2012: F1 as it should be?
The hidden truths of Schumacher's comeback
Celebrating Peter Sauber: F1 survivor
Raikkonen and Lotus: Opinion dividers
Ferrari tactics: Right or wrong?
Can Ferrari find the magic bullet?
Latest news
Live: F1 Chinese GP updates – FP1 & Sprint qualifying
How real-time scrutineering ensures fair and consistent competition in motorsport
How MotoGP brakes work: Secrets of stopping a 220mph bike
Hyundai enacts contingency plan after WRC Kenya fuel issue
Autosport Plus
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.