Villeneuve races in Argentina

The Canadian was invited by the organizers to compete in the eighth round of the season for current series' champions Oro Racing, driving the No. 27 Volkswagen Passat, among a 44-car field.

The series runs spec tubular chassis with identical 3.0-litre Ford V6 engines producing around 350 bhp. The main difference between cars is the bodyworks, which resemble top-end models of nine different manufacturers.

Villeneuve had the chance to return to the site of one of his eleven victories in Formula One, where he won on his championship season with Williams in 1997.

On Saturday he qualified his car 17th and started the sprint race on Sunday from the fifth row of the grid, finishing 13th. However things got promising for him on the main event, which started on a damp track that created chaos in the field.

The 37-year-old made a great recovery from 26th place on the grid, pulling off good overtaking maneuvers and capitalizing on mistakes from rivals, who struggled to stay on a track that got increasingly difficult as the rain intensified while most of the field, including Villeneuve, tried to get to the finish on slick tyres.

With two laps remaining, Villeneuve had already made his way up to sixth place but he lost control of his car under braking for the Ascari turn, spinning into the sand trap. He was able to rejoin the race and was classified a lap down and in16th place in the end.

"It was a great experience for me," said Villeneuve. "The race was great, the way fans like it with plenty of incidents happening every lap. The rain helped me a lot and I was able to make up a lot of places.

"I would like to get back to race here but it all depends on how I can arrange my NASCAR schedule next year. I leave very happy and thankful for the opportunity to race this weekend. I had a great time here in Argentina."

Local Lionel Ugalde was the winner of the event, where Villeneuve raced against some former Formula One colleagues like Norberto Fontana and Gaston Mazzacane.

Former GP2 racer Hiroki Yoshimoto was also a guest but he didn't finish the main event.