A first victory since 1997 for Villeneuve.

Jacques Villeneuve ended an eleven year drought yesterday when his team finished in first place of the Le Mans Series endurance race presented at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.

The team composed of the French Nicolas Minassian, the Spaniard Marc Gené and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve on board of a Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP crossed the finish line in first place of the 1000 km race.

Jacques Villeneuve said to the press immediately after the podium ceremonies that this win felt very good after waiting for a victory for such a long time. In fact, Villeneuve's last victory was registered in September of 1997 at the Nurburgring. At this time, Villeneuve was driving for the Williams Formula One racing team as he was on his way to the drivers championship.

The team of Minassian-Gené-Villeneuve will be kept intact for the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race that will be run on June 14th and 15th. Villeneuve will be trying to conquer the only triple crown racing jewel missing in his resume as he already conquered the Indianapolis 500 and the formula One drivers championship.

The only driver to ever conquer the three racing jewels which are the Indianapolis 500, the 24 hours of Le Mans and the Formula One drivers championship is Graham Hill. The British driver won the Monaco Grand Prix in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969; the Formula One World Championship in 1962 and 1968; the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and finally the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972.

(Picture: Jacques Villeneuve, Getty Images.)