Thieves speed off with bronze statue of Quebec Formula One racing legend Gilles Villeneuve

A small Quebec town northeast of Montreal is racing to find a stolen bronze statue of revered Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, as locals fear it will get melted down for cash.

Each year, tourists and racing enthusiasts travel to Berthierville, Que., a town of fewer than 5,000 people, to visit the Gilles Villeneuve Museum — located on a street also named after the famous driver — and pose for a photo with the five-foot-three-inch tall statue that stood atop a podium.

But now the podium is empty, except for a pair of bronze feet.

"There was nothing left but Gilles' bronze boots cut at the ankles," Alain Bellehumeur, general manager of the Gilles Villeneuve Museum, said in an interview Friday.

He thinks the statue was sawed off between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, adding that it would have taken at least two people and a truck to remove the statue and drive off with it.

"It takes special equipment to cut bronze. It must be a saw that cut through the legs," Bellehumeur said.

The statue was created in 1984 as a tribute to Villeneuve, who participated in 67 Formula One races from 1977 to 1982, winning six before dying in an accident during a qualifying race for the Belgian Grand Prix at the age of 32.

In 1994, the statue was placed outside the museum in the town where he grew up, about 70 kilometres northeast of Montreal. The museum displays trophies, racing gear and other items that belonged to Villeneuve, whose son Jacques won the F1 title in 1997.

Bellehumeur said he spent Wednesday night at a Montreal fundraiser for the museum and was shocked to discover what remained of the statue when he returned the next day. He said the statue, which cost $25,000 to build in 1984, has become an important part of the community's cultural heritage.

The Town of Berthierville denounced the theft, saying on Facebook, "this criminal act not only damages our heritage, but also deprives our community and motorsports enthusiasts of a strong symbol of our history."

Quebec provincial police Sgt. Eloise Cossette said officers are looking for witnesses and checking whether nearby surveillance cameras captured footage of the theft, adding that it is "highly probable" whoever took it will try to melt the statue down to sell the metal.

Jules Lasalle, the man who sculpted the statue, is the artist behind other bronze representations of famous Quebec athletes, including Montreal Canadiens star Maurice Richard, who is immortalized outside a Montreal arena that bares his name. Lasalle crafted the statue of another Canadiens legend, Jean Béliveau, which is located at an arena on Montreal's South Shore.

Whoever stole the statue won't get a big payday, Lasalle said in an interview Friday, noting that the value of the metal isn't particularly high. But it has a tremendous value for the people of Berthierville, he said.

"It's a big disappointment," he said. "I hope we will be able to find the sculpture in one piece."