Born in the United States to a family with strong roots in Canada, Rene grew up in the USA, Canada and France. Following his dream, Rene started racing in 1987 when he attended the Spenard-David Racing School in Canada run by Richard Spenard, a popular and former teammate of Gilles Villeneuve in Formula Atlantic. A Formula Ford 2000 season came next before a move back to the U.S. to compete in Barber/SAAB for two seasons. The series proved to be a valuable asset on Rene's racing ladder, competing with now world-famous drivers such as Bryan Herta. In 1995 an opportunity came up to go to Japan to compete in FF1600 with Kato Gumi Racing. A half season in the "junior" formula class led to a Japanese Formula 3 test and a subsequent races. They were great experiences and exposure for Rene. After returning to the U.S. a golden opportunity lead Rene to endurance racing. In 1996 and 1997 the Speedvision Cup was the arena in which he competed with T.C. Kline Racing in a BMW M3. It was during this time that Rene was truly able to call driving his career, as he found a job as a driver doing "Ride and Drives" for various auto manufacturers and has since worked for nearly every car company as a driver or facilitator. In 1999, Rene realized the first of a three-part childhood dream -competing for the first time in the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona in a Corvette C5-R. The next goal is the 12 Hours of Sebring and the third is the most famous sportscar race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. In 2001 and 2002 Rene competed in various events in the Speed World Challenge Series and although he loves the series for its fierce competition, he still wants to continue competing in the three most famous sportscar endurance events - and complete the quest to realize a dream that has been with him since he was a boy. 2009 saw Rene's return to racing in the GRAND-AM Rolex GT ranks, driving with Henri Richard in TRG's no. 63 Porsche, leading to his current role as one of the key team member in 2010.RENE VILLENEUVE
