‘Nigel, Start Your Engine’ : Formula One Champion Mansell Makes the Switch to Indy Cars, and Eyes of the World Racing Community Are Squarely on Him

The scene was foreign to American motor sports observers. It was 9:30 a.m. on a rainy Monday at Firebird International Raceway, an out-of-the-way road course in Chandler, Ariz. There wasn’t a race car, transporter, driver, mechanic or team official on the grounds, but a couple of dozen photographers and reporters--including three television crews--were gathered at the track’s front gate.

None were Americans. They were all from England, France and Italy, eagerly awaiting the appearance of Nigel Mansell, who was scheduled to take his first laps in an Indy car.

Mansell, the reigning Formula One world driving champion from England, had defected to the Indy cars of the United States in what is undoubtedly the most stunning switch in the history of motor racing.

Several days later, when Mansell was at Phoenix International Raceway to make his debut on an oval track, the foreign contingent had swollen to more than 60, including reporters from four London dailies and French and Italian sports weeklies.

“If I’d known there was going to be this much interest, I would have negotiated for the worldwide TV rights to the Indy season,” Mansell said with an infectious grin. “The world press is very, very excited about this experiment. I know the rights for television have gone up five times for England.”

Steve DesGeorges, public relations director at Phoenix, said he received hourly phone calls from not only Europe, but also Brazil, Australia and Japan, on the two days Mansell tested at his track.

“Based on what impact he’s had already, at Firebird and PIR, I’d say we’ll have to double our press accommodations for the April race,” DesGeorges said. “It will be his first race in the U.S. and his first on an oval, and that will be headline news all around the world.”

The Phoenix race is on April 4, two weeks after the PPG Cup IndyCar season opener at Surfer’s Paradise, Australia.

Other Formula One champions have raced Indy cars in the United States, but under vastly different circumstances. Mario Andretti, of course, won the U.S. championship before winning his world title in 1978. Two-time champion Emerson Fittipaldi had been retired for two years trying Indy cars. Jack Brabham, Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Denis Hulme and more recently, Nelson Piquet, have raced Indy cars--but primarily only in the Indianapolis 500.

Mansell, winner of a record nine races last season and the Autosport International Racing driver of the year, is going to run the entire season for co-owners Carl Haas and Paul Newman in a Lola-Ford Cosworth, with Andretti as his teammate.

The 39-year-old Briton had never seen an Indy car race until last October at Laguna Seca, had never sat in an Indy car under power until last week in Arizona and had never driven on an oval track before last Thursday at Phoenix.

“I cannot compare, I repeat cannot , compare oval racing to Formula One in any way or form,” he said in answer to the obvious question. “It is impossible.

“The car is heavier, four or five hundred pounds heavier, and I think the biggest difference is hanging onto the car in a straight line. That sounds funny, but the car is set up to turn (left) into the corners, so it doesn’t want to go in a straight line. This (oval) racing is a different world. It’s at least as competitive as F1, if not a lot more.

“And then there’s the shifting. I haven’t used a manual shift in seven years. I don’t even know what a clutch is anymore. It’s taking some getting used to. I’m almost in a zero-confidence zone. What comfort zone I have is that I know the car was set up perfectly for me by Mario, but I’m still nervous.”

So how did he do in his first outing?

After 71 laps around PIR’s one-mile oval, Mansell lowered his lap speeds from a tentative 28 seconds early in the going to 25.6, 23.5, 22.3, 21.6 and 21.4 on his last lap. His fastest lap averaged 168.224 m.p.h., which would have qualified him in fourth position for last April’s Valvoline 200.

The track record is 171.825, set by Michael Andretti, Mario’s son--and the driver Mansell replaced on the Newman-Haas team. In what amounts to almost a trade of talent, Michael Andretti, the 1991 Indy car champion and runner-up last year, left to drive in Formula One for the McLaren team.

Mario Andretti, who was on hand to test the team’s newer Ford-powered Lola, was elated by his teammate’s performance.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Andretti said. “And I’d also like to say that I’m not surprised. I’ve seen Nigel drive and he’s always been quick, super quick, everywhere he’s gone. A driver just doesn’t change. A quick driver is always quick in whatever car. I’m not surprised at all, but still, what he did was remarkable.”

Said Newman, who flew from Connecticut to watch his new driver: “It’s great having Nigel in the car at last. I know it’s going to be a great season because he’s such an exciting driver.”

Mansell’s decision to leave Formula One and the Williams-Renault team after winning the Grand Prix championship was difficult for the European racing establishment to swallow.

“Even after I announced that I had a deal with Carl and Paul, there were stories that I was going to return, that someone or other was going to buy out my contract, but they were not true. I had two or three offers to return, but like I told the British press, ‘If I have a deal, I have a deal,’ and we had a deal. I think we shook hands before anything was even signed, and that was that.

“I have currently two or three offers on the table for 1994, but I’d like to think that it would be long-term over here, possibly. I honestly think that my career in Formula One has ceased. I’ve left at the very top. I mean, I have 30 Grand Prix wins, I just won the world championship. If you’re going to leave any formula, that’s the best way to leave it.”

Mansell took an enormous cut in pay to make the move. His salary with Newman-Haas has been said to be about $5 million, roughly one-third the $14.5 million that Forbes magazine reported he made last year.

“It’s funny, the way everyone in Formula One made the biggest issue over my leaving was because of money,” Mansell said, laughing. “Well, if it was about money, what the heck am I doing here? Seriously, it is a several hundred percent pay cut. I’ve never been motivated by money. I’ve been motivated by the ambience and the professionalism of the team.”

Mansell said his discontent with the Williams-Renault team began as early as the start of the 1992 season, when it was announced that former world champion Alain Prost, who had been out of racing for a year, would return to drive for Frank Williams in 1993.

“I guess the long process of the breakdown of relationships began when Riccardo Patrese--a teammate who had done everything he could have done--was basically fired at the beginning of the year (when Prost was signed). Patrese, who is a great driver, was in a position where he couldn’t do any better than win or come in second, and if your teammate is winning and you come second, you can’t do any better than that.”

Patrese finished second six times last year and won the Japanese Grand Prix to finish second to Mansell in the final standings.

“And obviously what I did--I think I collected 14 poles and nine wins, which could have been 10 or 11--I don’t think it could have been much better. But unfortunately for the team and various other people, it wasn’t enough, so there was a period of two or three weeks where I was an unemployed race driver.”

That was when Williams allegedly broke off negotiations with Mansell and said Ayrton Senna, a three-time champion who was dissatisfied with his McLaren team situation, would be his other driver in 1993. The Senna deal did not materialize, and so far Prost is Williams’ only driver.

“It was during that time that Carl Haas and I got together, and Paul Newman called me a number of times, and I must say that part of the enthusiasm stemmed from the support from their sponsors, especially Texaco and Ford and Kmart. Without everyone getting together as one happy family, this wouldn’t have happened. And it’s all credit to them, not to me.

“Then there’s the other bonus--having Mario Andretti as a teammate. He’s been a great help already. He took me around the oval (at Phoenix) for about 20 laps in a new Cadillac, pointing out the pitfalls of driving on an oval and how to react at different spots on the track.

“And the attitude of other Americans has been refreshing. Emmo (Fittipaldi) has offered help and advice, and when I was at Laguna Seca, Roger Penske talked with me about what to expect and how pleased everyone was that I had made the move. That shows you the difference between Formula One and Indy cars. In my 12 years in Formula One, I can’t remember any driver, other than the late Gilles Villeneuve, ever giving me any assistance.”

Mansell gave viewers a start at Firebird when he spun out during his first test. It turned out it was deliberate.

“I do the spin test to learn the feel of the car,” he explained. “It’s important to know how to handle it under all conditions. It was an opportunity to chuck it around safely.”

After the tests, which were halted early last Friday because of flood conditions on the Gila River that inundated roads surrounding the Phoenix track, Mansell returned home to Jupiter, Fla., where he lives with his wife, Rosanne, and their children, Chloe, Leo and Greg. Even before he agreed to race in the United States, Mansell had moved from the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea, to Florida, where he can play golf with his close friend, Greg Norman.

Norman was at Firebird for Mansell’s first test day, en route to La Costa for last week’s Tournament of Champions.