Paradise on Wheels : Nigel Mansell Loves His Job of Being a Champion Driver

A year ago, Nigel Mansell had never seen an Indy car race when he came to Laguna Seca Raceway to watch as Bobby Rahal won the PPG Cup championship.

Today, Mansell is the champion--the first “rookie” to win the championship in the 82-year history of Indy cars and the first Englishman since Dario Resta in 1916.

“I can’t honestly believe one year has gone so fast,” Mansell said after qualifying his Lola-Ford Cosworth second fastest for Sunday’s Toyota Monterey Grand Prix here. “It’s such a great feeling to be back here as a driver instead of a spectator.

“I got up this morning, looked out at the fantastic view, and said to my wife, ‘What a great job. All we have to do today is go out and play with our race cars.’ In a way, it’s true. I love doing the job I do.”

With Sunday’s 300-kilometer race over Laguna Seca’s 11-turn, 2.214-mile road course the only one remaining on the PPG Indy car schedule, Mansell has an insurmountable lead over the Penske Marlboro pair of Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy.

“The last couple of weeks have been like a fairy tale, to be the world champion and the Indy car champion at the same time,” the 1992 Formula One champion said. “To know it’s never been done before gives me a very warm feeling.”

For a brief period last month, Mansell was both the world champion and the U.S. champion. He clinched the Indy car crown Sept. 19 at Nazareth, Pa., and was still reigning world champion until Sept. 26 when Alain Prost won the 1993 title.

“Last year, after I won the F1 championship, I was overwhelmed by the interest shown in me. The faxes, letters, cards, phone calls were tremendous. But I must say that this year, the response surpassed anything I knew in the past.

“At home last week, figuratively speaking, it was a zoo. A friendly zoo, of course, but a real zoo.”

Asked to compare his feelings this year with last, he said:

“I consider winning this championship exactly the same as when I won the world championship. Those two wins, and the birth of my three children, are my five greatest moments.

“In a way, this year may be better than last year. The pressure and competition are better here. Last year I had a lot of things going my way. This year it wasn’t always that way. For one, I had a major accident at the second race and I underwent an operation during the course of the year.”

Mansell, who had never driven on an oval track before arriving at Phoenix last April, crashed during practice for the Valvoline 200 and sat out the race. He also underwent back surgery and arrived at Indianapolis barely in time to qualify for the 500-mile race.

“I think what Nigel did at Indy was incredible,” team co-owner Carl Haas said. “Coming off that accident at Phoenix, he took his rookie test on Wednesday, had just two days of practice and then qualified eighth. He could’ve, should’ve, could’ve won the race, but third was certainly no disgrace.”

Said Mansell: “I had never hit a wall like that before. It definitely caught my attention and made me more aware of the pitfalls of oval racing. I don’t say it helped me, because it was such a wallop that it sure wasn’t helpful, but in its own way, it served as a reminder of what can happen in these cars.”

At Indy, Mansell was leading with 15 laps to go when a yellow caution period brought the leaders together behind the pace car. When racing resumed, Mansell was caught napping by the veteran Fittipaldi on the restart and Fittipaldi won.

The Englishman, who celebrated his 40th birthday by winning at Loudon, N.H., on Aug. 8, was never caught napping again in winning five of 15 races.

“It took me four years to get comfortable with oval racing,” Fittipaldi said. “I think coming from Formula One, it is very tough to drive on the short ovals and he has been amazingly quick on them. I would like to congratulate him. He did a wonderful job.”

Mansell had a word of warning for his fellow Indy car competitions:

“From here on, it should get easier. I will know the tracks, the people.”

One thing that won’t be easier is finding freedom from his fans.

When Mansell moved to Clearwater, Fla., slightly more than a year ago, he said what he enjoyed most was getting to go out with his family and not be overrun by fans.

“For once in my life, at least my recent life, I have been able to go do a restaurant, or walk down the street, and do things most family men take for granted. For the past 10 years in England, or in Europe, I did not have that luxury.”

Now the luxury is gone here.

Mansell arrives at the track early, before the crowd begins to gather in front of his motorhome. With him is his wife, Rosanne, and in the summer their three children, Chloe, Leo and Greg. This week the children remained home in school.

He disappears immediately into the motorhome, where he is served breakfast. Unlike many drivers, who hang around the team transporter with the race cars, Mansell never goes into the garage area. When chief engineer Peter Gibbons and team manager Jim McGee want to confer with Mansell, they go to the motorhome.

The one occasion his public can catch a glimpse of the British racing star is when he emerges to conduct his own half-hour television show for Watershed Productions in the team compound. Mansell will do 32 shows during the Indy car season, doing all the commentating himself interspersed with clips of previous races.

When it’s time to practice, qualify or race, he hops on a motor scooter, with a passenger on the rear riding shotgun, and speeds to the starting line.

“He couldn’t wander through the garage area to the pits the way the other drivers do because he would be mobbed,” a team member said. “As it is, as soon as he’s seen going into the motorhome, a crowd gathers out front, waiting for him to come out. They’re just waiting to catch a glimpse of him.”

Mansell is becoming as elusive as one of his car owners, actor Paul Newman, who also uses a scooter.

Grand Prix Notes

Mario Andretti announced that he has renewed his Indy car contract with the Newman-Haas team for another year, and that it would probably be his last. “I’m grateful to Paul and Carl for giving me a job for another year, but I think it will be my last,” Andretti said. “I’ve been with this team for a longer time than any in my career.” It will be his 12th year with Newman-Haas in a 31-year career.

Paul Tracy broke the track qualifying record Friday in time trials. Tracy took the provisional pole with his fast lap in 1 minute 11.140 seconds, a speed of 112.039 m.p.h. The previous mark of 1:11.185, 111.967 was set last year by Michael Andretti..