Motivation for the future
Creation Autosportif's Nicolas Minassian on the team's maiden run and what's ahead in 2005
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy Craig Elliot and Mike Veglia
TORONTO, Canada (December 9, 2004) – There’s nothing a racing fan likes more than a new team and a new car that streaks to the front of the grid and scares the Nomex off those who have become very comfy on that front row. And in 2004, in the LMES, at Le Mans, and in the final two races in the American Le Mans Series, the Creation Autosportif DBA Zytek, also known as the Blue Rocket, made a lot of people sit up and take notice. Lead driver Nicolas Minassian was on board the Pescarolo Courage at Le Mans, but he was instrumental in moving the Creation Autosportif Zytek up the grid every time he got on board. “You always learn something,” he explained, “every time you race. And for Team Creation, new in 2004, the more they raced, the more they learned and the better they became!” What was it that made the car so quick right out of the box, I wondered. Was it the weight, the engine, or perhaps the driver?

While Nicolas admitted that the car was fast, he didn’t think it was that much faster than the Dyson Lolas, although it certainly was as good. “It depended on the track that we were running on,” he said. “Although the Blue Rocket is heavier than the Dyson cars, it’s got a very good aero package with high downforce, very good in corners and braking. That’s where we are making the difference. And of course we had a good driver pairing too. So the whole package – drivers, chassis, engine and the team running the same – added up to a winning combination for Creation Autosportif.”

Although the Creation team ran only the final two races in the ALMS in 2004 – the Petit Le Mans and Laguna Seca – Nicolas found the experience exhilarating and had high praise for the way the fans took the team to their hearts. “It was very nice to see that we had so many fans,” he said, “and to see how we were welcomed and supported. That really gives us motivation to come back in the future!” I wondered whether there was a big difference between the LMES and the ALMS, not only in terms of the fan reaction but also in the tracks and the general ambience. “In Europe,” Nicolas explained diplomatically, “the tracks we race on are mainly Formula One regulation, which means they have lost a little bit of their charm.” He went on to explain that the LMES is still a new series and in the process of shaping its legend, although he agreed that the fans are friendly and enthusiastic already. “But in America,” he added, “the ALMS makes things fan-friendly; both the organization and the racing package are more entertaining and that makes it fun for the teams.”

The biggest event of the sports car season is, of course, Le Mans. The Zytek, under the command of David Brabham, Andy Wallace and Hayanari Shimoda, astonished the Audi teams and woke up the fans by qualifying 3rd for the race and running right up front as long as it could keep going. “The DBA Zytek,” said Nicolas, “is an awesome car, wherever you put it, but it’s not specially made to race on a track like Le Mans which needs a lot of straight line speed. I think with a little work on the aero it could be even faster.” There’s something for the Audi boys to look forward to! “Le Mans is the biggest test of a car,” he continued, “because the media are all there, the best teams are there – and if you do well there, then no matter what, you have had a good year. Le Mans is truly the highlight of the year and I love it!”

Having grown up in the years when we were resigned to losing two drivers from every field during an average racing season, I asked if the safety changes in cars, track and regulations had led to the drivers’ becoming the only real danger left. “The tracks and cars are certainly safer in all ways,” agreed Nicolas. “I think that sometimes the dangerous driving comes because some drivers don’t have the experience at the level of racing where they are, and not because they feel too safe.  As for the chopping and banging, I hope they will get penalized for that kind of thing at the time it happens, and that will make them think better of it. But really, as a driver I don’t think much about the danger in any form.”

Nicolas has not always been a sports car driver, of course. North American fans first made his acquaintance when he drove a Champ Car for the former Chip Ganassi CART team, when he and Bruno Junqueira replaced Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmy Vasser, a long-time winning team. Although Nicolas would have appreciated a longer chance to prove himself, he thinks the real difficulty was in having time to learn oval racing – not a popular form of racing outside the USA. “I had a bad crash at Indy,” he remembered, “and that affected my outlook somewhat. And then we had a lot of oval races in a row and Chip [Ganassi] was impatient for results.” However, the experience didn’t turn him against open wheel racing, and he admitted that if another chance came along, he’d have no problem taking up the challenge again. He did some ASCAR racing in Britain – oval racing in the manner of You Know What – and he won the ASCAR Championship in his and the team's first attempt, which proved that he had used that oval experience to very good purpose as well as being a great feather in their collective caps.

Although Nicolas has as a principal ambition to continue racing at the highest level and winning as much as he can, he wouldn’t mind trying different types of racing and is even open to owning his own team, with his wife, one day. Likewise, he wouldn’t mind a chance to try Rally Raid in the Paris-Dakar, although he has not done that kind of racing yet. “It could be a really good adventure,” he agreed. “I need to work on that!” And as far as promotion goes, he’d like to do some car shows with the DBA Zytek. “It’s all about promotion,” he pointed out, “and a car show is really good promotion. People get the opportunity to see the car at a car show and then they want to come and watch it race at the track. The DBA Zytek has had a lot of support in America – I am sure if the team could arrange it they’d be happy to come over to some car shows – and to bring me with them!”

Nicolas Minassian has proved himself not only a quick, daring and determined racer on the track, but a charming and personable fellow in the paddock where the ALMS fans can come and meet him and the team. We’re all looking forward to seeing much more of both Nicolas and the Creation Autosportif DBA Zytek “Blue Rocket” in 2005 and beyond!

For more on Nicolas Minassian, visit http://www.nicolasminassian.com