1993 NIGEL MANSELL FIRST TEST IN A INDYCAR

TICE123

9 years ago

1993 NIGEL MANSELL FIRST TEST IN A INDYCAR at firebird international raceway phoenix........Despite being world champion, Mansell had a falling out with Williams. In his autobiography Mansell writes that this was because of a deal made at the previous Hungarian Grand Prix, which Williams reneged on, and the prospect of Frenchman Alain Prost joining the Renault-powered team. Williams had neglected to tell Mansell that Prost had signed for 1993 at only the second race of the 1992 season in Mexico, a position that Mansell felt would be similar to their days together at Ferrari. To boot, Williams had Senna offering to drive the second car for free (although Senna found later he couldn't due to Prost having a clause in his contract allowing him to veto the move) and decided that there was little sense in paying the high fees Mansell went on to demand. With the original offer revoked Mansell had his nose put out of joint, with no teams near the might of Williams he decided that enough was enough. An eleventh hour offer was made to Mansell at the Monza Grand Prix but by then the damage was done, Mansell retired from F1. Mansell consequently left to join the Newman/Haas CART team in 1993. He took over the seat of Michael Andretti, who coincidentally had left CART to race in Formula One for McLaren. At the season opener at Surfers Paradise, Australia, he became the first "rookie" to take pole position and win his first race. A few weeks later however, he suffered a substantial crash at the Phoenix International Raceway, severely injuring his back. At the '93 Indianapolis 500, Mansell would lead the race only to finish third after losing the lead to Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk after a poor re-start. Mansell would go on to score five wins for the 1993 CART season, which, with more high-placed finishes, was good enough to earn him the championship. This enabled Mansell to become the only driver in history to hold both the Formula One and CART championships at the same time. Mansell's victory over Mario Andretti and other American drivers, coupled with 1991 CART champion Michael Andretti's failed sojourn into F1, was seen by many as evidence of superiority of non-US drivers. Following this successful season in CART, Mansell received several awards including a Gold Medal from the Royal Automobile Club and the 1993 ESPY Award for Best Driver. His Newman/Haas car was much less reliable the following year, 1994, and results suffered. It was during this season that Mansell "wore out his welcome" in the United States with glimpses of rude behavior, particularly after he was knocked out of the Indianapolis 500. After the crash, he stormed out of the track hospital, and refused medical care. When a reporter asked Mansell if he had spoken with Dennis Vitolo, the driver who had crashed into him, Mansell replied, "you speak to him." Subsequently, Mansell was set to sign autographs at a K-mart (the primary sponsor of his car), but due to a lack of demand, the event was cancelled. Mansell was also the catalyst for the breakdown in the relationship between himself and Mario Andretti. Mario has since remarked "I guess if Ronnie Peterson was the best team-mate I ever had, Nigel Mansell was the worst" and "I had a lot of respect for him as a driver, but not as a man"