Nicolas Minassian

Nicolas Minassian (born the February 28th 1973 with Marseilles, France) is a French racing driver. He is in 2007 one of the official pilots of the Peugeot 908.

Biography

It is into 1993 that Nicolas Minassian, after several years of karting, begins his career in automobile sport. Vice-champion of France of Formula Renault, it reaches in 1994 the championship of France of Formule 3, which it finishes in 1995 in the second place. In 1996, it remains in Formula 3, but made the bet go to dispute the British championship of the speciality, then regarded more raised of the world and especially as that offering the best emerged towards the tops of the automobile sport. 4th from championship 1996 within the French stable Promatecme, it passes near to the title in 1997, but must be satisfied with the second place, with all the same 7 victories. At the end of the year, it is invited with three others pilot (Soheil Ayari, max Wilson and Juan Pablo Montoya) by the stable Williams which seeks a new pilot tester, to a meeting of private tests. Minassian, which at the time of this first contact with the Formule 1 is slightly handicapped by accident which has occurred some days earlier with GP of Macao F3 (it controls with a fractured inch), fact rather good impression, but it is Montoya and Wilson which are selected.

For the season 1998, Minassian manages all the same to take down one of the wheels most coveted in the international championship of Formule 3000, namely that of the second single-seater of the stable West Competition (the TEAM junior of McLaren - Mercedes), a stable lately created but with the means and the enormous ambitions. This excellent occasion is however transformed into trap, since it proves quickly that the team functions primarily around protected from Mercedes, the young German Nick Heidfeld, which manages until the end to fight for the title vis-a-vis Montoya, while Minassian must be satisfied with more anonymous performances in the middle of the group.
In spite of an image very chipped by this calamitous season 1998, Minassian manages to remain in F3000 in 1999, this time within the small team Kid Jensen Racing. In a structure with the more modest ambitions and family environment, Minassian finds its marks and finishes in a beautiful fifth final place of the championship, with in premium a victory at the time of the test of Silverstone. At the end of the year, it briefly finds F1 at the time of a meeting of tests with the stable BAR - Honda.
Always in F3000, Minassian joined in 2000 the prestigious British team Super Nova. Presented at the beginning of year like one of the favorites of the championship, Minassian takes down three victories, but is made beat on the wire with the championship by Bruno Junqueira.

Without serious outlets 1 Formulates some, Minassian passes in 2001 in the championship CART to North America, and not in any stable, since it is engaged by the Chip Ganassi Racing to replace Juan Pablo Montoya, called in F1 by Williams. Just like Bruno Junqueira (who followed the same way as him and which is his fellow-member at Ganassi), Minassian is very awaited, but the duet of beginners tests all the sorrows of the world to find its marks in the discipline. After a beginning of the season more than hard of the whole of the team, the two pilots are quickly put on the bolster, and the Marseillais, judged like the least powerful of the duet, is made dismiss in June. Meanwhile, Minassian will have had the possibility of disputing the 500 Miles of Indianapolis (test of the championship IRL) on a fourth car of the Chip Ganassi Racing, but without more success than in CART, because of a mechanical failure at the beginning of race.

In 2002, Minassian makes a rather unexpected choice of career by disputing championship ASCAR " Days off Thunder" , kind of European version of NASCAR (with cars actually rather close to those of ARCA), only disputed on the German and English ovals of Lausitzring and Rockingham. The bet proves gaining for the French, titrated at the end of the season.

As of the end of its short experiment in CART, Minassian had carried out some first appearances in the tests of endurance. As from 2003, it is in this field that it reorientates full-time its career. Regarded as one of the best pilots of protos in activity, it carries out several performances noticed within the British stable Creation, but also with the 24 hours of Mans at Pescarolo Sport. In 2007, it is one of the official pilots of the Peugeot 908, as well in Mans as in the championship Mans Series. In April 2007, at the time of the 1000 km of Monza and as a crew with Constrained Marc, it offered besides to the French prototype its first victory as of its first appearance in competition.

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