James the Fourth:
by Gary Watkins.
Autosport, March 18 1999 issue..

Everyone would understand if Jimmy Vasser admitted that he was feeling the heat. After all, he has been left to shoulder
the Ganassi Racing team's hopes of a record-breaking fourth straight CART title following erstwhile team mate and double champion Alex Zanardi's defection to Formula 1. On top of that, new driving partner Juan Pablo Montoya has arrived in Champ Cars with a huge reputation.

For this laid-back Californian, however, it's business as usual in the run-up to the opening race at Homestead later this month. "I'm not sitting here thinking, 'I've got to win'. A fourth crown? No, that's not pressure", says the man who started Ganassi's run of titles in 1996.

Even though he finished third and then second in the points behind Zanardi over the past two seasons? "I don't feel that everyone is looking at me to deliver. As a driver, you can't take everything on yourself. There are so many things that determine the outcome of a race. It's a team sport when you win, just as it's a team sport when you lose".

A key factor in Ganassi's success, he says, was the close bond between the American and his Italian team mate. "Chemistry and harmony within a team is very important. There weren't any cancers between my side of the squad and Alex's", he explains. "He was never out to destroy me, and I wasn't out to destroy him".

He describes the atmosphere within the team as the opposite of what he calls the "selfish European mentality". "Over in Europe, drivers think, 'If I can win, God forbid that my team mate wins'. The reality is that if I can't win, I hope my team mate does, because that takes the pressure off me. "When Alex won, I could celebrate, too. I'm part of the team. He won in St Louis last year (at the Gateway International Speedway) with my set up when I had problems. I played a direct part in many of his wins".

Vasser claims he is not jealous of the Italian's success. "Jealousy is a bad thing. I envied him, but only because I wanted to be the one spinning doughnuts", he says in reference to Zanardi's famous victory celebrations. Nor did he see himself being in the other man's shadow. "When Alex is regarded as highly as he is and I can beat or outqualify him, I think that shows well for me. It will be the same for Montoya. He has a good reputation, so it will be good for me when I beat him".

Vasser predicts that the reigning Formula 3000 International Champion will win races in his Honda-powered Reynard this season. "He's a great addition to the team, and he's going to be very fast. He's capable of putting it on pole and running away. Just like I think I am when everything comes right". The American welcomes the influx of drivers who have cut their racing teeth in Europe. "I want to compete against people who are respected within the sport. I don't want people to think that I'm only beating a bunch of wankers".

Likewise, he would like to see a more "welcoming attitude" towards US drivers in Europe. "It seems to me that people go out of their way to play down American talent", he says. "There's a snobbery towards American drivers. I don't know why that is, but maybe it's because Europeans are tired of getting their butts kicked at the Olympic Games".

He believes that Michael Andretti never had a fair crack of the whip in F1 with McLaren in '93. "He could have been a fantastic Grand Prix driver if he had gone a bit earlier and under different circumstances", he says. "I believe I, too, could have been a good F1 driver given the right chance".

It's a little known fact that the young Jimmy Vasser was about to embark on a European career when he got his chance to move up from Formula Atlantic into CART with the small Hayhoe team in '92. "I was lined up to do F3000 with the Crypton team. I had the deal; I had the money. I wanted to go F3000 because no Americans were doing it at the time. Then came the chance to race in the Indianapolis 500. That really means something to an American, so I chose it and ended up breaking my leg".

History relates that the unfancied Crypton team went on to win the F3000 title with Luca Badoer, now a Minardi GP racer and Ferrari's test driver. Not that Vasser has any ambitions to follow the path beaten by fellow CART Champions Jacques Villeneuve and Zanardi to F1. "I don't think there is time for me now", says the 33-year-old. He admits, however, that a possible link-up with Villeneuve at British American Racing was more than just press speculation. "It certainly talked about up to a certain level, but there wasn't a big push for it on my part. I did some thinking and decided that it wasn't right for me. I'm happy with my life and my race team", he states. "I'm glad I considered it, though, because I wouldn't want to have reached 40 and realised that I'd never even thought about it. Because I had the possibility of a drive and decided against it, I can close the book on F1 now".

Suggestions that he may be a dozen or so years away from the final chapter of his CART career are greeted with laughter. "Hey, you're a comedian! Honestly, I see myself racing in Champ Cars for five more years at the outside". He says he will know when to call it quits. "A lot of drives depend on sponsorship. You might not be as quick as some young punk, but you might have the sponsorship", he explains. "I don't want to be like that at all". For now he is concetrating on the coming season. He may not like the suggestion that the pressure is on to claim Zanardi's vacated throne, but the symmetry of taking Ganassi's fourth title is undoubtedly an appealing prospect. "It's certainly an enticing thought to be able to say that I was in the bookends of the first four in a row".

--End of Article--

_______________________________________________________________________________________________