Munich. The BMW Motorsport Junior Programme features five promising,
talented youngsters in the 2017 season. They are all still in the
early stages of their development as racing drivers, but already have
fascinating careers behind them. In a series of interviews, we present
the BMW Motorsport Juniors. First up: Nico Menzel (GER).
Now in the second year of his training, the son of racing driver
Christian Menzel (GER) is already racing regularly for BMW Motorsport.
He is contesting the complete season of the Blancpain GT Series
Endurance Cup in a BMW M6 GT3, which he shares with another BMW
Motorsport Junior, Mikkel Jensen (DEN). His programme also included
the 24-hour classics at Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and the Nürburgring
(GER). Menzel, like the other Juniors, is also actively involved in
the development work on the BMW M4 GT4. This weekend, the 19-year-old
from the Eifel region of Germany will attend the DTM event at the Nürburgring.
Nico, does being the son of a racing driver mean that you
automatically become a racing driver yourself?
Nico Menzel: “No, not automatically. Some fathers try to encourage
their sons to go into motor racing – perhaps to realise the odd
unfulfilled dream or two with the help of their sons. I am happy that
that was not the case for me. My dad always said: ‘If you want, I am
happy to do that with you.’ I obviously grew up with motorsport and
accompanied my father to most of his races. He always kept the option
open for me, but, for a long time, I had no desire. However, at some
point I said: ‘Let’s go karting.’ That worked out well. I started in
the junior class in Kerpen and it all developed from there. Just
because my father is a racing driver does not mean that I also have to
go down that line. I made that decision myself.”
Do you sometimes ask your father for advice?
Menzel: “He has obviously supported me throughout my journey so far.
Despite that, we try to plough our career paths on our own. If I have
any questions, I can ask him. However, it is not the case that we only
have one topic of conversation every day at home, and racing is all we
discuss. Like in other families, we often chat about football. My
favourite club Hamburger SV, which is going through something of a
crisis at the moment, is actually the topic of conversation more often
than motorsport. Basically, my dad allows me to do my own thing,
without monitoring my every step.”
You have often been the youngest in your racing series. Has
that made your career easier or more difficult?
Menzel: “It has not made it any easier, as the other drivers always
had at least one or two years more experience than me. But that has
always been the case for me. I have had to come through my father’s
tough school. He usually threw me straight in at the deep end, which I
did not always find so great at the time. In hindsight, however, you
have to say that it is the best way to learn, and that you always gear
yourself towards the older and more experienced kids that way. That is
how I learned to hold my own.”
Do you have a role model in motorsport? Or outside motorsport?
Menzel: “My motorsport role model is Fernando Alonso. That still
makes me a bit of a rare breed in Germany. All my peers supported
Sebastian Vettel or Michael Schumacher. Why Alonso? Because he has
hardly ever had the best car, but has still often been in contention
for the world championship title, and because he always keeps fighting
right to the bitter end. That is a valuable characteristic, even in
situations that may at first appear hopeless. Another role model is
definitely Alex Zanardi. He is another example of how you can achieve
anything if you have the willpower. Alex is quite simply a role model
for life – for everyone, not just for racing drivers. What he has come
through, the way he deals with that today, his sense of humour and his
zest for life are hugely impressive.”
How did you come into contact with BMW?
Menzel: “I drove in the BMW Talent Cup in 2013. That was my first
year in motor racing, and the first time I came into contact with BMW.
We have maintained that contact ever since. After a good first year in
the Porsche Carrera Cup, in which I finished third in 2015, I received
the call and went to Munich for a meeting. We then drove the BMW M235i
Racing at the Junior Shootout in Dijon and, obviously, I was good
enough to be accepted onto the Junior programme. That was a dream, as
everyone wants to drive for a manufacturer at some point but first as
a Junior gives you the opportunity to perhaps become a regular works
driver sometime further down the line. Jesse Krohn has shown that this
is possible. As such, this has been a big step in my career so far.”
What does the BMW Motorsport Junior programme entail?
Menzel: “We are supported both on and off the track, and are given a
programme at the start of the year. For me, it is the Blancpain GT
Series Endurance Cup this year. The best GT drivers in the world drive
in that series, so it is a very close competition. On top of that, I
have other jobs, like working on the development of the new BMW M4
GT4. That provides great insights, because you are working with a
factory team and can learn a lot. Even as a 19-year-old lad, I can
still do my bit to help improve a customer car. Furthermore, BMW
allows us to race at the very highest level. That is fantastic. Not
everyone gets the chance to drive such great cars. Away from the
track, there is a fitness camp each year. That allows you to explore
your own limits and to continue your development. Not everyone gets
these opportunities. It is all very professional.”
How is your relationship with the other Juniors?
Menzel: “I share a car with Mikkel Jensen in the Blancpain GT Series.
We get on really well and have known each other for years, as you keep
coming across the same people in different motorsport classes. We are
a team and drive the same car. You could say that we are also rivals,
but you cannot see it that way. We want to move the team and the car
forward, so we try to complement each other as well as possible. We
are entirely open, in order to push one another and help the Junior
programme, BMW and the team.”
What do you get up to when you are not behind the wheel of a
racing car?
Menzel: “I did my Abitur (German school-leaving examinations) this
year, and followed that by doing an instructor training course at the
driving safety centre at the Nürburgring. I work there at the moment.
However, I still intend to study whenever my motorsport career allows
it, in order to have something to fall back on. Ideally, I would like
to study medicine – perhaps something to do with sports medicine.
We’ll have to see when that might be possible. At the moment, BMW has
given me a great programme and I am, in principle, living my dream.
However, that does not mean that you should not have a plan B.”
How would you describe your character in three words – both on
and off the track?
Menzel: “I would say: positive, determined and focussed.”
Racing aside, what are you good at?
Menzel: “I am good at doing impersonations. We have a lot of fun with
each other doing that. I don’t have one stand-out impersonation – I am
actually really rather good.”
What has been the best moment of your career so far – and what
was your worst moment?
Menzel: “The best moment was winning the championship in last year’s
Carrera Cup Asia, and also being accepted on the BMW Motorsport Junior
programme. 2014 was bad. It was a very difficult year for me in what
used to be Formula ADAC. Nothing seemed to work out. Sometimes you
have years like that. However, I have to say that, although it was a
very disappointing time at first, I believe that I learned an awful
lot, especially from these situations – maybe more than in successful years.”
Do you have a particular goal for your career?
Menzel: “As I am with a great manufacturer at the moment, my goal is
obviously to earn myself a permanent place in the squad of drivers at
BMW Motorsport. I am fully-focussed on working towards that.”