Interview with the current Dakar winner Eduard Nikolaev

Motorsport is a colorful tandem in which the result is achieved not only due to human efforts. Insufficient readiness of a car for a race can in an instant deprive a pilot of a chance to win. The Russian team KAMAZ-master, which has been dictating its conditions in the world’s premier rally-raid Dakar for many years, proves time and time again how effective the man-machine team works, but today we will talk only about the man.

Eduard Nikolaev

Eduard, sport is, first of all, physical training: higher, faster, stronger. How important is it for a pilot participating in rally-raids to be physically ready?
We can’t do without physical fitness, because driving 5-10 hours off-road is a tremendous load, which an ordinary driver can’t cope with. You need to be in good physical shape, because only a trained pilot can cope with the load on the spine and neck. It is not easy to drive in the shaking so that your head does not “fly”. We have a law: whoever is not physically ready, simply does not ride in the crew.

And who determines the physical condition of a crew member?
The pilots. At first, any newcomer takes a mandatory course in the gym, where our instructor looks at him, assesses his back, physical condition, asks him to do elementary things: squeeze, pull-up. If the instructor gives the go-ahead, we put the candidate on a special suspension, where the most serious amplitudes occur and where you can see at what moment and in what places the person is “lurching”. Many people themselves understand everything and immediately say that there is no point in continuing.

Is it true that all the latest KAMAZ-master athletes started with karting in Naberezhnye Chelny?
Yes, the last generation of drivers – me, Eirat Mardeev, Andrey Karginov, Dima Sotnikov, Anton Shibalov – we all come from there. This is probably the best school in Russia, and we see that it is useful to take people from there. And yes, if a person has a great desire, he will find a place in our team.

At what point did you have a great desire?
I got my love for cars from my father. From an early age I was given to gymnastics, I practiced there for eight years, but my father was already involved in motorcycling, constantly took me with him, I was attracted by the sounds of engines, my hands were drawn to the iron. I reached a certain level in gymnastics and began to realize that I had a fear of complex elements. Besides, I was attracted to cars, I knew that we have a karting in Chelny, I studied magazines, looked at pictures, I wanted something racing. But I don’t regret at all that I practiced gymnastics, it helps me even now – flexibility, warming up.

Parents were hardly delighted with such a sudden change of sports course….
Of course, my parents did not want me to take up motorsport, but seeing that my child is sick of it, they did not interfere. On the contrary, they helped me. At some point I left the house for gymnastics training, reached the bus stop and turned towards the go-kart track. (smiling.) So, at the age of 12 I finally started karting, I was very good at it, went to the Russian championships, was a prize-winner and, of course, like any boy who is involved in karting, I dreamed of joining the legendary KAMAZ team.

One day the head of the team, then Semyon Semyonovich Yakubov, came to look at the younger generation at one of the competitions. I showed a good result, after which an important conversation took place. I was 18 years old at that time.

The desire has always been the same – to get “in the wheel”

Did you get behind the wheel right away?
Naturally, no. In the team everyone starts with a broom and cleaning.(Smiles.) Everyone went through it. Then I was a mechanic, but the desire always remained the same – to get “in the wheel”. And after a few years I was entrusted with it.

Is there an optimal age to start motorsport?
It’s hard to say. Without a driver’s license you cannot start driving real cars, on the other hand, there is karting, you can practice on different car simulators. This is the age of 5-6 years.

Do you follow gymnastics competitions now?
Of course. Women’s and men’s. I watch Olympics, world championships.

What other sports are you interested in?
I like swimming and synchronized swimming. Why? It’s hard to explain, but synchronized swimmers, especially in team exercises, do everything just great. They give us an incentive with their victories.

Do you have a concept of “team training”? You go to the gym together, swim together…
Absolutely. That’s the only way we prepare.

How many sessions a week do you need?
It’s individual. For example, I need three times, but we go five times. I try to give myself more exercise.

Tell us about the Wings for Life World Run, in which you take part as a team. Why do you do it?
Its slogan is: “We run for those who can’t,” and it’s a charity run to support research into spinal cord injuries. That’s saying a lot. The race is held in Kolomna, we take part every year. Again, it’s a good chance to improve your fitness. I am an automarathoner, it is logical for me to overcome marathon distances. (Smiling.)

Eduard Nikolaev

And what results do you show?
The system is like this: you start, you run, and after a while a car starts to catch up with you. When it catches up with you, you leave the race. So we run not for time, but for distance. One time I ran 17 kilometers, another time – 18. Not bad for a person who does not run.

During the race, we eat once a day

Physics is only a part of any athlete’s preparation. How do you prepare psychologically and do you need it?
At the distance it is important to always stay calm and react correctly to stressful situations. We all make mistakes – pilot, navigator, and mechanic, we need to treat it with understanding. A psychologist works with us, plus music helps me. There is no special band or song, sometimes you want something calm, sometimes rhythmic.

Do you need any other special preparation?
We prepared for the high mountains in an interesting way – we slept in special tents. We sometimes travel at an altitude of 5000 meters above sea level. Here we are at home for two weeks. We work out on special equipment with masks, where special hypoxic gas is fed to simulate the thin air at altitude.

A healthy diet is very important for a pilot – yes or no?
Of course. Before the races we use the services of a nutritionist, and throughout the year everyone is his own boss. There are no strict restrictions, but you know what you can and can’t eat. I’m a sweet tooth, no wonder I can’t go overboard with flour and sweets. With my mom’s beautiful pies, for example. (Laughs.)

And how do you eat during the “Dakar”?
Actually we eat once a day, in the evening. In the morning we have a very small breakfast – a sandwich and tea. During the race we do not eat anything and almost do not drink, except for a couple of sips of water towards the end of the stage.

How do you recover after long races?
We get a week’s vacation. I spend it at home, with my family. And, of course, a massage, I can’t go anywhere without it. Light work in the gym also helps.

Who is waiting for you at home?
My wife Oksana and my little daughter Elina, she is only nine months old. And my dad and mom, of course. Everyone supports me, my father is a sportsman too, he understands everything.

What sporting path awaits Elina?
We are still thinking about it, but it will probably be dancing or gymnastics. Synchronized swimming? It’s unlikely, you have to go to Kazan or Moscow. We don’t have it here at all. So first we’ll try what we have in our city.

Give the champion’s advice to those fans of motor racing who dream of someday competing in the Dakar.
To wish for it and strive for the dream. A big desire is the most important thing needed. Without it, nothing will ever work out.