Back in 2011, i had a brief contact with Charles Nickerson after I found his email address while going through some documents. Charles was a close friend from late Tom Walkinshaw, both raced together where Charles had a decent career in rally racing. Under the pseudonym Chuck Nicholson. He and Tom where the two behind the Phoenix Grand Prix, briefly branded D.A.R.T., where Charles was the chief executive. The team was based on the same address as Arrows at that point.
I believed I lost my email contact with Charles Nickerson previously as my outlook crashed a few years ago. Luckily, I the emails were still reachable. My first contact with him was back in May 2011. Even from my previous website Dutchgrandprixdrivers.nl. To be fair my English wasn’t that technically and formal as it is these days. I’m even ashamed reading it back.
However, while I was looking for information about Phoenix Grand Prix I came across his I believed “old” email address. It seemed it was still his current one.
My contact with Charles was briefly and short. I contacted him with the question if he could give me some more information about the Phoenix Project. At that time, I had zero documents in my archive; my archive wasn’t even there yet besides some magazines. Lacking the needed information, and unreliable information at that time on internet there was no better source then one of the person who was behind it.
Charles Nickerson started his reply with “The past in the past, and it is now a distant past”. Partly mentioning about his own career as a driver, as well about the Phoenix project. Interestingly is that he mentioned he believed I only send him the letter because of a Dutch connection. At that time, i wasn’t even aware of a Dutch connection. However, he said that a Dutch driver was involved with the Phoenix Grand Prix team. While Gastón Mazzacane confirmed to me that he was one of the drivers, it seems a fellow Dutch was in the scope to be one of the drivers. Initially I believed it had to be Jos Verstappen. As Jos was ditched out of his contract. However, there was another Dutch driver ready to enter the Formula One it was Christijan Albers. Who had it’s first taste with Minardi in 2001.
He stated as well, in between the lines, that I was correct with the nominated drivers Mazzacane, Tarques and Enge as test driver. My last attempt to contact Charles Nickerson was in 2017 I believe when I completed my research.
Sadly, I found out that Charles Nickerson passed away, according to the website of the families company Nickersonbrothers.
Windtunnel model of the Prost AP05
