Neel Jani: Fate's beautiful coincidences
THIS IS HOW HE IS AND THINKS AS A HUMAN This week, Neel Jani is competing with Porsche Motorsport in a 911 RSR at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The home story shows the private side of the successful Bernese racing driver. In Bellmund, the typical morning silence prevails. The birds are chirping, the 1,500 or so inhabitants of the picturesque Bernese village [...]
In Bellmund, the typical morning silence prevails. The birds are chirping, the 1,500 or so inhabitants of the picturesque Bernese village are preparing for the day's tasks.
Porsche tractor as heirloom
Porsche works driver Neel Jani steps outside the door of his partially restored farmhouse and breaks through the idyll. With a broad grin, the 37-year-old turns the ignition key and breathes loud life into the roughly 60-year-old 2.6-liter diesel.
Neel Jani: "In a way, this is a very special kind of heirloom. This Porsche tractor 'Model Super Export' belonged to the farm we bought from a close school friend. It's a great historical toy that my son will also enjoy for a long time to come."
Ideal environment for a sportsman and family man
The native son of an Indian father and a Swiss mother lives on the spacious grounds just a stone's throw from his hometown of Jens with wife Lauren and soon-to-be three-year-old son Maverick.
Lake Biel is in the immediate vicinity, there are many agricultural areas and high recreational value near the Swiss Alps.
Neel Jani: "I can do everything I love here: cross-country skiing, cycling, being outside with the family. And my son can gain his first experience on a tractor or motocross bike at an early age in the countryside behind the farm."
Rather tranquil than glamorous
Like his father's family, who are cosmopolitans of Indian origin and now live in the USA, New Zealand and Great Britain, among other places, Jani also once set out into the big, wide world.
As a Red Bull junior, he moved to the British Isles for a short time, and during his US racing career he lived in his uncle's house in Manhattan Beach. Jani was drawn back to the Swiss after just one year on the U.S. Pacific coast.
Neel Jani: "I don't need fun venues like Los Angeles or Monaco. Perhaps I'm the antithesis of many racing drivers who love glamorous surroundings. The tranquility of my small village simply gives me much more."
When fate meets two racing hearts
This down-to-earth attitude is more than evident in his residence. The house is unobtrusive, the Porsche company car is hidden in the garage, and the apartment is not furnished with expensive designer furniture but in the simple outfit of a Swedish furniture store.
That's how Lauren and he like it. No show, just normal life. The couple met in 2006 at a Red Bull party at Formula 1 in Indianapolis, when the then 22-year-old was a Friday driver for Toro Rosso.
Neel Jani "At the entrance, my ID was checked because I had to prove that I was at least 21 and therefore allowed in at all. A pretty 19-year-old American woman named Lauren Boyd took a look at my papers. I was young, cheeky and clueless - made a crack about it that I can't quite remember. But the ice was broken."
Lauren Boyd then kept in touch with the racing driver from Switzerland. The relationship developed the following year, when Jani drove for Team PKV in what was then the ChampCar series.
Neel Jani: "This team was based in Indianapolis. And who was from there? Whose father was active in the racing environment there? That's right: Lauren! That was fate."
Karma plays a role
The story of the relationship of the Jani couple is representative of numerous events in the life of the experienced racing driver. Fate, karma plays an important role.
Neel Jani: "I'm convinced that there's a connection between cause and effect in everything I do. I'm Swiss through and through in terms of character, but of course I've also inherited certain idiosyncrasies from my father. A more philosophical view of life is probably what reflects my Indian roots in me. I try to explain to myself why we humans are the way we are. I don't follow any religion, but have created my own explanations for life. And karma plays a big part in that."
Balancing justice
Jani also sees this approach confirmed when he looks back on his motorsport career. Take Le Mans 2016, for example, where he shared the cockpit of the winning Porsche 919 Hybrid with Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas.
The trio celebrated winning the world championship title in the same year, the highlight of a career in endurance racing.
Neel Jani: "We had actually lost the race. But special circumstances right before the checkered flag fell suddenly gave us victory. That was a gift in kitsch Hollywood style. And what happens the following year? We're leading very clearly at Le Mans, virtually only have to roll to the finish, when our car suddenly stops with damage that had never occurred before in four years. The positive and the negative somehow balance each other out. You always get the receipt. Maybe not right away. Maybe not until another lifetime. That's what I believe in. This may all sound a little strange, but why shouldn't it be so?"
