Stunt driver brings passion to LVMS

Romain Thievin took the visitor out for a little spin. OK, for a lot of spins, and they weren’t little ones, the sharp sideways movements of the red 2011 Ferrari 430 Scuderia into the turns after hitting nearly 120 mph on the straightaways.

He was demonstrating his driving skills Wednesday at the 1.2-mile road course that Exotics Racing built on the grounds at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Thievin, who co-owns Exotics Racing, has considerable driving skills to demonstrate. Those skills have taken him from his native France to Las Vegas, from a five-time French driving champion to a top contender on NASCAR’s European series to a recent first-time winner at LVMS’ Bullring, and to stunt driving in more than 150 movies.

It’s quite a journey from Fontainebleau, France, where he was enamored not so much by Formula One, which dominates Europe, but more so by the multicolored stock car driven by Jeff Gordon and the black No. 3 Dale Earnhardt piloted in Sunday’s NASCAR races.

“Now it’s a dream come true,” Thievin said.

He climbs back into a stock car Saturday at the Bullring when he goes for his second Super Late Model victory at the three-eighths-mile racetrack.

Thievin finished second in EURO-RACECAR the past two years and last season won the series owners title with Exotics Racing co-owner David Perisset, who also now competes at the Bullring. Road courses mostly make up the European series, so driving on an oval at the Bullring was an adjustment.

“I thought at first to turn on the short track, it’s going to be boring, but you fight every lap,” Thievin said. “Every foot on the track, you have to concentrate. It’s super small. You have 20 cars on the same track trying to win, so it’s more complicated than the European racetrack. I was surprised by that.”

Thievin, 34, said he is in the Las Vegas Valley to stay. Two months ago, his fiancee — Chloe Mortaud, Miss France 2009 — gave birth to a boy, Matis. Thievin received his green card three months ago and will eventually become an American citizen.

He takes pride that his business — putting people in expensive high-performance sports cars to drive around the road course — is in Las Vegas. He began a racing school in 2005 in the Paris area, but found his fellow French residents didn’t embrace the idea of personal success.

“It was so frustrating,” Thievin said. “So I said, ‘OK, let’s try the United States now.’ When we arrived here, everybody was super happy to work with us.”

Thievin, who wound up selling his French company in 2011, knew of Las Vegas’ ability to draw tourists to the desert and wanted to tap into that pipeline.

He opened the doors to Exotics Racing in 2009, and even with a dour economy, what began with a fleet of five cars has grown to about 40. Since the company opened, more than 60,000 customers have patronized the only track in the world built for exotic cars that also are street legal.

Someone can spend about $500 for such a driving experience in a Ferrari or Lamborghini or other high-end, six-figure car. Some prefer to be the passenger, sitting in the right seat as the professional driver executes a severe drift leaving the parking lot.

Or, as Thievin did, on the streets of Paris.

He was the stunt driver for Matt Damon in the first “Bourne Identity” movie. Both were in the car with Damon pretending to drive. Thievin wore a wig to resemble actress Franka Potente from a distance, guiding the actual steering wheel on the right side.

“When you see the movie, you see Matt Damon with the face very scared because it was real action,” Thievin said.

Damon told Thievin, “I get all the glory, but you did all the work.”

Thievin won the Car Stunt of the Year at the Taurus World Stunt Awards in 2003 for his work in the movie.

“I was paid to crash cars and go fast in the streets,” he said. “It was crazy. It was the best job in the world for me.”

Thievin was a stunt driver until 2006, but he has no immediate plans to give up racing, though the dreams of being the next Gordon or Earnhardt are mostly in the past. Thievin plans to race in the NASCAR K&N Series and hopes to maybe find himself in a Sprint Cup race or two, but doesn’t see himself making regular stops in Darlington and Talladega.

He has his family and his business. Both in Las Vegas to stay.

As Thievin sat in his red Ferrari, he thought about what the business means to him.

“I can share my passion,” he said.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.