Three decades have passed since his tragic death from a severe crash suffered at the always dangerous Tamburello corner at the Autódromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Formula One, but the memory of Ayrton Senna da Silva remains indelible among world motorsport lovers.
The impact of his death on May 1, 1994 was impressive in Brazil. By a coincidence of life we were in Rio de Janeiro that May 1st, because as a journalist we covered a Surfing World Cup that was held on the beaches of that resort.
Television and radio stations focused all day and night on telling the details of that fatal news. Three days of national mourning were declared and then we watched on television as more than a million people accompanied the coffin that circulated through the avenues of the Brazilian capital, Sao Paulo, to its final resting place.
He left when he was just 34 years old. Since he was a child, when he began competing in karting at the age of eight, his thing was engines and he quickly climbed the ranks to Formula One, where he defended the colors of the Toleman, Lotus, McLaren and Williams teams, between 1984 and 1994. He was world champion in 1988, 1990 and 1991; while he was runner-up in 1989 and 1993; third in 1987 and fourth in the 1985, 1986 and 1992 races, accumulating a total of 41 victories (six of them in the Monaco Grand Prix, a record for this city), 80 podiums and 65 pole positions in only 162 classifications, with effectiveness greater than 40%.
Since the death of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger (this one in practice the day before), safety measures were increased in Formula One. They were effective, since two decades passed without tragic accidents, until in October 2014 Jules Bianchi suffered a accident at the Suzuka circuit, Japan, which led to his death months later.
Colleague Octavio Estrada, specialist and historian of the world of national motors, recalled that in 1991, during a statement to Carlo Cavicchi of Autosprint magazine, Senna mentioned that Johnny Ceccoto was his teammate at Toleman in 1984, his first year in Formula One and highlighted to the journalist that the Venezuelan, as a teammate, “was the one who demanded it the most.”
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And Senna was never one to compliment anyone. He was too competitive. His fight with “Professor” Alain Prost on and off the slopes was historic. Senna’s legend survives, among other things, because his risky driving style captivated the crowds.
2024-05-01 23:24:42
#decades #Ayrton #Sennas #passion #slopes
