Ayrton Senna

[douglasr]

Its nearly 10 years since the great man died. A day I remember like my father remembers the day Kennedy died.

Some news items worth looking at on BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3605579.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3605323.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/photo_galleries/3636399.stm

[Eric Mc]

Prediction - this thread is going to be moved to "another place".

[white_van_man]

i remeber the day really well and i was only 11 when it happened
Interesting reading there thanks douglasr

[Eric Mc]

I watched my recording of the 1994 San Marino race yesterday. Still upsetting after 10 years.

[Plotloss]

I remember sitting down to watch the race.

Murray comes on, almost in tears and talks about a great man dieing.

Thats a bit strong for Roland Ratsenburger thinks I.

Then 'Ayrton Senna is dead'

Still seems like yesterday. I suppose the petrolheads John Lennon...

[zetec]

I remember it like it was yesterday. The Mrs and I were flying out to Corfu that afternoon, trying to find out what had happened once we had got to Corfu was a nightmare.

[maranellouk]

I remember watching the race and still not believing Roland Ratzenburger had died. When they kept replying with crash with Ayrton I had this very uncomfortable feeling almost as if I knew the outcome. I vividly remember the movement of his head after the initial impact and I thought then that the worst was about to happen.

He came, he saw, he gave and he conquered.

He will always be remembered by me and race fans all over the world as the greatest.


Here is a photo from the cover of a magazine I bought in Brazil. Sorry about the flash but haven't taken it out of the plastic in 6 months. Will be scanning them within the next few days so PM me if you want a shot.


>> Edited by maranellouk on Thursday 22 April 09:06

[anonymous-user]

what i still find remarkable is the fact that they found an Austrian flag in the cockpit of senna's car.

[RebeccaH]

pablo said:

what i still find remarkable is the fact that they found an Austrian flag in the cockpit of senna's car.

Which he was of course going to use to dedicate his race to Roland (Ratzenberger) who was killed the day before lest we forget that.

Roland was a top bloke and that Saturday night I was shattered by his death, little knowing how the weekend was going to be even bleaker.

I was fortunate enough to meet Ayrton a few times and the one thing without a doubt was his passion and dedication to the sport so the greatest tribute that could ever be paid to him is for Formula One to find its way again and probably of even more importance to him was that we match all the talk with actually getting out there and supporting ALL motorsports and helping the next generation fulfil their potential.

Oooh, got a bit philosphical there!

[hornet]

Remember watching the practice session when Barichello launched his Jordan into the fence at the last corner. Right then it felt as though the weekend was going to be bad - Ratzenberger dying, the start line crash injuring spectators, injuries in the pit lane and ultimately Senna dying. One of those situations where everything possible seemed to go wrong. Then we had the Wendlinger crash at Monaco.

The horrible thing about the Ratzenberger and Senna crashes was that we'd all become conditioned to seeing drivers hop out of utterly destroyed cars after seemingly devastating accidents. Remember Zanardi at Spa? Drivers just didn't die in accidents any more, or so it seemed. How long had it been? De Angelis in testing in 1986?

For some reason, I think Senna knew he would ultimately die in a racing car. I think he accepted it too, in a strange sort of way.

[Eric Mc]

Don't forget Alboretto's attempt to wipe out his pit crew too - a devastatingly awful week-end all round.

[chris_w]

Yep, sadly one of those 'remember it like yesterday' moments. Had been horrified by Ratzenburgers crash the previous day, was already a fan of the Simteks and was the first fatal accident I'd ever witnessed. To see it unfold live in front of me was deeply shocking.

After that and Barrichello's accident I don't think I had much appetite left for the race. When Senna crashed my Dad just left the room and went and found something else to do. I watched the rest of the race but only really to hear the updates on Senna.

Have a great memory of watching him at Silverstone a couple of years previous. It was a damp practice session and we were standing next to the entry to Bridge (the closest you can get to the track at Silverstone). The entry speeds seemed crazy in those conditions and then Senna came through. He was in danger of being baulked by a slower car but he just dived down the inside onto the wettest part of the track and sailed through on a completely different line. Jaw dropping.

[JonRB]

I remember watching the race live and seeing the crash happen.

I remember him not moving at all after the accident, and then Murray shouting "he's moving! His head is moving!", but I could see it was gravity and not muscles that moved the head.

I remember the time stretching out, knowing that each minute that passed meant it was looking worse for him.

I remember the ambulance, the blankets being held up so the cameras couldn't see and the race director switching to helicopter view.

I remember thinking that if Ratzenberger had died the day before then it meant that Senna could too.

And then, later on in the race, I remember the news coming through that he was dead.

I don't think I will ever forget.

[The DJ 27]

I was 9 at the time. I was watching the race, and was aware of what had happened to Barrichello on Friday and Ratzenberger on Saturday. I knew when he hit the wall he would never race again, at best. I was devastated when the news came through that he'd died.

The thing is, if you watch the 1994 season review video, it was a fantastic season of racing, far better than recent year. The cars looked fantastic, they all sounded different no one team could hugely dominate.

[FourWheelDrift]

Nelson Piquet had a very big accident there in 1987, although he went in backwards. It was just very bad luck and a loose wheel that did for Senna or he would have been back for the next race.

[McNab]

Just a very few of the many others, lest we forget.

Alberto Ascari, testing at Monza circuit, Italy
Ken Wharton, Sportscar race, Ardmore, New Zealand
Alfonso de Portago, Mille Miglia race between Goito & Guidizzolo, Italy
Stuart Lewis-Evans, died from burns received in the Morrocan Grand Prix
Archie Scott-Brown, Sportscar race at Spa, Belgium
Peter Collins, German Grand Prix, Nürburgring, Germany
Luigi Musso, French Grand Prix, Reims, France
Jean Behra, Formula 2 race at the AVUS circuit in Berlin
Harry Schell, International Trophy at Silverstone, England
Wolfgang von Trips, Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Italy
Ricardo Rodriguez, Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City
Jim Clark, European Formula 2 race, Hockenheim, Germany
Bruce McLaren, testing for Can-Am race, Goodwood, England
Piers Courage, Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort, Netherlands
Jochen Rindt, Practice for Italian Grand Prix, Monza, Italy
Pedro Rodriguez, Interseries sportscar race, Norisring, Germany
Jo Bonnier, 24 Hour race, Le Mans, France
Francois Cevert, Practise for USA Grand Prix, Watkins Glen, USA
Tom Pryce, South African Grand Prix, Kyalami, South Africa
Ronnie Peterson, Italian Grand Prix, Monza, Italy
Patrick Depailler, testing at Hockenheim, Germany
Gilles Villeneuve, Belgian Grand Prix, Zolder, Belgium
Manfred Winkelhock, Sportscar race, Mosport Park, Ontario, Canada
Stefan Bellof, Sportscar race, Spa-Francorchamps
Elio de Angelis, testing at Paul Ricard, France

A cruel sport.

[Eric Mc]

And many, many more.

[chris_w]

Eric Mc said:

And many, many more.

I was particularly gutted when Alboreto was killed testing the Audi Le Mans car a couple of years back. He used to race the number 27 Ferrari which was the same number my Dad used to race under.

Back on topic, can anyone recommend a good Senna video? Have been meaning to get one for a while but never known which was the best.

[Eric Mc]

Although I've never seen it, "Racing is in My Blood" is supposed to be very good.

[hornet]

Eric Mc said:

And many, many more.

Tony Renna
Gonzo Rodriguez
Greg Moore
Jeff Krosnoff
Dale Earndhart
Scott Brayton
Adam Petty
Keith Odor
Marco Campos

Was watching the live coverage when Krosnoff, Odor and Campos were killed, and have also been at drag racing events (although not witnessed) that have sadly included fatal crashes. Does remind you that these people DO take huge risks for a) their enjoyment and b) our enjoyment.