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RiP Ayrton, 25 years to this day.

GOAT.

My father visited Imola during a road trip from the UK to Greece last year. There was no track action that day and he described the Tamburello area as eerily quiet. The amount of Senna tributes hung up and knowing that he was standing in pretty much the same spot where Ayrton died almost had him in tears.

Can't believe it's been a quarter of a century since we were walking home from a football match and our neighbour telling us that Senna's had a bad smash. Being 10 years old at the time I couldn't grasp the enormity of the situation but I still shed a tear when Steve Ryder announced it later that evening.

RIP Ayrton. One of the greatest men to have ever sat in a racing car.

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#KeepFightingMichael

The worse day in F1 for me.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

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Same.



I was a mess the entirety of the following day (remember, I'm in Australia, so the accident occurred just after 10.30 pm local time for me). I stayed up until they announced his death on the radio. My dad, and mum were Senna fans too (dad loved Lauda too, mum loved Tambay too).

A quarter of a century ago, almost to the minute as I started to type this, yet that night is still as clear in my mind as if it happened yesterday.

My immediate reaction after the accident was "Oh no", being mindful he'd scored no points in the first 2 races in 94. Obviously it was a big one, but hey, Piquet had a eerily similar one a few years earlier & he was ok so this should be the same. This feeling was re-enforced when Senna's head moved slightly to the right once the car had came to rest.

Then nothing.

I remember thinking he's probably on the radio & he'll jump out soon, but he didn't, & as the seconds ticked by with no visible signs of movement in the car, I kind of came to comprehend the gravity of the situation.

So the medical teams arrived & did what they do, got him in the chopper to take him to Bologna, and the race continued. I watched the rest of the race with a feeling i'd never felt before or since. I was just plain empty. Devoid of any passion for wanting to watch the race but still watching in the hope a report would come in announcing favourable news about his condition. Of course, that news didn't arrive. I can recall Murray Walkers very unenthusiastic call of the race. In fact I'm pretty sure he said at one point words to the effect of he just wished the race would be over. Listening to the call & seeing the drivers subdued & visibly upset manner on the podium, I sort of came to the realisation the this wasn't going to end well.

Our local host of the telecast at the time were Darryl Eastlake & 1980 WC Alan Jones. I remember the final words Eastlake spoke prior to signing off for the race. He said " And as you go to bed tonight, say a prayer for Ayrton Senna". In Australia we received delayed telecasts of some races back then but the hosts were live in studio bringing us the delayed coverage. Because of this, & Jones' close ties to the Williams team, both Eastlake & Jones already new the full extent of the accident but couldn't say anything as I think at that point no official announcement had been made yet. But they knew & by then I was pretty sure I did to.

Of course by the time dawn broke in Australia, Senna's death had been official announced.

I'm not ashamed to say I cried & cried hard that morning. Senna was everything I wanted to be. As a child who loved watching motor racing but was never fortunate enough to be able to do it, he was living my dream the way I wanted to live it. Fearless, fast & passionate. He was one of the main reasons I came to love F1. He was my favourite driver, still is.

My eyes well up even today when I see footage of him & his drives. For me he was & still remains to this day, even with his much discussed faults, absolutely without peer, above all others in the time iv'e watched the sport.

I do miss him, terribly, but I also feel very privileged to say I watched the career of possibly the greatest racing driver who's ever lived.

We should also bear in mind another driver lost his life that weekend. Sadly overshadowed by Senna's passing just 24hrs later, we should also take pause to remember Roland Ratzenberger.

A quarter of a century. My God how fast time travels.


https://wedstrijd.tips/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/senna.jpg

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Races since last non RB, Merc, Ferrari winner (After Spain- 19) - 123 & counting.( Last win, Lotus, 17/3/13)

Non RB, Merc, Ferrari podiums won in Hybrid era - 315 trophies available, 23 won

2017 WCC CPTTC - Jalopy Racing (Herb & Me)

I don't think I can put words together that come even close to what you've written there Jezza.

I also remember watching the race live.

Because Nigel Mansell was "my" driver in the 80s, Senna was always the "driver I loved to hate" (that's a very tongue in cheek hate ) , until he drove for Williams because they were my team and still are.

That Sunday was already downbeat for me after Ratzenberger had died on the Saturday, but I watched the race as I always did back then. I remember it so well, almost like it was yesterday. Shocked to the point of silence for a long time after the race, I couldn't believe what I had seen. Such a sad and premature end to the driver that in my opinion was and always will be the greatest.

I still have the race on VHS, because where I lived at the time I had a dreadful TV reception if the weather was bad so I used to get my parents to record stuff I might miss! That day I had a perfect reception though so was able to watch it live. I don't know whether I am glad about that or not really..... I have never watched that VHS tape, but I also don't feel like I can throw it away.

It's sad even more that Ratzenberger's death got & still gets overshadowed by Senna's! Just read Professor Sid Watkins after walking out with Senna from the medical centre & after having learnt Ratzenberger has died, suggested a inconsolable Senna to skip the race & go out for fishing with him instead. He chose to race as that was his passion. Wish he had gone for fishing instead...

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