Every Grand Prix that took place in São Paulo city, the paulistano citizen reminds the good moments and career of the remarkable racer Ayrton Senna. It is quite difficult to talk to a Brazilian who cannot say where he/she was at the moment that heard or even watched by TV the episode that involved him in a fatal accident at Imola circuit in Italy. Everyone has a detailed story to share about it.
With his personal charisma and authenticy, Senna has incorporated the representation of a hero that Brazil needed during his awarded career. After all at the end of the 80’s and beginning of 90’ of the last century Brazilian citizens were coping with severe economic and social problems. The image of a Brazilian who could face the impossible, challenge luck and surpass limits was the accurate one to work as a decompression valve to people in general by raising their self-esteem and giving them hope.
His impressive life story generated several videos, documentaries, researches and books. It is quite difficult to split the hero from the looser, the saint from the human, the sensitive from the cold calculating man. Like other celebrities who have gone in similar circumstances, the myth has replaced the human being.
I would rather honor Ayrton Senna through his personal features and strenghts like
Top ranked teams of Formula-1 showed interest in Formula 3 racers in 1983. However Senna would rather close with Toleman, a British scuderia owned by Frank Williams.
Perseverence
During his kart experience he trained exhaustively in the rain to beat his competitors.
Later racing in the rain during the Grand Prix was one of his unique skills.
Later racing in the rain during the Grand Prix was one of his unique skills.
In 1984 he played one of his memorable races under torrential rain at Monaco Grand Prix.
Senna was pushing the McLaren champion Alain Prost on and believed he won the race with
a confusing end.
In 1984 Senna started to work with the Brazilian coach Nuno Cobra, who developed a specific program including physical and mind training to provide him muscular strength and personal balance as well. They have worked together for ten years.Cobra has mentioned in interviews that it has been tough to work with him considering his introvert and quiet style. The Brazilian racer was responsible for a turning point in physical traning for motor racers since then.
Brazil as a brand
By driving the black Lotus car the whole season, he scored 55 points and finished the championship in 4th place again in 1986.
It was the year that he raised the Brazilian flag for the first time during his victory at Detroit GP. The day before Brazilian football team failed during the match with Mexico. Senna has compensated the bad day with a sub-liminal message to Brazilians.
Virtuosity
In 1987 Honda supplied his turbocharged engines to Lotus and became one of his strong partners.
Feeling for business
He is also respected and deeply remembered and admired and by his friends, technicians and colleagues till nowadays.
Have a look at this video that focus the tour made by the 2014 bi-world champion
Lewis Hamilton and his colleague Jenson Button at McLaren´s garage when they
experienced the legendary '88 car, the MP4-4, driven by Ayrton Senna.
In 1987 Honda supplied his turbocharged engines to Lotus and became one of his strong partners.
Senna´s perfectionism matched perfectly with the Japanese style. Since his teen-aging time as a kart driver he studied alone how to save time during the race. He divided the circuit in four sections and experienced new lines in each one. The sum of the little gains made a huge difference at the end. This particular feature helped him to develop with the Japanese engineers of Gran Prix detailed telemetry reports that he studied carefully.
"His brain could simulate his all operations on the track such as RPM of engine, gear position, braking point, steering or so with the error by less than a hundredth second. He could adjust himself perfectly in line with his analysis so that he actually ran in 0.6 second faster if he said that he was able to run faster by 0.6 second. Besides, he could memorize all data for the process and condition of his machine. His memory was perfectly same as the telemetry data!" - Yoshitoshi Sakurai
Senna finished the championship just after the Brazilian tri-champion Nelson Piquet, one of his rivals, and Nigel Mansell. The third position was a tremendous differential that propelled him to his next move: the crucial change to McLaren.
Faith and spirituality
With Honda engines in 1988, Senna has made an impeccable season, winning 15 of 16 races and confirming his first victory as F-1 driver’s championship. The decisive race took place at Suzuka, Japan, when Senna faced problems at the start, founding himself in 16th place, made an electrifying recovery, overtook Alain Prost and won in the rain in a memorable performance. At the end he mentioned he experienced another dimension and visualized God in this race. When the journalists asked him if he felt like a world champion, he said “I just feel peace” – an unusual statement for racing drivers.
The question of religiousness and spirituality has also permeated his personal journey and generated controversy. In a male environment like the Grand Prix one, Senna has never had fear to expose himself as a devoted Catholic. Several times he was seen reading his own bible.
Feeling for business
Clever and cold for business Senna knew exactly his value in the market and how to negotiate millionaire agreements in the better way and precise time. The episode was described in the book “The revealed hero” (Herói revelado, in Portuguese) from the Brazilian journalist Ernesto Rodrigues, who have researched his personal and professional life deeply for more than two years.
In 1993 Senna made an agreement with Ron Dennis to simulate a misunderstanding widely promoted in the media to press the sponsor Philip Morris to raise his offer. One of his mantras was “no money, no race.” The bluff worked and the amount of one million dollars was often credit just one day before the qualifying tests for each award.
Finitude
In 1993 Senna made an agreement with Ron Dennis to simulate a misunderstanding widely promoted in the media to press the sponsor Philip Morris to raise his offer. One of his mantras was “no money, no race.” The bluff worked and the amount of one million dollars was often credit just one day before the qualifying tests for each award.
Finitude
In a time when we constantly listen about goals, success and money, Senna is a precious example of motivation, struggle, failure, improvement, recovery, faith, virtuosity, unpredictability and finitude.
On Tamburello curve Senna hit his car with high impact in 1994. The long scene broadcasted by TV all over the world and extensively shown in Brazil was shocking. We could see he was not moving his body and predicted it was fatal.
His death generated enormous commotion not only in Brazil but had a great impact all over the world as he passed away in the top of glory, as an idol in several countries where motor racing is practiced and revered.
Ayrton Senna was revered by his people who cried and prayed for him.
the modest grave of Senna in a cemetery in São Paulo
Have a look at this video that focus the tour made by the 2014 bi-world champion
Lewis Hamilton and his colleague Jenson Button at McLaren´s garage when they
experienced the legendary '88 car, the MP4-4, driven by Ayrton Senna.
Unfortunately after a long period of his death, the motor racing has faced challenging questions in Brazil. According to specialized journalists and racers, the organizations responsible for the promotion of the sport have not invested enough and the sponsors have also been reduced.
Eliana Souza - SPin Brazil Tours
Eliana Souza - SPin Brazil Tours
