Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 2, 1994 TAG: 9405020071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: IMOLA, ITALY LENGTH: Long
"It's going to be a season with lots of accidents, and I'll risk saying we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen," Senna told a Brazilian newspaper early in the season.
On Sunday, the 34-year-old three-time world champion crashed into a concrete wall at 186 mph in the San Marino Grand Prix and died of severe head injuries. The accident occurred a day after Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger was killed in a similar incident during qualifying.
Senna was concerned about moves by the sport's governing body to take away many of the electronic driver's aids that had become standard on cars achieving speeds in excess of 200 mph. He spoke his mind on the subject.
The International Auto Racing Federation said it wanted to give control of the cars back to the drivers. Senna was among the critics who said the changes, especially the elimination of electronic "active" suspensions, would make Formula One more dangerous.
"The cars are very fast and difficult to drive," Senna said.
Visibly shaken after the death of Ratzenberger, Senna appeared tentative Sunday, according to Michael Schumacher, the German driver who won the race.
"He looked nervous from the very first lap," said Schumacher, who was behind Senna when the accident occurred. "He took two or three bumps, but I can't say what happened exactly."
Senna was unconscious when rescue crews arrived two minutes after the crash. A pool of blood was on the track as he was put on the helicopter for the trip to Bologna's Maggiore hospital. Doctors pronounced Senna dead of severe head injuries a few hours later, 10 minutes after a hospital chaplain administered last rites.
Senna was revered in Brazil, and news of his death shocked the country.
"All Brazilians feel this death as if it were a relative," said a reporter as he announced the news on television in Brazil. "Ayrton Senna, after [soccer star] Pele, is the country's biggest hero."
Senna will be remembered as a driver who dared to push a car to the limits. He won more pole positions than any driver in Formula One history, won three world championships and won more races than anybody except Alain Prost.
"Ayrton and I shared some of the most exciting races ever staged and it's impossible to put into words what a sad loss to motor racing this is," said Nigel Mansell, the 1992 Formula One champion who now drives Indy cars.
Watching Senna on the track - and off it - it sometimes was easy to forget he was one of the leaders in the constant battle for safety. His style was aggressive, sometimes abrasive.
His detractors point to the crash in turn 1 of the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990. With archrival Prost needing points to stay in the championship race, Senna drove into the back of the Frenchman's car and took both drivers out of the race. Senna clinched his second world title as a result.
Last year, while leading the Japanese Grand Prix, Senna became upset when Britain's Eddie Irvine failed to allow the Brazilian to pass. Senna punched the British driver after the race.
Such incidents, however, could not detract from Senna's mastery of the Grand Prix circuit. He won the world championship with Team McLaren in 1988, '90 and '91, and probably didn't win it more often only because other teams had far superior cars.
Born Ayrton Senna de Silva on March 21, 1960, Senna burst onto the Formula One scene in 1984 already touted as one of the most intense and talented youngsters to come out of the Formula 3000 series and the heir to fellow Brazilian and three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet.
"All he really cares about is racing," said Ron Dennis, the managing director of McLaren. "He is totally focused on the car, the track and the competition. There is nothing else in his life when he is at the race track."
Throughout Senna's career - during which he reportedly earned more than $100 million, including a reported one-year salary of $24 million at one point - Senna had been a skillful negotiator, playing one team against another to get exactly the ride in exactly the car he wanted.
He also was not hesitant to play politics, often criticizing Formula One officials over rules.
But, first and foremost, Senna usually was the fastest driver at any circuit on any given day.
"Somehow, Ayrton always gets the most out of the car," Dennis said. "He can drive deeper into a corner than anybody, and he always knows where he is and where all the others are on the circuit."
Yet Senna always was aware of the dangers his sport presented.
"To survive in Grand Prix racing you need to be afraid," he once said. "Fear is a very important feeling to have. It helps you stay together. It helps you race longer . . . and live longer."
Racing was in Senna's blood. He got his first kart at age 4, and entered competitive kart racing when he was 13.
In 1981, he made his professional debut in the Formula Ford 1600. After winning the Formula 3 European title in 1983, he signed with the Toleman Formula One team for the 1984 season.
He earned the first of his 41 Formula One victories in 1985 driving a Lotus. In 1987, he signed with McLaren, and this year he made the switch to Williams.
Senna also was a successful businessman. He had just launched his own comic book for children and piloted his own helicopter in his hometown of Sao Paulo.
"As long as my passion for my profession is kept alive, my dream will be to survive," he once said. "The day when this passion starts weakening, my dream will end."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING FATALITY
by CNB