ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 16, 1997 TAG: 9703180023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER
No incident on the track has reverberated through the auto racing community quite like the death of former Formula One champion Ayrton Senna during the San Marino Grand Prix on May 1, 1994.
Senna's car suddenly and mysteriously shot off the Imola, Italy, track on a left-hand turn named Tamburello and slammed into a wall. A piece of the suspension of his Williams-Renault racer pierced the visor of Senna's helmet and his forehead, killing him.
Senna, a three-time world champion, was a hero in the world of Formula One and an icon in his native Brazil. Almost immediately after his death, Italian Defense Minister Fabio Fabbri declared, ``I hope the murder of Imola is punished.''
Now, Italian authorities are prosecuting six people, including team owner Frank Williams, on charges of culpable homicide in connection with Senna's death. Not only have Williams and two team members been charged, but two track officials and the race director also are on trial.
The case is under way in an oak-paneled courtroom in Imola where petty thieves and minor criminals have faced Italian magistrates for almost two centuries.
An ocean away in the United States, top racing officials are keeping a close eye on the proceedings, although they are not all that worried that anything like this might happen here if one of America's great racing stars died on the track.
With hoods and tires flying into grandstands from time to time, there's plenty to remain concerned about in terms of civil liability in the United States. But the threat of criminal prosecution remains remote, said California motorsports attorney Cary Agajanian, who is the agent for NASCAR Winston Cup driver John Andretti.
``Never in the annals of American racing has anyone been prosecuted for a criminal act because of a racing incident,'' Agajanian said last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. ``This is unprecedented, especially at this level of racing. And it is somewhat unprecedented in all sports.''
There was one intriguing case in California about 50 years ago, when several racers were charged with kidnapping a journalist who was writing about the numerous fatalities of those reckless days. But that's about it, Agajanian said.
Agajanian, who is a board member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS), which is an arm of the world governing body, FIA, said the trial in Italy was one topic of discussion at the competition committee's board meeting in California in February. Other board members present included NASCAR president Bill France.
``ACCUS is concerned about it, because we send our representatives to serve as officials overseas and we have racers who race overseas,'' Agajanian said.
In Italy, the first witnesses were called to the stand this past week.
Earlier this month, Prosecutor Maurizio Passarini opened the case with his primary allegations: first, that Senna crashed because his steering column broke after having been modified and rewelded; and second, that Senna's car left the track because the asphalt surface was not at the same level as the trackside surface.
The wheels of Italian justice grind slowly, and it probably will take years for the trial and all of the inevitable appeals to be completed. Jail time is unlikely for any of the defendants, even if they are convicted. But the repercussions already are being felt. At least one Formula One team owner has vowed to never again race in the Italian Grand Prix if anyone is convicted.
Meanwhile, the case has had some bizarre twists. Four days before the start of the trial, the British newspaper The Sunday Times published the ``blue speck'' photo, which purported to show a piece of debris on the track in front of Senna's car. The paper suggested Senna swerved to avoid the debris and lost control.
There have been allegations that after the crash someone removed the ``black box'' data-acquisition equipment from Senna's car. There was a story about the strange disappearance of Senna's personal photographer. There even was a suggestion that Senna had breathing problems that he kept secret and that he blacked out behind the wheel, causing him to crash.
All of these theories and allegations only serve to heighten the impact of the death of a major racing star.
``But if someone could be prosecuted for the death of a race car driver in this sport, that would end the sport as we know it,'' Agajanian said. ``This is a dangerous activity - no doubt about it. And everybody understands that when they get into this.
``What is happening in Italy should have no effect in the United States, unless there is some psychological effect on a prosecutor here who decides he will use a similar strategy in his own city or county.''
LENGTH: Medium: 86 linesby CNB