Ayrton Senna, 20 Years On

“And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.” A quote from arguably the worlds most legendary racing driver, Ayrton Senna. If ever a man had a god given talent to do something, his was to drive. His style was pure and focused, almost as if he was bolted directly to components of the car. Watch this man dance with hundreds of horse power as if playing a piano, a true maestro of extracting every ounce of performance from not only the car, but also himself. You want to see the Brazilian at his best? Monaco 1988 is often regarded as the greatest lap in Formula One history. Ayrton Senna recalls an almost outer body experience as he beat his team mate, the great Allan Prost, during qualifying by a staggering one and a half seconds. The world has never seen a lap in a racing car that impressive since.

However, we all know this story has a sad ending. On 1st May 1994 Ayrton Senna crashed at Imola at speed. On that day the worlds most gifted driver, a man who clocked up 65 pole positions and three Formula One world championships, lost his life. Motorsport morned his loss and in his home country his death was a national tragedy.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death and I can’t help but wonder what he would have achieved had his life not been cut short.

R.I.P Ayrton. You are still number one.