# How we forgot him in all the hectic ..



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Yes, the May 1st was the 11th Anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death and I forgot it. Shame on me.




























_"Racing, competing is in my blood. It is a part of me, it is a part of my life. It stands up than anything else."_

Ayrton Senna da Silva (21 March 1960 - 01 May 1994)​


----------



## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

Good thread.

Senna was one of the greatest ever ...

People also forget about Roland Ratzenberger's death that same weekend. That was one of the worst weekends in motorsport. One that I will never forget.


.


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

I didn't forget. It's just that not many people here even know about him. 
I know that Alex is a big fan and I bet that he would even admit that he was a better driver than Schumi. :eeps: 

That was truly a dark day for motorsports, one more close call was when Rubens flew over that guard rail. He had more luck this weekend than Senna and Ratzenberger.


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

You can read about Senna's last hours in this article: "Ayrton Senna: The Last Hours"

Before the fatal race:


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Master at work: Senna at Monaco (4.2 MB avi)


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

F1Crazy said:


> Master at work: Senna at Monaco (4.2 MB avi)


Amazing performance from those guys in those days. Driving a 'real' manual must be a hell job back then.


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Prost said that the most times when he was passed was when he missed the shift. 
Mansell, Prost, Senna, slick tires, manual gearboxes and fast sweeping corners... Oh well, we can only dream about it today. To me this was what made the sport so exciting.


----------



## j2 (Jun 13, 2003)

Alex Baumann said:


> Amazing performance from those guys in those days. Driving a 'real' manual must be a hell job back then.


For us F1 n00bs, what season was that video from? :jawdrop:


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

That's a good question. I think it is 1989 and he drives McLaren MP4/5. Note that he has number 1 on the car indicating world champion so it could be either 1989, 1991 or 1992 as he won championships in '88,'90 and '91. He sits quite high in the cockpit so it can't be McLaren from '91 and by '92 they probably had paddle shift gearboxes introduced by Ferrari. 

It's a qualifying lap that very likely earned him pole, he led Monaco GP in 1989 from start to finish. What is even more impressive is the fact that he out-qualified his teammate Alan Prost by 1.148s!!! and finished almost 52 seconds in front of Prost when it took around 1:26 to lap that track in '89.


----------



## WAM (Jan 30, 2002)

Monaco is one circuit that demands absolute car control, otherwise you are in the barriers. Senna was a master at Monaco!

He was leading the 88 race from Prost by something like 50 seconds, probably thinking of the victory celebrations, when he lost concentration and crashed out. I think nobody saw him until the next day (he had an apt at Monaco), he was so pissed with himself.

One of the greatest Monaco races was in 92, last few laps, Mansell had to come in to refuel, and I remember holding my breath to see if Senna would take over the lead. Well Mansell started moving as Senna was coming past the start- finish line. Senna just beat Mansell to the pit exit, with Mansell right under Senna's wing. I was freaking out in delight at that point!

The next few laps were incredible, like the Alonso-Schumacher duel we just saw at Imola.


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

F1Crazy said:


> That's a good question. I think it is 1989 and he drives McLaren MP4/5. Note that he has number 1 on the car indicating world champion so it could be either 1989, 1991 or 1992 as he won championships in '88,'90 and '91. He sits quite high in the cockpit so it can't be McLaren from '91 and by '92 they probably had paddle shift gearboxes introduced by Ferrari.
> 
> It's a qualifying lap that very likely earned him pole, he led Monaco GP in 1989 from start to finish. What is even more impressive is the fact that he out-qualified his teammate Alan Prost by 1.148s!!! and finished almost 52 seconds in front of Prost when it took around 1:26 to lap that track in '89.


Hmm, wasn't it 1991 quali in Monaco ? I'm not sure though.


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

I've found this video last night and I think you'll like it: Sanna driving NSX-R

It's at Suzuka, you can see the cult following he had all over the world. Honda people just loved him for his driving and technical knowledge. Pay attention to his footwork, especially how he steers the car with the gas. WOW


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

F1Crazy said:


> I've found this video last night and I think you'll like it: Sanna driving NSX-R
> 
> It's at Suzuka, you can see the cult following he had all over the world. Honda people just loved him for his driving and technical knowledge. Pay attention to his footwork, especially how he steers the car with the gas. WOW


Amazing video ! Thanks for posting.

Did you see his face ? He's like in another dimension once he gets into a car :thumbup:


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Alex Baumann said:


> Amazing video ! Thanks for posting.
> 
> Did you see his face ? He's like in another dimension once he gets into a car :thumbup:


He is so calm, you can see it in his every move, different dimension indeed! 
I like how he checked the tires before getting into the car and then left burning the rubber


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

I have to blame myself (again) for forgetting his 'anniversary'.

He's still watching us from there.

:thumbup:


----------



## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Missed, never forgotten!

Alex, I have another nice video for you, '85 Spa with Senna's commentary :thumbup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaBoFf-J_mU&mode=related&search=


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

F1Crazy said:


> Missed, never forgotten!
> 
> Alex, I have another nice video for you, '85 Spa with Senna's commentary :thumbup:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaBoFf-J_mU&mode=related&search=


Great video! Thanks for the link. :thumbup:

EDIT: Ferrari's pit stop was phenomenal :rofl:


----------



## WAM (Jan 30, 2002)

That was truly a freaky weekend. I saw footage of Barrichello's crash, and his car was actually a couple of feet up in the air as it hit the barriers.


----------



## JG (Mar 5, 2005)

Alex Baumann said:


> I have to blame myself (again) for forgetting his 'anniversary'.
> 
> He's still watching us from there.
> 
> :thumbup:


25th anniversary of Gilles Villeneuve's death this week as well.

Best of racer of his generation..........

Nice little tibute video here:

http://broadband.tsn.ca/tsn/?vid=7356


----------



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

JG said:


> 25th anniversary of Gilles Villeneuve's death this week as well.
> 
> Best of racer of his generation..........
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting :thumbup:

I wish that we had seen more of him on the circuit, instead of his whiny son.


----------

